The Dodge engineers were so dedicated to McCurry and his\ngoal of getting Dodge in the winner\u2019s circle that they taped a picture of him\non the dashboard of the engineering test car during the development of the\nCharger Daytona, and these (his) words: \u201cThe name of the game is WIN.\u201d<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Stock car racing was a big deal in the late 1960s and winning on the track translated to car sales – race on Sunday, sell on Monday was for real. This was the golden age of superspeedway racing and it gave car manufacturers the opportunity to show off their products to the public with great pride. The Dodge Boys had already built a Charger model for 1969 with slightly improved aerodynamics, dubbed the \u201c500,\u201d because that\u2019s how many NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing) required them to build to be homologated for racing. That car had a flushed-out grille and modified rear window (changed backlight slope from 45 degrees to 22 degrees) that was added to the standard \u201cCoke bottle\u201d Charger design. However, these cars just didn\u2019t do the trick to keep up with the slippery Ford Talladega and Mercury Cyclone Spoiler II models. Dodge needed to do more in the way of cheating the wind, and within a relatively short time period, they came out with the wild winged Charger Daytona model.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The goal of the Daytona was to pick up 5 miles per hour\nlap speeds (on the superspeedway racetracks) over the Charger 500 racecar.\nSomething \u201cexotic\u201d would be needed and soon the Chrysler aero engineers were\nbusy experimenting with different front-end designs and rear wings of varied\nsizes and shapes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to the book \u201cSupercars\u201d (written by Frank Moriatry, foreword by Buddy Baker) the Dodge Daytona in testing had gone well over the 200 mph mark in Michigan during the development of the car, prior to its competition debut in Alabama. Buddy Baker recalls that once while running wide-open at the Chrysler Chelsea Proving Grounds (on the five-mile oval) he reached speeds of 235 mph, and fellow test driver Charlie Glotzbach has been on record saying that when he was testing an engineering car (at the same facility in Michigan), he reached a top speed of 243 miles per hour! <\/p>\n\n\n\n With these drawings presented, here’s how the car was explained by R. P. Marcell and G. F. Romberg in the SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers, Inc.) paper done January 12-16, 1970: <\/p>\n\n\n\n “The aerodynamic knowledge gained on the race track has the long range potential of benefiting production vehicles in the areas of improved fuel economy, handling in corners, gusts and crosswinds, and acceleration. In fact, looking at even broader applications, all high speed land-borne transportation systems could benefit from aerodynamic information acquired from cars such as the Daytona.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Inside the 1969 Alabama International Motor Speedway Program (Talladega) was this advertisement, and it was published before any street Charger Daytonas were seen by the general public. <\/p>\n\n\n\n When High Performance Cars Magazin<\/em>e tested one of the very early Charger Daytonas (note the lack of rear-facing fender scoops and A-pillar covers), they received all kinds of comments, everything from \u201cIf Dodge tries to sell that thing, they\u2019ll be laughed out of business!\u201d<\/em> and \u201cThey gotta be kidding. Who would buy such an ugly boat with a clothes dryer on the back?\u201d <\/em>to more supportive screams of \u201cWow, It\u2019s the grooviest\u2014like a beautiful trip!\u201d <\/em>and \u201cHey Batman, does it fly?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Richard Brickhouse won on the brand-new track at Talladega, Alabama, in September 1969, running on the 2.66-mile, 33-degree banked superspeedway. Leading the last 11 laps of this inaugural race, he won the event driving the Ray Nichels Dodge Daytona in front of the crowd estimated at 62,000. It was his one and only win in NASCAR Cup racing, and it came as the result of a driver’s boycott of the race, which was said to be an “unsafe” track (because of the race tires coming apart) by the P.D.A. (Professional Driver’s Association) organization. Dodge News <\/em>wasn’t shy about promoting the victory!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Buddy Baker and Cotton Owens had a good thing going in ’70 with the #6 Charger Daytona, with a big win on September at the Southern 500 at Darlington, South Carolina. It was car owner and former driver Owen’s most sought-after race victory as he himself had entered for 20 years prior and never won, and Baker gave him the prestigious victory. Champion Spark Plugs featured the winning car in their full-page magazine advertisement. Here’s how Buddy described his experiences in the winged Dodge: “It was a time in the sport when you looked at the car and you knew you wanted one of ’em. They were fast. When it cranked up, everybody looked. The car had a certain mystique about it that people still remember.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n Baker is also famous for driving the #88 “Test\nMule” Charger Daytona on March 24, 1970, setting the world’s closed course\nrecord at 200.447 mph at the Alabama International Motor Speedway (Talladega),\nalso turning laps there at 200.096 and 200.330 mph. <\/p>\n\n\n\n These Charger Daytona specifications were actually listed\nin the Dodge 1970 model year brochure, even though the cars were 1969 models.\nIt lists the car having “R\/T Handling Package” along with standard\nengine being the 440-cid Magnum, which was also an R\/T standard powerplant.