On March 24, 1970, Buddy Baker was the first driver in a stock car to officially exceed 200 mph on a NASCAR closed course. Here’s a vintage video recap of the historic achievement.
Two key developments helped Buddy Baker and the Chrysler engineers to break the 200 mph mark one Tuesday in the spring of 1970. First was the brand new Talladega speedway just east of Birmingham, Alabama. Larger than Daytona at 2.66 miles in length, the Talladega tri-oval (originally called Alabama International Motor Speedway) boasted 33 degrees of banking in the corners, generating tons of vertical force to glue the cars to the track surface.
The second crucial piece of the puzzle was the Dodge Charger Daytona, a radical racer specially designed for the NASCAR speedways with a long, pointed beak and a giant wing that towered over the deck lid. The Chrysler Special Vehicles team, led by engineer Larry Rathgeb, knew the 200 mph mark was well within reach. The previous September, Charlie Glotzbach in another Daytona had run 199.466 mph to qualify on the pole for the inaugural 500-mile race at Talladega.
In the record run at Talladega, disguised as a transmission test to provide cover for the operation, Baker first exceeded 200 mph on lap 30 with an average speed of 200.096 mph. In a following session he managed two more 200+ mph laps, clocking 200.330 mph and the best speed of the day, 200.447 mph. Video below.
Funny you should post this. Just Sunday I was wondering what one of those Hellcat Challengers could do at Talladega. It’s probably got close to the same power as those Hemis and aero on street cars is better than it was in 1970.
Since FCA isn’t in NASCAR anymore, and race engines are restricted at Talladega, I wondered how close they could come to spanking a Cup car. I concluded that it wouldn’t be a contest. Even restricted, Cup engines perform very well and their aero is much better than a street car. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t throw an aerofoil on the back and give it a try.