After yesterday's weather in the Dallas - Fort Worth metroplex, the question asked by a Texas television station two years ago seems exceedingly relevant. As for me, having lived in Dallas for 2 1/2 years, I'll stay away from TMS during tornado season.
Jim Reep mentioned on this thread liking the gold chrome numbers which NASCAR later outlawed.
That made me think of our trip to Martinsville in April 1986 for the first outing of our Derrike Cope/Warren Razore RABANCO Racing Western Peterbilt 1986 Ford Thunderbird. The door numbers on the car (#79) were painted a silver/gray, matching some of the car's paint scheme.
Later, when we went to Riverside in June, NASCAR VP-Competition, Bill Gazaway told us we'd have to change the color of the door numbers before Sunday's race because he didn't think they'd show up. On Sunday morning crew chief Jackie Johnson re-pained the door numbers red by hand to match the red on the car's paint scheme.
Below is a picture taken at Martinsville before the race with the original silver/gray door numbers we were made to change by NASCAR and a photo taken later in the year at Riverside with the red numbers.
ABOVE - Martinsville - April 1986 - Silver/Gray Door Numbers
ABOVE - Riverside - June 1986 - Red Door Numbers
Not ugly or least tasteful, Jim, but I'd guess the 1981 Ranier Pontiac LeMans that was brought to Daytona for Bobby Allison would rank in NASCAR's top-10 as one of the cars from the 80s they'd most like to forget!
I'd have to say that my favorite 1980s Monte Carlo was the Billy Hagan / Terry Labonte 1984 Piedmont Airlines Winston Cup Championship car. It was pretty sweet revenge for Piedmont Airlines, which had just been dumped by Childress so Wrangler could return to his cars.
Well, I'd have to disagree Ms. PK!
Cody very CLEARLY prefaced his question alluding to all the new sponsors, etc.
QUOTE from Cody original post:
new sponsors entered this decade - Food, stores,restaurants, clothing, tobacco and beer. So my question to YOU is what was your favorite cup car from 1980-1989???
I took that to refer more to sponsor paint scheme than manufacturer. But, that was my interpretation.
I do remember one thing... Earnhardt loved the Monte Carlo and hated the Thunderbird. He didn't even want Bud Moore to build the new style car. Remember Elliott went to the Daytona 500 with the old shoebox T-bird. Earnhardt called the new T-bird the "Football."
One of the weirdest moments I remember at a racetrack involved Phil Barkdoll and the Helen Rae Special. On the very first lap of the second 7-Eleven Twin 125 mile qualifier for the 1986 Daytona 500, Phil got out of shape coming off turn 4. The car went airborne and he crossed the start finish line upside down about 10 feet off the ground, before hitting and sliding on up toward turn 1. I have never before or since seen a car just seem to float through the air like that.
Dick Brooks/Junie Donlavey #90 1984 Chameleon Sunglasses T-bird
Some super nice looking work.
Here's my poor ole '73 Monte Carlo leaving Wilson, NC for our honeymoon in November 1973!
I always liked Sumner McKnights Winston West paint schemes... probably because the colors reminded me of the Wrangler colors.
I later got to be good friends with his former wife, Helen in the 90s. Sumner was a duPont heir from Wilmington, Delaware who went west to race.