\nNonetheless, Charger Daytonas were never listed as being a “Charger R\/T\nDaytona” and they featured the standard “Charger” emblem on the\nback panel. <\/p>\n\n\n\n After winning the 1970 NASCAR Championship in 1970 with 11 wins, 13 poles and 38 top-10 finishes, the Norm Krauskopf-owned, Harry Hyde-prepared, Bobby Isaac-driven Charger Daytona set off to the salts of Bonneville to prove a point. And the point was that this Dodge was fast. Running a HEMI\u00ae<\/sup> engine of 426 cubic inches (where the USAC rules would have allowed for bored and stroked versions) with a single four-barrel carburetor (USAC allowed two four-barrel carbs) plus setting the front torsion bars at about 1 inch lower than what was legal for NASCAR, the #71 ran on a 10-mile oval course the crew had set up on the salt. Isaac drove it like a dirt track car and in the end, he set some 28 world records. And the biggest accomplishment was setting the world record of 216.945 miles per hour, average speed, on the flying mile. Isaac was on record saying that he was real comfortable out there “because there was nothing to hit.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n “Big Willie” Robinson and the Street Racers of Los Angeles was a group dedicated to racing, Willie and his wife, Tomiko, both had Dodge Daytonas. Each one of them had Keith Black powered HEMI engines, with her car doing double-duty as the tow car. She did run a 12.35-second time with hers, with B&M TorqueFlite\u00ae<\/sup>, street tires and complete interior (including power windows and 8-track tape deck). <\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the magazine advertisements used to promote the Walter P. Chrysler Museum in Auburn Hills, Michigan, featuring a Bright Blue Daytona with White wing, with this ad copy: “Not a good place to visit if you’re about to undergo a midlife crisis.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n You know a car has reached iconic status when the US\nPostal Service commissions the creation of a postage stamp of it. That’s\nexactly what happened when they had artist Tom Fritz do a run of “Muscle\nCars Forever” commemorative stamps featuring the 1969 Dodge Charger\nDaytona. Fritz said that he used bright-colored oil paints on hardboard to try\nto “capture the emotive quality of the vehicles.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n The pictured T-5 Copper Metallic HEMI Charger Daytona has\na paperwork trail that indicate that the car was originally purchased new at\nWatertown Dodge in Wisconsin. T-5 Copper Metallic and White interior make the\ncar extremely rare, and the car is a factory 4-speed (D21) with A34 \u201cSuper\nTrack Pack\u201d option. Magnum 500 wheels wrapped with redlines help provide the\nvisual appeal. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n The huge rear wing was added to the car to add high-speed stability and it measured some 58 inches across and sat 23.5 inches off the rear deck, just high enough so the deck lid could be opened up all the way. The vertical fins reduce the tendency of the car to move sideways at racing speeds. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The streamlined front end was a \u201chighly interactive aerodynamic system\u201d according to the January 1970 SAE paper 700036, and it was proven to be an effective reducer of front axle lift and vehicle axial force. 426-cid HEMI engine came through with mechanical lifters. 425 horsepower rating (@5,000 rpm) with 490 lb.-ft. of torque (@4,000 rpm) and 10.25:1 pistons were used on street applications. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This Charger Daytona has a white interior, factory code C6W meant \u201cWhite Vinyl Buckets\u201d and the combination of this interior hue and the Copper Metallic body color makes this vehicle one of the rarest of the rare. Hurst 4-speed shifter put the HEMI engine power to the ground via 4.10:1 gears in the Dana 60 differential. Charger Daytona and Charger 500s featured this streamlined backlight and its flush design eliminated the \u201cflying buttress\u201d C-pillars as used on standard Chargers of the era. <\/p>\n\n\n\n These rear-facing scoops were fitted to Charger Daytonas for one reason and one reason only: Tire clearance on racecar applications. Folklore about relieving underhood air pressure and other tales are just that – tales! The front spoiler on the production Daytonas were mounted 13 inches behind the leading edge of the nose. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Here\u2019s the link to the NASCAR Race Hub \u201cBonneville 71\u201d\nhighlighting the Charger Daytona and the records it set: <\/p>\n\n\n\nSAE REPORT<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nFIRST MEDIA <\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n
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<\/a><\/figure><\/li><\/a><\/figure><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\nCOVER SHOT: DODGE NEWS MAGAZINE<\/em><\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nBUDDY BAKER: HERO DAYTONA DRIVER<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/figure><\/li><\/a><\/figure><\/li><\/a><\/figure><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\nPRINTED SPECS<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nBONNEVILLE 71 216.945 MPH WORLD RECORD<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/figure><\/li><\/a><\/figure><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\nAFRICAN ELEPHANT I & II<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nWPC MUSEUM<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nUNITED STATES POSTAGE FOREVER STAMP<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nT-5 COPPER METALLIC HEMI CHARGER DAYTONA<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/li><\/a><\/figure><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/li><\/a><\/figure><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/li><\/a><\/figure><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n