1969 Road Runner 500?

[PettyMower]

I had never thought of this before.

I wonder why Plymouth never built a 1969 Road Runner 500 (an aerodynamic Plymouth version of a Charger 500)?

Although the (2) brands competed against each other, I'm sure they still shared a lot of information.

[Stevearino]

I am not sure why either but I know that is why Petty defected to Ford. While everyone was going to get slicker Dodges he was told he would have to stick to his Plymouth. His response. "Nope".

[cdr]

the Plymouth grill was already flush & the rear window was not as bad as the charger 

[odcics2]

the Plymouth grill was already flush & the rear window was not as bad as the charger 

Bingo! 

[wingcar]

Besides, Plymouth had Petty, so who needed a special "Aero" car.  Well, I guess Petty did, since he jumped ship and went to Ford (for one year) and their Talladega "Aero" car..... 

[Aero426]

I don't think Chrysler had much (if any) warning that Lee Petty was going to push the button and take the team over to Ford.   Plymouth had run well enough with Richard in 1968 and did not see the need for a special car.  

[odcics2]

How many super speedway wins did Petty get in 69 ?

ZIP!

[Ghoste]

Also in the case of the Charger 500 vs the Road Runner, the Charger was at a considerable disadvantage with its inset grille and tunnel back C Pillars.  It needed the 500 aero car where the Plymouth did not.  It wasn't until the Daytona came out that Petty wanted a Dodge.

[wingcar]

While it's been written time and again about how the Superbird got Petty to return to Plymouth....it's only part of the story.   For while Petty wanted an "Aero" car to be completive...what was even more of an incentive was Chrysler's making the Petty shop the sole source for all racing parts from the factory from '71 onward.  That would prove to be worth more than a garage full of Superbirds.

[69hurstsc]

The defection had more to do with being the official distributor of parts than it did with running the Road Runner again in 1969. If you look at Petty's stats at the end of 1968 he had something like an average finish of 2.5.