Fred Lorenzen
drove the No. 26 Ford for Junior Johnson at the Dixie 400 at Atlanta
International Raceway (now Atlanta Motor Speedway) on Aug. 7, 1966. On the
heels of Ford Motor Company boycotting NASCAR, Johnson built this specially
designed Ford and signed Lorenzen as the driver in an attempt to lure Ford back
into the sport. The car was painted yellow and had a dropped nose, chopped roof
and raised rear quarter panels resembling a banana. Lorenzen qualified third
and was leading midway through the race when a front hub broke sending the car
into the wall and out of the race. When Lorenzen crashed, a journalist said,
“It’s pretty hard to drive a banana at 145 miles per hour.” The nickname stuck,
and the car has been known as the “Banana Car” ever since. This Ford ranks as
one of the most controversial stock cars in NASCAR history. Its radical body
design was used in only one race, but it brought attention to the need for body
templates, which have been used in the NASCAR inspection process ever
since.
Glory Road,
which features 18 historic stock cars encircling the Great Hall, has served as
one of the Hall’s most prominent focal points since opening. Speedways from
across the country are illustrated here as well, where guests can touch the
texture of various tracks and feel the intense banking that drivers face
week-to-week. Glory Road 2.0 will see 18 new cars that reflect the six
generations of premier series race cars that have been driven and built by some
of the sport’s most celebrated drivers, owners and mechanics. Already
announced as part of the exhibit are Buck Baker's "Black Widow" 1957
Chevrolet, Jeff Gordon's 1994 Chevrolet Lumina, Tony Stewart's 2011 Chevrolet
Impala, Ned Jarrett's 1966 Ford Fairlane, Jimmie Johnson's 2006 Chevrolet Monte
Carlo SS, Bobby Allison's 1973 Chevrolet Chevelle and Rusty Wallace's 2000 Ford
Taurus.
I wish folks would use pictures of the actual car, instead of this picture of a model.
ReplyDeleteThe car in the HoF is a replca.
ReplyDelete