This 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona Was First to Hit 200 MPH on a Closed Circuit

You’re looking at something known in Chrysler’s test documentation as the Blue Car—a Charger Daytona from 1969, one with a story so twisted yet so extraordinary it deserves to be told time and again.

Why test documentation? Because, initially, this vehicle was designed as a development car. It eventually ended up being driven by the company’s Buddy Baker to a top speed of 200.447 mph (322.588 kph). It happened in 1970 at what is now known as the Talladega Superspeedway, and it was for the first time in history a car did that on a closed course circuit.

The racer, running with no. 88 on its sides in the NASCAR Stock Car series, was an impressive machine even before that. The year it was made, it gained Charlie Glotzbach a pole position with a record speed of 199.446 mph (320.977 kph).

The Daytona would go on to race for a few more years in the hands of the biggest names of the time, including Bobby Allison, Dan Gurney, or Bobby Isaac. The car retired from racing in the mid-1970s, and it disappeared from view. It was recovered in 1998, and a long restoration process began.

Now, the machine comes into the world with the matching numbers 426ci (7.0-liter) HEMI engine rated at 575 hp and linked to a 4-speed manual transmission. All the “period-correct body parts, paint, racing wheels“ are there, and so is a Letter of Authenticity verifying its provenance.

We found this record-breaking 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona on the lot of cars that will go under the Mecum hammer in Indianapolis in May. No estimate as to how much it is expected to fetch was made, but we’re pretty sure we’ll talk about a record of some sort soon enough.