45 Years Ago Today, The 200 MPH Barrier Was Broken In NASCAR

"SteveLehto" (stevelehto) 03/24/2015 at 11:00 • Filed to: None

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It was 45 years ago today that Buddy Baker broke the 200 MPH mark for a closed course with a stock-bodied car, driving a Dodge Charger Daytona past the mark at Talladega. It was an amazing event, and involved some corporate intrigue.

Chrysler had come up with their winged cars - the Charger Daytona and the Plymouth Superbird - in 1969 and 1970 respectively and the cars were tearing up the big NASCAR tracks. At Talladega, qualifying speeds had approached 200 MPH but no one had crossed the magical mark. In February 1970, a promotions man from Dodge called one of the men in charge of the winged car program and asked if their car - one owned and tested by Chrysler - could run "official" laps at 200 miles per hour if given the opportunity on a good track with official timers.

That man, Larry Rathgeb, didn't hesitate to tell him he was certain of it. After all, Charlie Glotzbach had run laps at Talladega of 199.466 mph in that car. Rathgeb realized that the cost would be minimal, and decided to see if Buddy Baker would be willing to give it a try between stops on the NASCAR circuit. Buddy agreed, so in the week following the Atlanta 500, Rathgeb, Baker, the engineering car, and some NASCAR officials gathered at Talladega to see if the 200 MPH barrier could be broken.

They told everyone they were merely testing a new transmission, although some people were told they were testing tires. After all, Talladega ate tires for breakfast, so it was a feasible ploy. A press release put out afterwards claimed, "Buddy Baker was at Talladega for a series of engineering tests on transmission durability." Chrysler was concerned a little about the appearance of impropriety; after all, manufacturers weren't supposed to have such direct involvement in NASCAR. Hence, the transmission and tire alibis.

The party arrived at the speedway a little after 8:00 the morning of March 24 th . Among those present was NASCAR chief Bill France, along with Joe Epton, chief scorer for NASCAR. Baker took the car out for 5-lap circuits; the first lap to get up to speed and then three laps at speed to see how fast the car was and then a final slow-down lap to bring the car back in for adjustment. Between runs, the engineers and mechanics adjusted the suspension, fine-tuned the engine, and played with the tires to see what the perfect set up would be. "One of the first laps we ran in was 199.8 mph. And that was just warming up!" Baker noted later.

After a few of the 5-lap runs, the team thought they had found the right tweaks to make the car its fastest. At 4:25 p.m. Baker ran a lap of 200.096 miles per hour, the first ever officially clocked by NASCAR at over 200. A few minutes later, he ran several more laps over 200, including one at 200.44795 miles per hour. After the runs, the crew posed with the pit board bearing the notation, "200.447." You can watch the run here.

"For us it was just another day at the office. We were damn happy we did it, but it didn't seem like a big deal at the time. We had qualified close to 200 mph so we thought we could break the record," Rathgeb said. Still, Chrysler did not brag too loudly about their role in the operation. The press release that announced the record run was issued by Cotton Owens, the owner of Buddy Baker's race car – but not the car Baker was driving in the test. The release did not explain the difference, and claimed the record was set by Baker in "his Dodge Charger Daytona." Even the cover story on Stock Car Racing about the 200 mph run showed a picture of Baker behind the wheel of his Cotton Owens car #6 – not the Chrysler Engineering car. Chrysler let everyone else take the credit, knowing Chrysler would always be the underlying factor in the equation: none of this could have been done without the Dodge Charger Daytona.

The record-setting trips around the track at Talladega paid big dividends as predicted in publicity. Champion, the spark plug maker, ran full-page ads in magazines with a photo of the car and the two-inch-tall caption, "200.447 MPH." The bulk of the text raves about the car and its speeds, but there are a few references to Champion spark plugs which were in the engine at the time. No NASCAR driver would qualify a car at 200 mph in a NASCAR event until 1982. It was at Talladega that Benny Parsons finally managed a 200.176 mph qualifying lap for the Winston 500.

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This website may supply general information about the law but it is for informational purposes only. This does not create an attorney-client relationship and is not meant to constitute legal advice, so the good news is we're not billing you by the hour for reading this. The bad news is that you shouldn't act upon any of the information without consulting a qualified professional attorney who will, probably, bill you by the hour.

All photos (except for the Daytona/Superbird/Superbird photo - #2) courtesy of Greg Kwiatkowski.

uofime > SteveLehto 03/24/2015 at 11:24

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I had no idea BP was the first to break 200 in qualifying.

