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With the start of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season, competitors racing with the Chevrolet bow tie will be running an unmarked vehicle. Of course, fans of the sport will instantly recognize the car as the sixth generation Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 that has raced since 2018 and since 2022 in the form of the Gen 7 stock car, there is no mention of the Camaro name on the vehicle for 2025. The discontinuation of the production Chevrolet Camaro following the 2024 model year prompted the adjustment to how the brand’s vehicles would be represented in racing.
Running what is essentially an obsolete car for the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season, the Chevrolet contingent are not the first teams to compete with cars no longer running off assembly lines. From the foundation of NASCAR in 1948 to the 1970s, Cup races would commonly feature cars across several model years but a Grand National Series (later Cup Series) rule required that cars be based on late model production vehicles. Early on, cars as old as five model years were eligible for competition with NASCAR’s top tour but technological advancement in automobiles and increased support from manufacturers would result in competitors rarely running cars more than a year or two old by the late 1950s.
The dawn of the NASCAR Cup Series’ modern era in 1972 saw a tighter adhesion to late model cars. However, there were occasions during the modern era when older, out-of-production vehicles were fielded by teams for various reasons. The following notable examples of stock cars not only ran beyond their production counterpart but actually served as a memorable swan sing to vehicles.
Dodge Charger (1975-1977)
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Entering the 1970s, Chrysler Corporation’s Dodge and Plymouth brand enjoyed having some of the fastest, flashiest products for stock car racing with drivers such as Bobby Issac, Pete Hamilton, and Richard Petty establishing legendary feats. Following the success of the winged Dodge Charger Daytona and Plymouth Superbird through 1970, NASCAR placed restrictions on those vehicles. The Dodge Charger and Plymouth Road Runner were accepted by Mopar competitors in 1971 becoming a steady performer with Petty winning the Daytona 500 as well as the series championship. While Plymouth’s appearance in the sport disappeared through the early 1970s, Dodge remained proving to be heavily adept on a variety of race courses and continued to excel when NASCAR introduced rules for smaller engines during the 1973 season.
Following a successful run for the 1974 season, the existing Dodge Charger was redesigned for 1975. However, Dodge’s NASCAR teams would not run the new 1975 Charger being unimpressed with the boxier shape of the new production car. By the 1970s, NASCAR had allowed car eligibility for up to three years allowing the 1974 Dodge Charger body to compete through the 1977 Cup season. This was the plan by Petty Enterprises and other Mopar teams remaining competitive throughout that time.
The body style won in its final race of eligibility when Neil Bonnett drove a Jim Stacy Racing-owned Dodge to victory at Ontario Motor Speedway. For 1978, Dodge teams were required to adopt the newer coupe now called the Magnum. While the Dodge Magnum was meant as a more aerodynamic styling improvement to the 1975 Charger, the car was a failure in NASCAR Cup Series racing. Bonnett’s 1977 victory was Dodge’s last NASCAR Cup Series triumph until 2001 when Sterling Marlin brought the brand back to winner’s circle at Michigan International Speedway.
Richard Petty won four series champions between 1971 and 1975 with the Plymouth Road Runner/Dodge Charger effectively making the car the NASCAR legend’s most successful race car.
Oldsmobile Cutlass 442(1978-1980)
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In addition to Chrysler teams losing access to the 1974 Dodge Charger body, NASCAR threw a figurative wrench into the efforts of General Motors teams during the Cup Series Season. From 1974 to 1977, the Chevrolet Laguna S-3 asserted itself as a highly effective Despite the Laguna S-3 body having concluded production in 1976, NASCAR decided not to extend Chevrolet teams the same three-year eligibility that the Dodge teams were afforded. After 1977, NASCAR outlawed the Laguna S-3 body ruling it to be an unfair advantage on track.
For 1978, NASCAR teams running General Motors products were granted the choice of several cars using the Chevrolet Monte Carlo, Buick Century and the Oldsmobile Cutlass. However, while the Monte Carlo and Cutlass proved popular, both cars used for NASCAR Cup racing were based on previous generation models that concluded production in 1977. The showroom examples of both vehicles underwent a redesign in 1978 that involved a downsized overall appearance in reaction to new consumer attitudes preferring small cars with the 1973 oil crisis still on the mind of buyers. NASCAR would adopt their own downsized platform for Cup Series stock cars for the 1981 season but allowed teams to run the older cars during until that time.
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The Oldsmobile Cutlass, specifically the 442 body style version of the car, proved widely popular for teams running on faster speedways. Its angled front grille and sleek rear roof/window gave the vehicle a slippery, aerodynamic profile. In the 1979 Daytona 500, 22 of the 41-car field ran an Oldsmobile Cutlass 442 body while 22 Oldsmobiles were also found in the 42-car starting lineup of the 1980 race. Richard Petty and Buddy Baker won the Daytona 500 with Oldsmobile Cutlass 442 bodies in 1979 and 1980 respectively. Petty’s win occurred in a storied 1979 Daytona 500 where Cale Yarborough and Donnie Allison (both driving Oldsmobile 442s) wrecked on the last lap while battling for the victory. Buddy Baker’s 1980 race victory came in what has been called the fastest Daytona 500 in history recording a race average speed of 177.602 miles per hour (285.823 kilometers per hour) that holds up heading into the 2025 race.
From 1977 to 1980, some teams that ran Oldsmobiles would also split duties with other eligible GM products. Cale Yarborough won his third consecutive NASCAR Cup Series championship running Junior Johnson-owned Oldsmobiles but 1979 champion Richard Petty as well as 1980 title winner Dale Earnhardt ran the more rugged-looking Chevrolet Monte Carlos for most events.
Introduction of the new downsized NASCAR Cup cars in 1981 led to the retirement of the Oldsmobile 442 body style.
