1969 Dodge Charger Daytona on Bring a Trailer Has a Unique History
The Charger Daytona is a homologation special for stock car racing.
This example was the price for setting a qualifying record at Alabama International Motor Speedway in 1969.
The original owner competed in 48 NASCAR races and was the first driver to broadcast live on air from inside the cockpit during a race.
To the casual muscle-car fan, seeing a pointy nose and a tall rear wing on a big-body Mopar heralds the arrival of a Plymouth Superbird. This winged warrior might be yellow, but it's no Big 'Bird; instead, it's the earlier Dodge version, a 1969 Charger Daytona, and it's up for auction on Bring a Trailer (which, like Car and Driver, is part of Hearst Autos). The first stock car to crack 200 mph, the Daytona was faster than Plymouth's best efforts, and this roadgoing version has a wonderful backstory.
Courtesy: Bring a Trailer
Plymouth built more than twice the number of Superbirds than Dodge built Charger Daytonas, both intended to homologate an aerodynamics package for high-speed oval racing. The Daytona was slipperier, designed in a wind tunnel with a coefficient of drag of 0.29 as compared to the 'Bird's 0.31. That might not seem like a lot, but squeaking out an extra couple of mph per lap over a 500-mile race really adds up.
This example was awarded to Don Tarr, a veteran racer who competed in dozens of NASCAR races through the late 1960s into the early 1970s. It was his prize for setting a record during qualifying at the Alabama International Motor Speedway in 1969, driving a 1967 Dodge Charger.
Courtesy: Bring a Trailer
Tarr was a pretty interesting guy. Born in California, he grew up in Africa before returning to the U.S. to train as a physician. Settling in Florida, he soon took up oval racing, driving Fords and Chevys. In 1969, he started driving a Dodge and managed a career-best sixth place at the Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte Motor Speedway in North Carolina.
Pretty good for a mid-field gentleman driver for whom racing could have been just a sideline, but Tarr was pretty committed to hurling big-bore power down those banked turns. He has the pioneering status of being the first driver to broadcast from inside a car during an actual race, as heard on ABC's Wide World of Sports in 1970, at Daytona. By all accounts he was a kind and effective physician to boot, and lived into his early nineties as a pillar of his rural community.
Courtesy: Bring a Trailer
Dr. Tarr kept this car until 2016, and you have to hope he took it for a boot around the block or two well into his eighties. The current owner lightly refreshed the car recently with some cooling work and changing out the plugs and wires, and it looks to be pretty original. It has 77K miles on the odometer, so it was actually driven rather than being cocooned, though this Charger does have the distinction of being an actual museum piece: in the mid-1990s, it was on display at the International Motorsports Hall of Fame at Talladega.
Under that big yellow hood is a 440-cubic-inch V-8 with a four-barrel carburetor, good for a factory rating of 375 horsepower in 1969. A three-speed TorqueFlite automatic gets power to the ground with a limited-slip differential out back.
Courtesy: Bring a Trailer
Just over 500 Charger Daytonas were built, making them very collectible these days. This one has great provenance, being owned by the kind of driver who knew how to handle a big beast like this at high speed.
The auction ends on June 25.
Brendan McAleer
Contributing Editor
Brendan McAleer is a freelance writer and photographer based in North Vancouver, B.C., Canada. He grew up splitting his knuckles on British automobiles, came of age in the golden era of Japanese sport-compact performance, and began writing about cars and people in 2008. His particular interest is the intersection between humanity and machinery, whether it is the racing career of Walter Cronkite or Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki's half-century obsession with the Citroën 2CV. He has taught both of his young daughters how to shift a manual transmission and is grateful for the excuse they provide to be perpetually buying Hot Wheels. Read full bio
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
11 minutes ago
- Yahoo
2 People Killed In 'Horrific' U.S. Highway Crash Sunday
2 People Killed In 'Horrific' U.S. Highway Crash Sunday originally appeared on The Spun. At least two people are dead and more are injured in a "horrific" U.S. highway crash on Sunday morning. There was a major crash on Interstate 55 in Illinois on Sunday morning. The crash happened just before 4 a.m. on I-55 in DuPage County. It was a multi-vehicle crash that took multiple lives and injured others. At least three cars were involved in the crash, according to reports. Two people were confirmed dead, while others were taken to the hospital. The identities of the victims have not yet been released. All lanes were shut down for a period of time. From the report: Illinois State Police said troopers responded to a three-car crash, where two people were confirmed dead at the scene. Their identities were not released. A third person was taken to an area hospital with unknown injuries. All I-55 northbound lanes are closed with traffic diverted off at I-355. The ramps from I-355 to I-55 northbound are also closed. No further information was immediately available. Our thoughts are with the friends and family members of the victims. May they rest in peace. 2 People Killed In 'Horrific' U.S. Highway Crash Sunday first appeared on The Spun on Jun 22, 2025 This story was originally reported by The Spun on Jun 22, 2025, where it first appeared.