Hard to believe it's been 8 years since he died, I miss hearing him on the TV broadcasts.

John > uofime 03/24/2015 at 11:29

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Man - have the lead photo above with Buddy Baker's autograph I got when meeting him at Dover years ago - I'll be dammed if I can find it in my scanned images...

alan > SteveLehto 03/24/2015 at 11:31

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back when nascar was about real cars, not fiberglass shapes that resemble cars with bilboards.

uofime > John 03/24/2015 at 11:31

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I think you meant to reply to the OP

That's really cool though!

phDiesel > SteveLehto 03/24/2015 at 11:34

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Damnit Steve, you never disappoint with these stories.

AspenRS > SteveLehto 03/24/2015 at 11:34

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That ain't Nascar. I don't now know that is but that looks way too interesting to be Nascar.

SteveLehto > phDiesel 03/24/2015 at 11:35

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Thanks!

Zoom > SteveLehto 03/24/2015 at 11:35

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Thanks for the reminder Mr. Lehto.

The Dodge Daytona. The first 4 wheeled vehicle to break 200 mph on a closed course.

The sound of that 7 liter echoing off the high banks a mile away is seriously kick ass.

Autojunkie > alan 03/24/2015 at 11:35

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I would be an avid fan if it were still like that today.

Now, I can barely even pretend to care about it.

SteveLehto > AspenRS 03/24/2015 at 11:37

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This really was the end of the era when the race cars looked like cars you might see on the street.

WendysOrBust > SteveLehto 03/24/2015 at 11:40

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200mph seems terrifying in todays modern cars, even with all the additional car and track safety measures. But doing 200mph back then, in those cars, riding along concrete barriers with no crash barriers?

Dam.

CalzoneGolem > alan 03/24/2015 at 11:44

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Because I like being pedantic I'd like to point out that they are metal shapes that resemble cars.

JimSlade > SteveLehto 03/24/2015 at 11:46

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I love this article...and feel compelled to note that drivers of that era would beat the tar out of candy a$$ drivers like Kurt Busch.

Man that was a great video...and a reminder, that NASCAR wasn't always a sport of phantom cautions, a field of 6-8 good drivers and a whole lot of also rans. It was tough dudes, driving beasts, in dangerous conditions, and putting on a grand old show doing it!

Great article today!

disegnoverde > alan 03/24/2015 at 11:47

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They're still all steel, but it sure ain't steel from the production floor...

BarelyBoosted > uofime 03/24/2015 at 11:49

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a

dianebrat > alan 03/24/2015 at 11:50

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I'd suggest you be better informed if you're going to snark like that, current NASCAR vehicles may not be stock, but they're still metal not fiberglass

66Impalahardtop > alan 03/24/2015 at 11:55

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Amen.

Hammerdown > SteveLehto 03/24/2015 at 11:56

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Please clarify, because I get easily confused on this. 200 mph through a radar trap or a 200 mph lap average? I'm guessing it's the latter. Which means at parts of the racetrack he's probably well over 200?

SteveLehto > Hammerdown 03/24/2015 at 12:01

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Yes. 200 MPH on a closed course means not top speed but average for a lap.

Bobby Isaac would later take a similar car to Bonneville and run it over a mile at over 216 MPH.

Rich > SteveLehto 03/24/2015 at 12:04

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I got to ride around Talladega in a Superbird a few years ago. I don't think we broke 20 let alone 200. It was cool though.

For Sweden > SteveLehto 03/24/2015 at 12:05

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Rounding was not Chrysler's strong suit.

scotschris > SteveLehto 03/24/2015 at 12:07

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Great article. We need more in the same vain please

Hammerdown > SteveLehto 03/24/2015 at 12:12

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Thought so, wanted to make sure. That's just insane speed on 1969 era tires.

rudyH > SteveLehto 03/24/2015 at 12:17

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This was the era when I watched Nascar. I didn't have to look at the giant grille badge to tell which car was which. The technology wasn't that great so the drivers needed more skill in my opinion. I have to be careful because NASCAR fans get vicious if you even intimate that modern NASCAR is boring. Even though it is. OOPS!

ldympr > SteveLehto 03/24/2015 at 12:27

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Nice article Steve! I love these cars, I'm going to celebrate by driving mine today. One down side to this is when you register one of these, or a clone-your insurance goes way way way up!

ldympr > Zoom 03/24/2015 at 12:28

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I want that sound for a ring tone,

TwinTurbosOfJustice > For Sweden 03/24/2015 at 12:30

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Funny but I would assume you can only round-down when setting high speed records...

