MSCC FEBRUARY 23 STAR OF THE WEEK: #43-THE ONE AND ONLY KING RICHARD PETTY
King Richard Petty is a personal hero of mine. In fact, the King is the sole reason I’ve been a fan of NASCAR since the mid-1960s.
Petty dominated the competition when he was behind the wheel of his electric blue Plymouth.
He was competitive in the pre-Hemi engine days, but when they put an elephant under the hood of the #43 Mopar, they unleashed the full fury of this brute. Petty was an unstoppable force at Daytona .
The King took no prisoners en route to 200 wins and 7 championships—nobody will ever touch this MSCC Star of the Week’s record at the Daytona 500.
Long live the King.
MSCC FEBRUARY 22 STAR OF THE DAY: 1960 IMPALA 4-DOOR HARDTOP-THE ROAD LESS TAKEN
Impalas are associated with two body styles…2-door hardtop and convertible.
They made sedan and wagon versions of the Impala but most people associate the name with 2, not 4 doors.
Maybe it’s the implied statement that more doors equals less cool, but you 4-door Impalas are a rare sight at most car shows.
This MSCC Star of the Day 1960 Impala 4-door hardtop was an even rarer sight at a show back in July 7, 2011 but it flew in the face of the more doors = less cool equation.
FEBRUARY 21 MSCC STAR OF THE DAY: AN OLD MERC TRUCK ON A GREAT DAY IN EARLY JUNE
The car show circuit has a huge advantage over just about every other circuit in the world and it distills down to two words, “old iron”.
You get to see classic rides in classic settings like this back in June 2013.
This MSCC Star of the Day Mercury truck was in the parking lot at the car show, but it could easily have been a highlight entry inside the fence.
Inside the fence or outside, this vintage Canadian truck was a welcome sight on a picture perfect June day.
FEBRUARY 20 MSCC STAR OF THE DAY: 1962 JAGUAR MARK 2 – THIS CAT WAS DEFINITELY COOL
Jaguar Mark 2 sedans from the sixties were a little out of step with their American cousins.
They stuck with the same basic look from 1959 to ’67 while Detroit changed the molds every year on their assembly lines.
Clearly, Jaguar was in no mood to tinker with a good thing so they kept the classically British style alive and well during the peak of the 1960s.
This MSCC Star of the Day 1962 Jaguar Mk 2 was a car show back in September 2010 and it was outstandingly cool in a sea of cool.
FEBRUARY 19 MSCC STAR OF THE DAY: ’55 CHEVY-WHEN IN DOUBT GO TO THE DEFAULT POSITION
The ’55 Chevy 2-door post has a Hollywood portfolio that would shame most human actors.
The reason is pretty simple-these cars have more inherent cool in their DNA than James Dean and Steve McQueen combined.
That’s why Hollywood picked a ’55 Chevy post for Two Lane Blacktop and American Graffiti.
This MSCC Star of the Day ’55 Chevy was in a parking lot back in September 2012.
Hollywood cool at its finest.
FEBRUARY 18 MSCC STAR OF THE DAY: TWO HORSEPOWER AND 30 MILES PER HAY BALE
Every car guy talks about horsepower and in most cases, the number is hard to prove unless you’re standing next to a dyno.
That’s why most guys tend to shy away from a dyno because like other things in life, the number is often a little on the high side.
There’s no horsepower issue with today’s MSCC Star of the Day because it’s pretty obvious this is a two-horsepower ride.
No dyno required.
FEBRUARY 17 MSCC STAR OF THE DAY: ’71 HEMI CUDA-WHEN A CAR IS FAMOUS ENOUGH TO CLONE
The real measurement for fame in the old car hobby is the clone factor. One of the most copied cars in the world is the original Cobra.
There are more Cobras in the world today than AC Bristol or Carroll Shelby could build in 2000 lifetimes because they were copied mercilessly in plastic and metal forms.
Those versions are usually called replicas but “clones” or “tributes” are a different game.
Clones come from lesser factory versions of an iconic car like this MSCC Star of the Day at a 2013 show.
They’ll take a low end Barracuda and build a factory correct Hemi Cuda.
Cars like this exist for one reason…the world needs more ’71 Hemi Cudas.
For past Stars of the Day please follow this link.
Star of the Day page sponsored by Southside Dodge.
