Aero Wars Summary
Who Won by John Craft
Later this year, in September, many of us will gather for the Annual Aero Car Reunion. This year, we will host the event in Murfreesboro, TN. When the MOPAR and Blue Oval fans gather, eventually someone will proclaim that their brand started the Aero Wars or Won the Aero Wars. We will always debate the actual truth without an obvious answer. There are far too many variables to consider.
John Craft provided the following information by way of a Facebook post. John is arguably one of the top historians on the subject.
Both sides take strong positions based on brand loyalty. The casual observer often muddies the waters with hyperbole about “winged car domination”. NASCAR at the time, as today, consisted of short tracks and intermediate tracks where the cars’ aero had limited impact. Keep in mind that the Aero Wars were contested on super speedways (by definition, tracks of one mile or more in length). That’s where the headlines were garnered that would sell cars the following Monday. Short track wins at Maryville and Islip just didn’t cut the mustard in that regard. Some calculate the Aero Wars as having been contested 1968 through the end of the factory period in 1971 (Fomoco got out of NASCAR in 1970 and Mopar in 1971) while others want to limit the discussion to 1969 and 1970.
Here are the results for every super speedway race contested from 1968 through 1971. We report; you decide.
GRAND NATIONAL AERO WIN TALLY 1968-1971
1. 02/25/68 Daytona 500 (Daytona) Cale Yarborough, 1968 Mercury Cyclone(*Twins rained out)
2. 03/31/68 Atlanta 500 (Atlanta) Cale Yarborough, 1968 Mercury Cyclone
3. 05/11/68 Rebel 400 (Darlington) David Pearson, 1968 Ford Torino
4. 05/26/68 World 600 (Charlotte) Buddy Baker, 1968 Dodge Charger
5. 06/16/68 Carolina 500 (Rockingham) Donnie Allison, 1968 Ford Torino
6. 07/04/68 Firecracker 400 (Daytona) Cale Yarborough, 1968 Mercury Cyclone
7. 07/14/68 Northern 300 (Trenton) Lee Roy Yarbrough, 1968 Mercury Cyclone
8. 08/04/68 Dixie 500 (Atlanta) Lee Roy Yarbrough, 1968 Mercury Cyclone
9. 08/02/68 Southern 500 (Darlington) Cale Yarborough, 1968 Mercury Cyclone
10. 10/20/68 National 500 (Charlotte) Charlie Glotzbach, 1968 Dodge Charger
11. 10/27/68 American 500 (Rockingham) Richard Petty, 1968 Plymouth Road Runner
12. 02/20/69 Daytona Twin#1 (Daytona) David Pearson, 1969 Ford Torino Talladega(nee Cobra)
13. 02/20/69 Daytona Twin#2 (Daytona) Bobby Isaac, 1968 Dodge Charger 500
14. 02/23/69 Daytona 500 (Daytona) Lee Roy Yarbrough, 1969 Ford Torino Talladega(nee Cobra)
15. 03/09/69 Carolina 500 (Rockingham) David Pearson, 1969 Ford Torino Talladega (nee Cobra)
16. 03/30/69 Atlanta 500 (Atlanta) Cale Yarborough, 1969 Mercury Cyclone Spoiler II
17. 05/10/69 Rebel 400 (Darlington) Lee Roy Yarbrough, 1969 Mercury Cyclone Spoiler II
18. 05/25/69 World 600 (Charlotte) Lee Roy Yarbrough, 1969 Mercury Cyclone Spoiler II
19. 06/15/69 Motor State 500 (Michigan) Cale Yarborough, 1969 Mercury Cyclone Spoiler II
20. 07/04/69 Firecracker 400 (Daytona) Lee Roy Yarbrough, 1969 Torino Talladega
21. 07/06/69 Mason-Dixon 300 (Dover) Richard Petty, 1969 Ford Torino Talladega
22. 07/13/69 Northern 300 (Trenton) David Pearson, 1969 Ford Torino Talladega.
23. 08/10/69 Dixie 500 (Atlanta) Lee Roy Yarborough, 1969 Ford Torino Talladega
24. 08/17/69 Yankee 600 (Michigan) David Pearson, 1969 Ford Torino Talladega
25. 09/01/69 Southern 500 (Darlington) Lee Roy Yarbrough, 1969 Ford Torino Talladega
26. 09/14/69 Talladega 500 (Talladega) Richard Brickhouse, 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona
27. 10/12/69 National 500 (Charlotte) Donnie Allison, 1969 Ford Torino Talladega
28. 10/26/69 American 500 (Rockingham) Lee Roy Yarbrough, 1969 Ford Torino Talladega
29. 12/07/69 Texas 500 (Texas) Bobby Isaac, 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona
30. 02/19/70 Daytona Twin#1 (Daytona) Cale Yarborough, 1969 Mercury Cyclone Spoiler II
31. 02/19/70 Daytona Twin#2 (Daytona) Charlie Glotzbach, 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona
32. 02/22/70 Daytona 500 (Daytona) Pete Hamilton, 1970 Plymouth Superbird.
