NASCAR WARRIOR: The 1969 Dodge Daytona

January 4, 2022
Posted by Barrett-Jackson

Written by independent automotive journalist Tom Jensen

Lot #1351 – 1969 Dodge Daytona will be selling with No Reserve at our 2022 Scottsdale Auction.

From Woodstock to Broadway Joe Namath, the moon landing to the Amazing Mets, Vietnam to Chappaquiddick, there certainly was no shortage of history-making headlines in 1969.

In NASCAR, 1969 was a historic year as well, as it marked the beginning of the fascinating aero wars period, a two-year window in time when Chrysler Corp. and Ford Motor Co. pulled out all the stops to win aerodynamic superiority on the sport’s biggest and fastest tracks, including Talladega Superspeedway and Daytona International Speedway.

For Chrysler’s Dodge division, the ultimate NASCAR weapon of choice was called the Dodge Daytona, a Charger coupe with outrageous aero add-ons in the form of a pointy nose and a huge rear spoiler over the trunk.

Make no mistake about it, the Daytona’s aero tricks worked. These cars showed tremendous speed at NASCAR’s toughest tracks. Dodge’s best performer of 1969 was North Carolina native Bobby Isaac, who led the NASCAR Grand National Series with 17 race wins and 19 poles, the latter a record that still stands today, more than half a century later.

To satisfy NASCAR’s homologation requirements for approval to race the Dodge Daytona, the automaker had to build a minimum of 500 examples, which they did – barely.

Ultimately, 503 Dodge Daytonas were built, all in the 1969 model year, including this very special example (Lot #1351), which will sell at No Reserve at the 2022 Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale Auction, January 22-30, at WestWorld in Scottsdale.

Driven 29,000 miles since new (mileage not indicated on the title), this Daytona is a rare beast indeed. Trimmed in the highly desirable color combination of R4 Bright Red paint and white vinyl interior, this A11/A36 special model XX29 was one of 385 U.S.-market cars equipped with Dodge’s stout 440/375hp Magnum V8 mated to the famed Chrysler TorqueFlite heavy-duty 3-speed automatic transmission.

This car has its original, matching-numbers drivetrain, making it even more desirable for collectors. Also greatly increasing its desirability is its extensive option list, which features the C55 bucket seats and C21 center fold-down center seat, G11 tinted glass, G31 and G33 mirror option, and J25 three-speed windshield wipers.

From a performance standpoint, this Daytona also comes with Chrysler’s 8.75-inch high-strength rear axle with the A36 performance package that includes a 3.55:1 axle ratio, Sure-Grip differential and power steering cooler.

As with any collectible vehicle, the more documentation the better, and here this Daytona shines, with Build Sheets indicating the options it left the factory with, dealer invoice, tax forms from South Dakota and a warranty book. The documentation shows this car was originally delivered to Duke Tufty Co. in Sioux Falls, and sold new to Ronald Foy. The car also comes with a full binder of owner history and service records from new.

The right colors, the right history, the right documentation. This Dodge Daytona is a winner, just as it was back in 1969.

For up-to-date information on this vehicle, visit here.

To register to bid at the 2022 Scottsdale Auction – a celebration of 50 years of The World’s Greatest Collector Car Auctions – click HERE.