firstonraceday > SteveLehto 03/24/2015 at 12:34

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I was and still are a huge fan of Benny , I also didn't know he was the first one to break the 200 mph but not surprised. These days were when nascar was racing not this silly chocked down front wheel drive cars. When wild Bill and Dale SR was racing their Ford and Dale's chevy that was racing it was Ford, chevy, olds, buick, and dodge's that's the Nascar I remember and now worst of all now that's not the case it's Ford, Chevy, and Toyota.

ldympr > WendysOrBust 03/24/2015 at 12:34

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I built a clone, I have nothing but MASS respect for these guys. It is like driving a wild animal, took me a good year to master the car. My husband always comments on how I can even drive the car over 50 mph, it scares him. I bury the needle when I can :)

SteveLehto > For Sweden 03/24/2015 at 12:36

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I'm not sure how they felt about rounding. It might not have been allowed for an official number to count.

SteveLehto > scotschris 03/24/2015 at 12:36

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I'm writing as fast as I can!

For Sweden > SteveLehto 03/24/2015 at 12:37

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This is about my feelings, not the facts, Mr. Lehto.

heeltoehero > For Sweden 03/24/2015 at 12:47

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Things this is also not about:

Spelling.

MrMcQueen21v2 > SteveLehto 03/24/2015 at 13:02

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On today's know your Jalop segment: I'm related to Buddy Baker. Only met him a few times over the years. He's one of the nicest people you'll ever meet. Always has wonderful stories and even though he's a larger fellow at 6'4 or so, very gentle.

SteveLehto > MrMcQueen21v2 03/24/2015 at 13:04

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I've met him to and concur: Heck of a guy. And very funny.

Pickup_man > SteveLehto 03/24/2015 at 13:15

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Great story about my favorite car. I know there are better cars in nearly every aspect, but this was a car built with minimal compromises designed to do one thing, win races, which it did very well. The history behind this car is so rich and interesting it's hard not to be amazed by it. Aren't you writing a book on it? If so, I'll have to get it, you do a great job at finding interesting historical details about all sorts of things, I very much look forward to your work on the Superbird/Daytona.

SteveLehto > Pickup_man 03/24/2015 at 13:17

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Yes, the book will be out in January 2016, from CarTech Books. I will, as you might imagine, mention it here from time to time . . . .

moardots > alan 03/24/2015 at 13:51

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That charger looks so damn sleek and sexy compared to the bloated plastic whale version today.

JEM > SteveLehto 03/24/2015 at 14:14

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Oh wow, I seriously look forward to that. I'll save room on the bookshelf right next to "Go Like Hell"

JEM > WendysOrBust 03/24/2015 at 14:16

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I can attest to the fact that going 100mph in a stock 69/70 muscle car is goddamn terrifying enough.

WaxhawBrad > SteveLehto 03/24/2015 at 14:19

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There's a little more to this story. Apparently Bobby Allison did it the day before. Here he is talking about it.

http://blog.al.com/blogoftomorrow…

alan > CalzoneGolem 03/24/2015 at 14:23

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i thought they were fiberglass for some reason, thanks for letting me know!

alan > dianebrat 03/24/2015 at 14:27

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yeah learned that from a few people so far. but if i left that fiberglass comment out its still annoying to me that nascar has nothing to do with actual production cars.

CalzoneGolem > alan 03/24/2015 at 14:29

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No problem. You still make a valid point. They'd be better if they raced cars we could buy, A bunch of stock Chargers and shit would be awesome. Toyota would be so boned.

Phantomlimb > For Sweden 03/24/2015 at 14:52

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Yes they should have called it a 425 Hemi.

Chaparral2F > SteveLehto 03/24/2015 at 14:54

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Ok, if you want the whole story and insight into this record as well as the Charger Daytonas and even better, Bobby Isaac, you need to get a copy of Steve's book "Bobby Isaac, What Speed Looks Like". I am fortunate to have been able to procure one of Steve's few remaining copies. The book is captivating, entertaining and most of all, informational. I learned so much about the life of Bobby Isaac, the early years of NASCAR and how Dodge developed the Charger into an annihilator of competition. Best of all, Steve signed my book, which should help pad my retirement handsomely if I ever decide to sell the book, which I won't do.

