Well, I’ll tell ya, talkin’ about them race cars, them NASCAR fellas, that’s somethin’ alright. You’re askin’ about a ’68 Ford Thunderbird, huh? Now, that’s a big ol’ car, a real beauty, but seein’ one of them racin’ in NASCAR? I ain’t so sure ’bout that.
Them NASCAR fellas, they like their cars fast and tough, you know? Back in the day, them drivers, they weren’t no fancy city boys. Nope, they was moonshiners, runnin’ liquor on them back roads. Fast cars, that’s how they made their livin’ before they started racin’. NASCAR, that started up ’cause these fellas wanted to see who was the fastest, that’s all there was to it. They started in 1948, or so I heard tell.
Now, this Ford Thunderbird, they made a whole bunch of ’em. From 1955 all the way to the 70s, and even later, but different lookin’, you know. They changed ’em up every few years, made ’em bigger, smaller, fancier, whatever folks wanted. That ’68, that was a big one, they sold a lot of them cars back then. But for racin’? I dunno, seems too big.
- Them Thunderbirds, they were nice cars.
- But them race cars, they need to be lighter and faster.
- Big ol’ engine is good, but the car can’t be too heavy.
I remember hearin’ somethin’ about a Number 11 car bein’ real lucky. Cale Yarborough, Ned Jarrett, Darrell Waltrip, Junior Johnson, all them big names, they drove that Number 11. Won a whole bunch of races, too. But I don’t think none of ’em drove no Thunderbird. They liked them other cars, the ones built for racin’, not the ones you’d take to church on Sunday.
Ford made different kinds of engines, too. I ain’t no mechanic, but I heard tell about a 385-series V-8, came out in ’68. Big ol’ engine, they put it in them Lincolns and such. Maybe that engine was in some race cars, but not in a Thunderbird, I don’t reckon.
NASCAR, it’s got all kinds of rules and such. It ain’t just drivin’ fast, there’s a lot to it. Like football or basketball, you gotta know the rules to understand what’s goin’ on. I don’t watch much myself, gets too loud, all them cars goin’ round and round. But some folks love it, they say it’s got a whole history and stories to tell. I guess that’s true, just like everything else.
Ford, they kept makin’ them Thunderbirds for a long time. They changed ’em up again in the 80s, made ’em all slick and aerodynamic, looked like somethin’ out of a space movie. But that ’68, that was from a different time. Big and heavy, like a tank. Good for cruisin’, not so good for racin’, I figure.
So, did any NASCAR driver use a 1968 Ford Thunderbird? From what I know, and I ain’t no expert, I’d say no. Them Thunderbirds, they were nice cars, but they weren’t race cars. Them NASCAR fellas, they drove cars built for speed, not for comfort. And a big ol’ ’68 Thunderbird, well, that just ain’t a race car, no matter how you slice it.
That’s my two cents, anyways. Them race car fellas, they know what they’re doin’, I guess. They wouldn’t be racin’ no Thunderbirds, that’s for sure. They needed somethin’ quicker, somethin’ lighter, somethin’ built to go fast and turn left all day long.
Now, if you’re lookin’ for a nice car to go to the store, or maybe take a Sunday drive, a Thunderbird, that’d be just fine. But racin’? Nah, that ain’t what it was made for. You want a fast car, you gotta look somewhere else, something them boys built special for the track, not for the road.
