Mopar Muscle Cars, Dodge Charger Daytona, Dodge Charger 500

The muscle car era created some of the most legendary and wildest muscle cars ever. These muscle cars were desired by the average car enthusiasts all the way up to the professional drivers of NASCAR. In order for Dodge to remain competitive in the world of racing, especially against the competition such as the Ford Torino and Mercury Cyclone, Mopar engineers had to create a racing machine that would compete on the oval track.

Despite the attempts Dodge made, the standard production 1968 Charger didn’t seem to have the aerodynamic stability required to surpass the competition on the high bank ovals with speeds up to 190 mph. In 1969 Mopar engineers designed the Charger 500 that looked like the standard street version Charger R/T. To help reduce the aero drag, Mopar’s engineers used the flush mounted grill of the Coronet to fill in the air space. This change would help the Charger’s aerodynamics. NASCAR had stipulated that any car built for racing had to be available for sale to the general public and a minimum of 500 models had to be available. 503 copies of the Charger 500 were produced to abide by the NASCAR regulation. The only choice of engines was the standard 440 Magnum or the 426 Hemi.

Regardless of all the new changes, the Charger continued to fall short of the Ford Torino and Mercury Cyclone. The Charger 500’s managed to capture 18 NASCAR victories, but Ford’s aero warriors still led the way with 30 victories. Mopar engineers were not about to stand for this shortfall, they continued to modify and test new designs in the wind tunnel until they created one of the most sought after Chargers, the 1969 Charger Daytona.

Instead of the flush nosed front end, Mopar engineers came up with a pointed nose that added 18 inches to the front of the car giving the Charger Daytona the down force needed, and a rear wing that was 23 inches tall to keep the rear from lifting at the high speeds of the high bank oval track. Also added to the front fenders were facing scoops above the front tires to give it an even more of an aerodynamic advantage. It was also believed that these scoops would relieve the high pressure that would build up in the fender well at high speeds.

The wings of all Daytona’s were painted the same color of the individual car’s stripe which was either black, red, or white bumble stripes that had “Daytona” in the middle of the stripe. The winged Chargers proved to be so fast and dominating that NASCAR introduced a new regulation that all “aero” cars for the 1971 season be limited to a 305cid down from the previous 426cid.