Larry Rathgeb was one of the major moving forces behind the development of the Charger Daytona. The testing at the Chelsea proving grounds showed that the aerodynamic changes made to the Charger including the pointed nose, smoother rear window and tall rear wing gave the car a drag coefficient of 0.28. This type of low aerodynamic drag was unheard of back in the 60s. Check out any cars from that time and you will see what I mean. When coupled with the famous Hemi engine, this car became the king of the superspeedways at Daytona and Talledega. Ford put up a good fight with its 429 Torino Talledegas and Mercury Cyclone spoilers, but Dodge ruled the roost.

We are very fortunate to have Steve here on Jalopnik. Normally, we get his sage legal advice regarding cars, but I want to shout from the housetops that Steve is a also a gearhead and an amazing writer as well. I would absolutely love to meet Steve in person and shoot the breeze with him about NASCAR racing in the 1960s. See, any article that mentions racing from the 1960s gets my immediate attention. For I was a young and impressionable teenager during this time. So, you might call me vintage as well.

Steve, someday I may wander down Florida way and buy you dinner and talk about the next book you are going to write...

Chaparral2F > Chaparral2F 03/24/2015 at 14:54

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Great website about the Daytonas: http://www.allpar.com/model/superbir…

Chaparral2F > CalzoneGolem 03/24/2015 at 15:00

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These cars from the 60s were much closer to production style wise than anything we have today. The cars were instantly recognizable as cars driven on the street. This applied to the Trans Am series as well. Obviously, the cars had roll cages both for safety and greater structural integrity. The cars were lowered and smoothed out over production. But, there was sheetmetal there today, not the fiberglass funnycars that NASCAR is currently using. Can anyone really say that today's SS and Fusion even remotely resemble production cars?

SteveLehto > WaxhawBrad 03/24/2015 at 15:03

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That's not the day before. Chrysler ran tests all the time and he was involved in earlier tests. The 200 MPH run above was on a TUESDAY. He mentions taking a run on a SATURDAY. He is most likely referring to testing Chrysler did at Talladega in the lead up to the first race there.

Chrysler brought the Engineering car to Talladega for the inaugural race and several people drove it. Including Allison. Notice the number in this pic.

As for Baker, the run he did was the first recognized by NASCAR in excess of 200 MPH.

Chaparral2F > alan 03/24/2015 at 15:07

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For many years, NASCAR used sheet metal and had regulations concerning the shape of the body so that it did not veer too far away from production. In 1966, Holman-Moody designed a tubular front half of a unibody Fairlane and things started to change. Still, the bodies were sheet metal, not fiberglass and easily recognizable as production "looking". This pretty much continued through the 8os and ultimately led to cars like the Car of Tomorrow or today's current cars, which in no way resemble any production car. Heck, the Ford Fusion is front wheel drive for goodness sakes!

CalzoneGolem > Chaparral2F 03/24/2015 at 15:07

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Can anyone really say that today's SS and Fusion even remotely resemble production cars?

No one is saying that.

...not the fiberglass funnycars that NASCAR is currently using.

They still have steel skins.

Chaparral2F > CalzoneGolem 03/24/2015 at 15:10

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The bodywork is what is at issue here, not the underpinnings. Back in the day at Darlington, there was the "Darlington Stripe". Today, no driver wants to scrape the wall for a speed advantage as shards of composite material will be all over the place.

CalzoneGolem > Chaparral2F 03/24/2015 at 15:17

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Are you messing with me?

Chaparral2F > CalzoneGolem 03/24/2015 at 15:19

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No, not at all. My comments were more rhetorical and certainly not a personal attack. It is all good my friend. Cheers!

Heroesandvillains > SteveLehto 03/24/2015 at 15:35

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I wonder what it's like going 200 MPH?

Only once was I ever in a car going 100 MPH. My palms were sweating so bad it felt like a nice distraction from focusing on how I was going to remove my heart from my throat!

SteveLehto > Heroesandvillains 03/24/2015 at 15:48

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I've done 150 a couple of times - or so I've been told.

What most people do not realize is that it is not a simple straightline graph. Going 200 is not just like doing 100 but twice as fast. For the speedometer yes, but some things get wonky as the speed increases. Approaching 200, most cars will get crazy unstable because of the air hitting the front and going under the car and most tires aren't designed for those speeds.

That is where the wing and the nose cone come into play.

Heroesandvillains > SteveLehto 03/24/2015 at 16:04

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That sounds terrifying. My 01 Civic shakes like my dog does for a treat just trying to make a routine pass.

I'd imagine at 100+ (we both know my car could never get anything close to resembling 200) some lucky fool would at least find a decent set of all seasons somewhere near the gutter where my body would be laying though!