Associated Press
12 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Mets send slumping catcher Francisco Alvarez to minors
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Scuffling catcher Francisco Alvarez was demoted to the minors by the New York Mets on Sunday. The team optioned Alvarez to Triple-A Syracuse and recalled Hayden Senger from its top farm club before Sunday night's series finale against the Philadelphia Phillies. Senger will back up Luis Torrens, who replaces Alvarez as New York's primary catcher. The move comes after Alvarez went 2 for 5 with a 452-foot home run late in Saturday night's 11-4 victory over Philadelphia, which snapped a seven-game losing streak for the Mets. But he is batting only .236 with three homers, three doubles, 11 RBIs and a .652 OPS in 35 games this year. Alvarez was activated April 25 after beginning the season on the injured list with a hamate fracture in his left hand, and he missed two games this month while on the paternity list. The 23-year-old Alvarez, once rated baseball's best minor league prospect, had 25 homers and 63 RBIs with a .721 OPS as a rookie in 2023. Senger, 28, made his major league debut for the Mets this season and was batting .179 (5 for 28) in 13 big league games. New York began the day tied with Philadelphia atop the NL East. ___ AP MLB:
CBS News
16 minutes ago
- CBS News
Detroit Tigers end 3-game slide with 9-3 win over Tampa Bay Rays
Man arrested after two Southgate police officers shot; heat wave in the forecast; other top stories Man arrested after two Southgate police officers shot; heat wave in the forecast; other top stories Man arrested after two Southgate police officers shot; heat wave in the forecast; other top stories Riley Greene had three hits and Wenceel Pérez and Parker Meadows each homered and drove in three runs and Detroit snapped a three-game losing streak with a 9-3 win at Tampa Bay on Sunday at Steinbrenner Field. Pérez broke a 1-1 tie with a two-run blast in the seventh inning off Garrett Cleavinger (0-3). Dillon Dingler added two hits and an RBI for Detroit, which maintained the best record in the majors (49-30). All three of Greene's hits, including doubles in the second and ninth, led off run-scoring innings. In left field, meanwhile, he made sliding catches to rob Jake Mangum and Junior Caminero of extra bases. And with two outs in the third, he retired Brandon Lowe on an acrobatic catch in foul territory, nearly flipping into the Tigers' bullpen. Yandy Díaz (13 games) and Lowe (11 games) each extended hitting streaks with infield singles for Tampa Bay. Caminero hit his team-leading 19th homer and reached the 50-RBI mark on the year. Tigers starter Casey Mize left a 1-1 game in the sixth after a visit from athletic trainer Kelly Rhoades, leaving with an undisclosed injury. He allowed one run and six hits in five innings, with no walks and five strikeouts. Two Detroit starting pitchers already are on the injured list, right-handers Jackson Jobe (right elbow surgery) and Reese Olson (right ring finger inflammation). Tyler Holton (3-3) picked up the win in relief. Key moment Heavy ninth-inning rain jump-started the Tigers' offense. Through the storm, Detroit hit for the cycle in the six-run inning, breaking open a 3-1 game with six consecutive hits. Greene and Spencer Torkelson led off with doubles, Javier Báez tripled and Meadows blasted a three-run homer. Following the barrage, play resumed after an 18-minute delay. Key statistic Greene batted .600 (6 for 10) in the series with five runs, two doubles, two homers and four RBI. Up next Detroit opens a home series Tuesday against the Athletics, with LHP Tarik Subal (8-2, 2.06 ERA) facing RHP Luis Severino (2-7, 4.42). Rays RHP Taj Bradley (4-5, 4.95) starts Tuesday at Kansas City against LHP Kris Bubic (6-2, 4.12).
