Talladega 500 Sept. 13th. 1969 pics of Glotzbach, pole winner

[odcics2]

A few pics of Charlie after he won the pole for the first Talladega 500. The Chrysler Engineering Daytona had just been painted Corporate Blue (almost Petty Blue) a week before. Notice the "88" being hand painted at the track.  Prior to that it was known by the chassis number DC-93 and Engineering car "093". To legally qualify for the race, it passed all the Nascar inspections and had number "88" assigned to it as a Nichels Engineering entry, since Chrysler itself could not enter their own car.  The woman in the pics is "Miss Talladega 500".  

[odcics2]

Inter Company memo.
Just think, if it wasn't for the 88, a Ford would have had the pole.

[tan top]

      good pictures ! cant remember ever seeing these before !  thanks for sharing 

[Aero426]

Nice memories of a momentous day. 

[farm966]

Richard Petty....in a Ford   

[Aero426]

Richard Petty....in a Ford  

Not easy for diehard Plymouth fans to forget that he left for Ford.     

[farm966]

On the bright side...I guess it did lead to the Superbird..or at least that is how the story goes.

[odcics2]

Look at the rake of the Ford, then notice the bumper is pulled forward a little to get the air over the car better.
Very subtle and still passes the long template over the centerline of the car.

Petty used this 'trick' on the 68 Road Runner speedway car.
He also tricked up the 74 Charger this way.  Compare his car at the 1974 Daytona 500 to the other guys running Charger bodies.  All that rake, and the lower edge of the bumper is still forward. 

[farm966]

Good eye, I would have never noticed that...but it makes a lot of sense.....trying to make a little spoiler out of the bumper. In all motor sports, there are cheaters and losers.

[odcics2]

Good eye, I would have never noticed that...but it makes a lot of sense.....trying to make a little spoiler out of the bumper. In all motor sports, there are cheaters and losers.

If there isn't a rule against it, it's not cheating, it's 'engineering'.