33. 03/08/70 Carolina 500 (Rockingham) Richard Petty, 1070 Plymouth Superbird
34. 03/29/70 Atlanta 500 (Atlanta) Bobby Allison, 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona
35. 04/12/70 Alabama 500 (Talladega) Pete Hamilton, 1970 Plymouth Superbird
36. 05/09/70 Rebel 400 (Darlington) David Pearson, 1969 Ford Torino Talladega
37. 05/24/70 World 600 (Charlotte) Donnie Allison, 1969 Torino Talladega
38. 06/07/70 Motor State 400 (Michigan) Cale Yarborough, 1969 Mercury Cyclone Spoiler II
39. 07/04/70 Firecracker 400 (Daytona) Donnie Allison, 1969 Ford Torino Talladega
40. 07/12/70 Schaefer 300 (Trenton) Richard Petty, 1970 Plymouth Superbird
41. 08/02/70 Dixie 500 (Atlanta) Richard Petty, 1970 Plymouth Superbird
42. 08/16/70 Yankee 400 (Michigan) Charlie Glotzbach, 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona
43. 08/23/70 Talladega 500 (Talladega) Pete Hamilton, 1970 Plymouth Superbird
44. 09/07/70 Southern 500 (Darlington) Buddy Baker, 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona
45. 09/20/70 Mason-Dixon 300 (Dover) Richard Petty, 1970 Plymouth Superbird
46. 10/11/70 National 500 (Charlotte) Lee Roy Yarborough, 1969 Mercury Cyclone Spoiler II
47. 11/15/70 American 500 (Rockingham) Cale Yarborough, 1969 Mercury Cyclone Spoiler II
48. 02/11/71 Daytona Twin#1 (Daytona) Pete Hamilton, 1971 Plymouth Road Runner
49. 02/11/71 Daytona Twin #2 (Daytona) David Pearson, 1969 Ford Torino Cobra
50. 02/14/71 Daytona 500 (Daytona) Richard Petty, 1971 Plymouth Road Runner
51. 02/28/71 Miller High Life 500 (Ontario) A.J. Foyt, 1969 Mercury Spoiler
52. 03/14/71 Carolina 500 (Rockingham) Richard Petty, 1971 Plymouth Road Runner
53. 04/04/71 Atlanta 500 (Atlanta) A.J. Foyt, 1969 Mercury Cyclone Spoiler
54. 05/02/71 Rebel 400 (Darlington) Buddy Baker, 1971 Dodge Charger
55. 05/16/71 Talladega 500 (Talladega) Donnie Allison, 1969 Ford Torino Cobra
56. 05/30/71 World 600 (Charlotte) Bobby Allison, 1969 Mercury Cyclone Spoiler
57. 06/06/71 Mason-Dixon 500 (Dover) Bobby Allison, 1969 Mercury Cyclone Spoiler
58. 06/13/71 Motor State 400 (Michigan) Bobby Allison, 1969 Mercury Cyclone Spoiler
59. 07/04/71 Firecracker 400 (Daytona) Bobby Isaac, 1971 Dodge Charger
60. 07/18/71 Northern 300 (Trenton) Richard Petty, 1971 Plymouth Road Runner
61. 08/01/71 Dixie 500 (Atlanta) Richard Petty, 1971 Plymouth Road Runner
62. 08/15/71 Yankee 400 (Michigan) Bobby Allison, 1969 Mercury Cyclone Spoiler
63. 08/22/71 Talladega 500 (Talladega) Bobby Allison, 1969 Mercury Cyclone Spoiler
64. 09/06/71 Southern 500 (Darlington) Bobby Allison, 1969 Mercury Cyclone Spoiler
65. 10/10/71 National 500 (Charlotte) Bobby Allison, 1969 Mercury Cyclone Spoiler
66. 10/17/71 Delaware 500 (Dover) Richard Petty, 1971 Plymouth Road Runner
67. 10/24/71 American 500 (Rockingham) Richard Petty, 1971 Plymouth Road Runner
68. 12/12/71 Texas 500 (Texas) Richard Petty, 1971 Plymouth Road Runner.
