Race Card #83-Godzilla Rising Out of Tokyo Bay
After announcing their return to big time stock car racing and building a new 427 to power the sleek SportsRoof, known to all good ol' boys as "fastback", it was time for some real dominance. FoMoCo was ready to forget that pesky Ray Fox Chevy that snapped at their heels all season and got in some pretty good licks before the parts supply dried up late in the season. At that time the bubbles in Daytona's Lake Mead were so small that you could hardly see them. But like in that popular Japanese lizard movie that would change.
Ford showed up at Riverside and with the help of Dan Gurney put their products in the top five spots. While the death of defending champ Joe Weatherly in that race turned out to be a grim preview of how dangerous the coming season would become there was nothing to indicate the nasty surprise waiting at Daytona for the Ford camp.
At Goodyear's test track in Texas the bubbles were beginning to get larger as reports of Mopars turning laps at a then unheard of 180 MPH started to come in. If I remember correctly, there was a white '63 Chevy there with a certain poultry company ad painted on the quarterpanels there to use as a yard stick. The new engine so impressed the driver and owner of that Chevy that they told Mercury that they had changed their mind about driving for them in '64 and got one of those funny looking engines of their own.
By the time Ford rolled into Daytona ready to repeat last years sweep those bubbles in Lake Mead were beginning to roll and boil the surface of the water. Just about the time Ford was congratulating itself for not having to worry about those Smokey Yunick Pontiacs or Ray Fox Chevys the surface broke and, like that famouis 600 foot fire breathing lizard, that big HEMI roared its battle cry and took of in hot pursuit of the cars of Jacques Passino, John Holman and Ralph Moody.
To make a long story short,yeah I know it's a little too late for that, that little '63 Chevy from the year before seemed like a splinter in Ford's finger compared to the stake the Hemi drove through their heart at Daytona. The new Hemi engined cars won everything but Miss Daytona 500. Setting the tone for Ford's nightmare was the winner of the qualifying race, a certain chicken farmer that dogged them during the '63 season. With the start of another long season for Ford to chase a "not quite stock" stock engine, there was the start of something even more long lasting.
Fireball Roberts, called stock car racing's first super star, was fatally injured during the '64 season along with defending champion Joe Weatherly leaving a void to be filled. Stepping up to the plate, much like he had to do when his dad was severly injured at Daytona in '61, was a 26 year old soft spoken NC country boy named Richard Petty.
What we didn't know then was what we were watching in that Daytona 500 victory lane wasn't a just victory celebration but a coronation and the crowning of King Richard, the winningest driver in stock car racing history. Here is my replica of his royal coach.
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After announcing their return to big time stock car racing and building a new 427 to power the sleek SportsRoof, known to all good ol' boys as "fastback", it was time for some real dominance. FoMoCo was ready to forget that pesky Ray Fox Chevy that snapped at their heels all season and got in some pretty good licks before the parts supply dried up late in the season. At that time the bubbles in Daytona's Lake Mead were so small that you could hardly see them. But like in that popular Japanese lizard movie that would change.
Ford showed up at Riverside and with the help of Dan Gurney put their products in the top five spots. While the death of defending champ Joe Weatherly in that race turned out to be a grim preview of how dangerous the coming season would become there was nothing to indicate the nasty surprise waiting at Daytona for the Ford camp.
At Goodyear's test track in Texas the bubbles were beginning to get larger as reports of Mopars turning laps at a then unheard of 180 MPH started to come in. If I remember correctly, there was a white '63 Chevy there with a certain poultry company ad painted on the quarterpanels there to use as a yard stick. The new engine so impressed the driver and owner of that Chevy that they told Mercury that they had changed their mind about driving for them in '64 and got one of those funny looking engines of their own.
By the time Ford rolled into Daytona ready to repeat last years sweep those bubbles in Lake Mead were beginning to roll and boil the surface of the water. Just about the time Ford was congratulating itself for not having to worry about those Smokey Yunick Pontiacs or Ray Fox Chevys the surface broke and, like that famouis 600 foot fire breathing lizard, that big HEMI roared its battle cry and took of in hot pursuit of the cars of Jacques Passino, John Holman and Ralph Moody.
To make a long story short,yeah I know it's a little too late for that, that little '63 Chevy from the year before seemed like a splinter in Ford's finger compared to the stake the Hemi drove through their heart at Daytona. The new Hemi engined cars won everything but Miss Daytona 500. Setting the tone for Ford's nightmare was the winner of the qualifying race, a certain chicken farmer that dogged them during the '63 season. With the start of another long season for Ford to chase a "not quite stock" stock engine, there was the start of something even more long lasting.
Fireball Roberts, called stock car racing's first super star, was fatally injured during the '64 season along with defending champion Joe Weatherly leaving a void to be filled. Stepping up to the plate, much like he had to do when his dad was severly injured at Daytona in '61, was a 26 year old soft spoken NC country boy named Richard Petty.
What we didn't know then was what we were watching in that Daytona 500 victory lane wasn't a just victory celebration but a coronation and the crowning of King Richard, the winningest driver in stock car racing history. Here is my replica of his royal coach.
