HALF THE BATTLE

IN 1968, DODGE HAD A PROBLEM. The gorgeous new Charger coupe, a hit in the showrooms with American-car aesthetes and the hotfoot set alike, was getting stomped into submission on the NASCAR ovals. Out of 49 Grand National races for the year, Dodge took the checkered flag just five times. Plymouth won 16, each by Richard Petty’s capable hands, but the remaining victories were split between Ford and Mercury, whose fastback Torino and Cyclone models were something of a sensation that season. What happened? It’s not like Chrysler’s engineers forgot how to make power, or the factory-appointed teams suddenly blanked on the ins and outs of getting a NASCAR stocker across the finish line first. No, with ever-escalating power issues limited by a ruling regarding cubic inches and carburetors, aerodynamics came to the fore in a way that they had not