NASCAR Cars
Susan Nelson Hopkins
NASCAR seems determined to maintain its original roots as true stock car racing.
If that's the case, time has definitely changed the look of what all of us imagine a "stock car" is. For most of us there's stock cars and there's NASCAR cars, right?
Perhaps the only people who would call a NASCAR car a "stock car" have Lamborghinis or Porsches parked in their garage. Mixing with the "jet set" can sure mess with your perception of life.
Then there's the rest of the world... we have Fords and Chevys, even Hondas and Toyotas, parked in our garages. But we have both feet planted firmly on the ground, thank you very much!
I wonder if the major players behind the racing cars at NASCAR take exception to calling their million dollar babies "stock cars". Just take a look at some of the wheelers and dealers (couldn't resist) in NASCAR...
General Motors have had several NASCAR car entries since the 1972 Winston Cup... Chevrolet Chevelle, Oldsmobile Cutlass, Pontiac Grand Prix, Chevrolet Monte Carlo, Buick Regal, and Chevrolet Lumina. But, the Monte Carlo has been General Motor’s biggest success.
Ford (GM's closest NASCAR rival) entered NASCAR in 1960, when the cup was still called the Grand National Era. GM's first competitive racing brand was a heavily modified Ford Fairlaine muscle car. After the Fairlaine, Ford had NASCAR entries... Ford Torino, Ford Thunderbird (a heavily modified Fairlaine), Ford Taurus, and Mercury Cyclone Montego.
The Ford car entries didn’t gain as much notoriety in NASCAR, or the consumer market, as GM's Monte Carlo and Impala, or even its own non-NASCAR brand, the Ford Mustang. Now the Ford Fusion as joined their NASCAR entries.
Chrysler, entered its first NASCAR in 1955 with the 300 Letter Series. The Chrysler 300 was a remarkable engine that did especially well in NASCAR. Ironically, despite its NASCAR success, the public just didn't buy it... only 1,725 cars were sold. (Humm... I wonder what they're worth now?)
Throughout the Winston Cup, Chrysler has entered several models... Dodge Charger, Dodge Intrepid, and Plymouth Road Runner. They put up the Dodge Avenger for the Nextel Cup.
To me, "stock car" conjures up memories of tinkering with engines, oily clothes, grimy fingernails... who can get the most from their car. Maybe that's why NASCAR is hanging onto its roots.
NASCAR fans love all that noise, burning rubber, smelly exhaust... and NASCAR absolutely delivers!
Susan Nelson Hopkins
is the
webmaster for three website collections... the
Eyes-Only-Club (includes several family sites),
Susan's Gardens (a group of gardening sites), and
BirdsnBugsnBees
(a sample of planned kids sites).
Hopkins-Enterprises is another of her sites, and includes links to
family-friendly activities and topics. All websites include material either
authored by Susan or adapted by her... including the graphics. AND, the content
is always family-friendly.
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