With the failure of the 1969 Dodge Charger 500 on the highbanks of the superspeedways (tracks of a mile, or more in length), the 1969
Dodge Charger Daytona was created. It was intended to be a high-performance, limited-edition version of the
Dodge Charger produced in the summer of 1969 for the sole purpose of winning high-profile
NASCAR races. It won its first race out, the inaugural
Talladega 500 in the fall, although it was a rather hollow victory as all of the top names had left the track on Saturday in a boycott of the 1969 Talladega race. Buddy Baker in the #88 Chrysler Engineering Dodge Charger Daytona was the first driver in NASCAR history to break the 200 mph mark on March 24, 1970 at Talladega. The 1969 Dodge Daytona won two races in 1969 and another four in 1970 for a total of 6. Its successor, the 1970
Plymouth Superbird, won 8 races - all in 1970. (In a bit of irony, in 1969 a Daytona won at Talladega, and a
Ford Torino Talladega won at Daytona.) These compare with 29 NASCAR victories for the 1969
Ford Torino Talladega, and 8 for the 1969
Mercury Cyclone Spoiler II. The 1969 Dodge Charger 500 managed to win 22 NASCAR races over the 1969 and 1970 seasons; however, all but one of those victories came on the short tracks - several of which were still being run on dirt at the time.
One of the four famous
aero-cars, the Dodge Daytona had featured special body modifications that included a 23-inch-tall (584 mm) stabilizer wing on the rear deck, a special sheet-metal "nose cone" that replaced the traditional upright front grille, a flush rear backlight (rear window area), a 'window cap' to cover the original Charger's recessed rear window, specific front fenders and hood that were modeled after the upcoming 1970 Charger, stainless steel A-pillar covers and fender mounted tire clearance/brake cooling scoops. The Daytona was built on the 1969 Charger's R/T trim specifications, meaning that it carried a heavy-duty suspension and brake setup and was equipped with a 440 CID Magnum engine as standard. Of special note to collectors is the optional
426 CID Hemi V8 engine, which only 70 of the 503 Daytonas carried. It had a corporate cousin in the "one year-only" 1970
Plymouth Superbird.