Chevrolet Monte Carlo Aerocoupe (1988-1989)
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From the mid 1970s to the mid 1980s, General Motors brands had a strong hold on the NASCAR Cup Series. At the time, Chevrolet, Pontiac, Oldsmobile and Buick had both strength in numbers as well as overall performance. The 1985 Cup Series season was a major turning point largely due to the breakout success of the #9 Melling Racing Ford Thunderbird driven by Dawsonville, Georgia’s Bill Elliott. Fords won 14 of 28 events in the 1985 season mounting the largest threat the GM brigade had encountered in years. While Darrell Waltrip claimed the championship with a Chevrolet Monte Carlo, the bow tie brand realized the need to counter their rivals with the blue oval.
For 1986, a new Chevrolet Monte Carlo arrived at Daytona with a revised appearance distinguished by a fastback-style transparent rear window. The Chevrolet Monte Carlo Aerocoupe was an obvious effort to present a more aerodynamic shape designed to be used in full advantage on larger length tracks such as Daytona International Speedway, Talladega Superspeedway and Charlotte Motor Speedway. Geoff Bodine piloting a #5 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports showed effectiveness with design by achieving victory in the Daytona 500. Dale Earnhardt claimed the 1986 championship driving the #3 Wrangler-sponsored Monte Carlo Aerocoupe for Richard Childress Racing. Earnhardt defended the championship in 1987 winning 11 races including The Winston all-star race involving what is described as “The Pass in the Grass” move. The Pontiac Grand Prix (a sister model to Chevrolet’s Monte Carlo), would receive their own Aerocoupe design called the Grand Prix 2+2.
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A specialized design based on the Monte Carlo SS, Chevrolet produced a small number of Monte Carlo Aerocoupe models for production. Just 200 examples of the Aerocoupe variant were manufactured for customers in 1986 meant to ensure eligibility with NASCAR in a scenario mirroring the Dodge Charger Daytona, Plymouth Superbird and Ford Torino Talladega during the “aero wars’ of 1969 and 1970. A larger production count of 6,052 Monte Carlo Aerocoupes appeared for the 1987 model year.
Though the Aerocoupe model was dropped from the Monte Carlo lineup after the 1987 model year, the car continued to be used in the full 1988 NASCAR Cup Series claiming nine race wins between Dale Earnhardt, Darrell Waltrip, Geoff Bodine, Terry Labonte and Ken Schrader. The Chevrolet Monte Carlo Aerocoupe body style started the 1989 Cup Series season with Darrell Waltrip pulling off an iconic Daytona 500 win with the car. The car would only be Chevrolet’s NASCAR image for part of the 1989 season with Waltrip winning the final race for the model at Martinsville Speedway. Replacing the Monte Carlo in showrooms, the Chevrolet Lumina would also become the car the brand adopted starting with the Winston 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.
Ford Thunderbird (1998-1999)
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| Photo Credit: NASCAR Media |
A staple for upscale personal motoring for decades, the Ford Thunderbird had also been the weapon of choice for the blue oval in NASCAR competition from the late 1970s through the 1990s. Bill Elliott, Davey Allison, Alan Kulwicki and Mark Martin are some significant names in the NASCAR Cup Series who achieved major accomplishments on track with a Thunderbird. After 42 years of production, Ford Motor Company discontinued to Thunderbird in 1997. While the idea of a Lincoln Mark VIII body running in NASCAR was toyed with, Ford Motor Company ultimately decided to adapt their four-door Taurus as the image of stock car competition starting with the 1998 season.
While the notion of a four-door sedan being portrayed as a stock car was uneasy for some for the time, Ford’s Taurus had not immediately won over their NASCAR teams. Following a 1995 redesign of the prominent family sedan, the Ford Taurus featured a style heavily emphasizing curves and oval shapes. This shape proved tricky for some Ford teams to adapt with major concerns surrounding how it would perform in restrictor plate races at Daytona and Talladega. Some NASCAR rumblings to the media heard the car being coined “Tortoise” rather than Taurus. Uncertainty for Ford’s new NASCAR stock car for 1998 caused some teams to revert back to the obsolete Thunderbird.
For the 1998 Daytona Speedweeks, six Ford teams showed up with the Thunderbird body. Although a few Thunderbird runners were low-funded efforts, some major Ford teams also chose the retired coupe. Roush Racing’s #97 John Deere-sponsored car of Chad Little as well as Jasper Racing’s #77 wheeled by Robert Pressley chose the Thunderbird instead of the Taurus. While several Thunderbird competitors were eliminated for the big race after the 125 Twin qualifying races, three made it into the Daytona 500 including the #97 car, #77 car as well as the #47 machine piloted by rookie Billy Standridge. In the race, Chad Little brought his Ford Thunderbird across the line for a seventh place finish. Little’s #97 team would continue to use the Thunderbird body to compete at Daytona and Talladega while upgrading to a Taurus for the rest of the season. For the fall Talladega race (the Winston 500), the #23 car for Travis Carter Enterprises with driver Jimmy Spencer competed with a Thunderbird and finished in fourth place.
Aside from restrictor plate racing, a Ford Thunderbird body would be seen at NASCAR’s visit to Japan for the Thunder Special on the Twin Ring Motegi oval #67 car piloted by Scott Gaylord finishing 13th . Randy Nelson and Keiichi Tsuchiya also drove Thunderbirds during the Japanese event but retired early in the 201-lap event.
The Ford brigade were more united during the 1999 Cup Series season to the Taurus. Billy Standridge would again drive a Thunderbird in his qualifying attempt for the 1999 Daytona 500 but fell short on speed as well as in his 125-mile qualifying race.
A refreshed design for the Ford Taurus in 2000 was much better received by the so-called Tortoise’s introduction.
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