**The Dodge Daytona: A Revolutionary Muscle Car**

The Dodge Daytona is one of the most iconic and innovative muscle cars in history, born out of a desperate attempt to reclaim the top spot in NASCAR from its arch-rivals.

You gotta be a real connoisseur of winged, pointy-nosed Nascar cars to know that the story of the Daytona begins with Chrysler's unwavering commitment to winning. They wanted it so bad that they made 3,000 cars that will only be sold to two guys - Joe Dirt and Matthew McConaughey in Dazed and Confused. Actually, if you think about it, I'm sort of a mix between Joe Dirt and Matthew McConaughey from Dazed and Confused, dads?

The Daytona's creation was led by John Pointer, a rocketscientist with a knack for understanding the principles of aerodynamics. He knew that the already swirling air just above the tail would have less contrasting forces, so he put the wing up high where it could produce significantly more downforce to the rear wheels.

But it wasn't just about the science; it was also about marketing. Sunday you could watch the craziest looking race cat ever destroy the competition, then go buy the same car on Monday. That's marketing, baby! But, surprisingly, dealers had a really hard time selling the Daytona. It was weird looking, and the nose made engine overheating a real problem.

To make matters worse, Nascar rules mandated that any aero car couldn't have an engine bigger than 300 cubic inches. The rule killed the Daytona and Superbird over night. No, no, I'm good, I've only had one drink. Today, the Daytona and Superbird live on as legendary muscle cars.

Outlandish survivors from a time before stock cars became shapeless blobs with painted-on headlights. Maybe someday Nascar will put the stock back in stock car racing, but until then, I'll be fantasizing about having a Daytona of my own.

So, there it is, everything you need to know to get up to speed on the Dodge Daytona and Plymouth Superbird. We're gonna move beyond cars, we're gonna start doing track rivalries, racing series, designers, drivers, et cetera.

What do you want to see on future episodes of Up to Speed? Donut is a family, Donut is a channel, Donut wants the support of its fans on every show that we do. Please help us be a success, you guys are the best.

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OK, I love you, will you marry me?

WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: en(tires screeching)- What the heck was that?It came like that!You're eight years old,exploring Dead Man's Creekbehind Old Man Spankenburg's house.Everyone knows you don't go intothat old red barn, but somethin'catches your eye, in thecorner you notice a shapeunder a fraying canvas tarp.You pull the sheet and as the dustsettles, you discover the most beautifullyweird car you've ever friggin' seen.What is this, how did it get here?This is everything you need to knowto get up to speed on the Dodge Daytona,and the Plymouth Superbird.In 1968 Nascar was a big deal,and Dodge was gettin' their buttkicked by Ford and struggling to keep upwith their sister company, Plymouth.It was pretty embarrassing.- It's completely humiliating.- So, the order came from the very top,build a car that can winand do whatever it takes.The first try was a modified Charger.The '68 Charger is an icon, probablytop five best looking American cars ever,but it was a crummy race car.The wide ass grill trapped in a bunchof air and the flying buttresses createda vacuum that sucked the car upward,making it impossible todrive at high speeds.To fix this, Dodge fittedthe Charger with thegrill from the Coronet and made the rearwindow flush with the b-pillars.The result was the Charger 500,a much smoother car that couldactually handle at high speedBut it wasn't enough to win asFord had also been perfectingtheir own stock car, the Gran Torino,named after Clint Eastwood.When the Charger andTorino met at Daytona,Ford went home with the win.Dodge was fucking pissed.And to add insult to injury, Plymouth'sstar driver Richard Petty was tiredof driving such a crummyrace car and left for Ford,promptly winning the first race of 1969.The pressure was on Dodge to save faceand lure Petty back to the team.Dodge engineers whipped up a radicalconcept with a pointynose and a big ass wing.They sent the sketch to Dodgegeneral manager, Rob McCurry.And he said it was theugliest car he had ever seen.But, he followed it upwith, will it win races,I gotta win Nascar or I'mgonna get friggin' fired.The Charger Daytona was a go.Dodge even brought in aguy from Chrysler's missiledivision to work on the Daytona project.Wait, what, Chrysler had amissile division, what the frick?Yeah, dude, Chrysler builtballistic missiles forthe government, missilesdesigned by Nazi scientiststhat we brought overhere after World War II.It was called Operation Paperclip,it's a real thing.Happened, Google it.Back to the car, JohnPointer was a literalrocket scientist.Chrysler thought thatbuilding the Daytona wasmore than the Cold War, that's whatI call having your priorities in order.Dodge took their winged beast tothe Chelsea ProvingGrounds for some testing.But, when the drivers got to the track,the Dodge engineers gave them specificinstructions not to goover 190 miles per hour.Here's why they couldn't do that,Ford had spy planes circling the track,this is weird, right?Chrysler had a missile divisionand Ford had spy planes.What a time to be alive!Dodge driver CharlieGlotzbach drove the Daytonato 204 miles an hour, the first Nascar tobreak the 200 mile an hour mark.The team kept the top speed a secret,no one outside of Chrysler's engineeringstaff or upper management knew howfast their car really was.The Daytona made its public debuton September 14th, 1969 at theAlabama InternationalSpeedway, AKA, the house thatRicky Bobby built.- Well Jack, here's thedeal, I'm the best there is,plain and simple, I mean I wake upin the morning and I piss excellence- The Daytona took pole position with easeand claimed victory the next day.Ford and Chevy had no idea what hit them.What just hit us?Dude I have no idea what just hit us!Why have we been fighting this whole time?You're actually pretty cool.Nah, but we're rivals.And then they pretendedto hate each other.The Daytona then won seven out of the last10 races of the 1969 season.It was clear, theirhard work had paid off.The pointy nose cut through the airbetter than anything else on the track.And that insane wing gave it insane grip.And those little scoops on the fendersweren't just for looks babe.Dodge told Nascar they were forwheel clearance at high speeds.But what the vents really didwas relieve air pressure that builtup under the car, keepingit glued to the track.Oh, and about that wing,the wing was so big,because it needed to be in the clean air.John Pointer, our rocketscientist from before, remember?He knew that the already swirling air justabove the tail would haveless contrasting forces,so he put the wing up high where it couldproduce significantly moredownforce to the rear wheels.Also, for the Daytona to be legal to race,Dodge had to build 500 production modelsfor the public to buy.On Sunday you could watchthe craziest lookingrace cat ever destroy the competition,then go buy the same car on Monday.That's marketing, baby,but it really didn't work.Dealers had a really, reallyhard time selling the Daytona.It was weird looking, and the nosemade engine overheating a real problem.It got even harder thenext year when Nascar rulessaid 1,500 cars had tobe delivered to dealers.That's three times as many.The next season, Plymouth brought to lifea winged car of their own, the Superbird.(tires screeching)And even though both the'tona and the bird lookedpretty similar, there are somesubtle differences betwixt them.You gotta be a real connoisseurof winged, pointy nosedNascar cars to know.For one, Plymouth designersreally didn't likethe idea of putting a big noseon their prized Roadrunner,and only agreed to do itif they could make it look better.The nose was reshapedand the wing was placedfurther up on the trunk.These changes made the Superbird aroundthree miles per hour slower thanthe Daytona, and after two hundred laps,I gotta be honest with you, thatmakes a pretty big difference.But that didn't stop Richard Petty fromreturning to Plymouth for the 1970 season.In his signature Petty blue paint scheme.Well, well, well, wefinally have a good carand now suddenly Richie's interested?I see how it is, dick.Now, we have two racecars with giant wingsthat people would buy at the dealership.Am I the only one who sees howfucking crazy this is?Chrysler wanted to win Nascar so badthat they made 3,000 cars that will onlybe sold to two guys, Joe Dirt,and Matthew McConaugheyin Dazed and Confused.Actually, if you think about it,I'm sort of a mix between Joe Dirt andMatthew McConaughey fromDazed and Confused, Dads?They 1970 season was friggin' dominatedby Chrysler's aero car,the Daytona and Superbirdwon 33 out of 48 races that season.But, their supremacy was short lived.For the 1971 season, Nascar rules mandatedthat any aero car couldn't have an enginebigger than 300 cubic inches, the fuck?The rule killed the Daytonaand Superbird over night.Nascar officials said they were concernedwith the crazy high speedsthese cars could achieve.Oh, come on, Nascar, I thoughtthat we were here to race.That's not the real reason, how aboutyou be honest.No, no, I'm good, I've only had one drink.Today, the Daytona and Superbird liveon as legendary muscle cars.Outlandish survivors from a time beforestock cars became shapeless blobswith painted on headlights.Maybe someday Nascar will put the stockback in stock car racing, but untilthen I'll be fantasizing abouthaving a Daytona of my own.Oh, and if anyone from Nascar is watching,please add more road coursesto the calendar, thanks.So, there it is,everything you need to knowto get up to speed on theDodge Daytona and Plymouth Superbird.We're gonna move beyond cars, we're gonnastart doing track,rivalries, racing series,designers, drivers, et cetera.What do you want to see onfuture episodes of Up to Speed?Donut is a family, Donutis a channel, Donutwants the support of its fanson every show that we do.Please help us be a success,you guys are the best.As always, like,subscribe, comment, share,I love you, I'm sorry, I like you a lotand maybe someday I will love you, butlisten, I don't know whereI am right now, right nowI'm focusing on just making these videos,that's me right now, andI don't wanna hurt youbut I don't wanna lose you.OK, I love you, will you marry me?