Hey Steve. Care to pull me out of the grays? It would save you from having to click on "Show Pending;" give you more time to write, make money defending people in court and standing up for the American Dream.

Do it for Michigan!

AZRCD > SteveLehto 03/24/2015 at 16:06

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Admittedly I don't follow NASCAR, but I didn't know that no one actually ran 200 mph in competition for so long.

AZRCD > alan 03/24/2015 at 16:07

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No way, fiberglass is much too "space age."

AZRCD > CalzoneGolem 03/24/2015 at 16:08

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Personally I'd tune in to see a front wheel drive V8 Camry running around, but then again, no one asked me.

SteveLehto > AZRCD 03/24/2015 at 16:35

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Well, we're talking about an average speed over a full lap, clocked and verified by NASCAR. This was around when NASCAR brought in the restrictor plates and that slowed things down. If they hadn't done that, 200s would have been recorded very quickly after this during qualifying at Talladega at the next race there.

the 1969 Dodge Charger Guy > SteveLehto 03/24/2015 at 17:27

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So you used to own a '69 Charger and now you've posted a story about a '69 Charger...

I'm shocked, shocked! at your synergism. People writing about subjects for which they're experts.... What's the world coming to?

SteveLehto > the 1969 Dodge Charger Guy 03/24/2015 at 17:30

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There's nothing more fun than writing about fun topics.

Go figure!

RustedSprinter > SteveLehto 03/24/2015 at 17:47

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Jeff Gordon?

SteveLehto > RustedSprinter 03/24/2015 at 18:03

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If Jeff Gordon was about a foot taller.

And a much, much better driver.

But, no.

AZRCD > SteveLehto 03/24/2015 at 18:09

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Or, you know, fuel injection…
(As an F1 and sports car fan I'm just busting your balls.)

Side note, enjoying the podcasts, keep them coming (I'm not fully caught up yet)! Especially the great stories about past cases and two trucks too! Actually, now that I think about it, if it's something you understand or deal with, I really love for you to do either a podcast or an article here about how the Magnusson Moss act covers (and doesn't cover,) aftermarket parts including "those" performance aftermarket parts and modifications. I'm interested because I think this is one of the most misrepresented, misinterpreted, misquoted and misunderstood "things" out there, but there is very little correct info that is easily findable when it comes to this especially in relation to performance parts. Basically I want some citation so I can piss in everyone's cornflakes : )

SteveLehto > AZRCD 03/24/2015 at 18:17

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Oh, I love carburetors. The more the merrier.

Have you read this? http://oppositelock.jalopnik.com/will-modificat…

I could do a podcast on it though. Somehow I always end up putting stuff in the podcasts that aren't in the articles and vice versa.

CalzoneGolem > AZRCD 03/24/2015 at 18:54

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That would be awesome.

jeff4066 > SteveLehto 03/24/2015 at 20:28

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I miss the days when they used real cars. I saw these run at Rockingham.

AZRCD > SteveLehto 03/25/2015 at 08:06

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AZRCD > SteveLehto 03/25/2015 at 09:58

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I'd missed that article, yes that's what I was asking for. Of course if you have more to add, do a podcast, especially if it will have humorous stories...

T1NM9N81 > SteveLehto 03/25/2015 at 16:53

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45 years later, Danica Patrick still hopes to hit the 200 mph mark, during a race.

SteveLehto > T1NM9N81 03/25/2015 at 17:39

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I assume you mean in NASCAR. I suspect she has gone well over 200 in an Indy car.

Cheyenne Bodie > SteveLehto 03/26/2015 at 02:00

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I believe restrictor plates weren't used until the 1980's, after Bill Elliot has raised the bar at Talladega to over 212mph.

SteveLehto > Cheyenne Bodie 03/26/2015 at 07:14

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"The first use came in 1970 in response to escalating speeds." - Wikipedia.

planedr > SteveLehto 05/22/2017 at 11:11

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I lived in Germany for 7 years. A couple of years ago a friend had a modified AMG E63. We hit 340 kmh (about 210mph), he let me drive and I was able to hit 310 (about 192 mph) Computer problems were activating the rev limiter about 800 rpm before red line. I was very disappointed I didn’t get to hit 200mph.

I had an old crappy E34 M5 for a while, and it was very scary at anything above 140 mph, It would shake and shimmy and feel like it was ready to self destruct at any moment, ahh good times. I also had a Chrysler 300, I’d set the cruise at 130 and just roll, that car was rock solid. The Autobahn is a wonderful thing.