In 1955, Ford decided to get serious about NASCAR, and set up a team under Pete DePaolo of Indy and Miller fame. The drivers were Joe Weatherly and Curtis Turner - a BAD pair to have under the same roof... The cars were painted purple, and were known as the "Purple Hogs", even sporting a mascot on the fenders. The team continued into 1956, even though official Ford backing evaporated, as they saw the AMA clampdown on promoting cars through racing on the horizon. In 1956, Turner spent most of his time running a '56 Ford in the Convertible Division, entering only 13 of the 56 NASCAR Grand National (now NEXTEL Cup) events, finishing 20th in points, and scoring one win at the Southern 500.

Ford Fairlane

Nascar 1956

Joe Weatherley

Quartzo
1006

In 1956 Joe Weatherley moved up to the NASCAR Grand National (later NEXTEL Cup) series. He drove a Ford Fairlane  for Pete DePaolo Engineering.

He died on January 19, 1964 from head injuries sustained in a racing accident at the fifth race of the 1964 season at Riverside International Raceway his head went outside the car and struck a retaining wall.

Weatherly's death would light the fire under NASCAR to mandate the window net, which was mandated in 1971. Window nets are used in most stockcar racing series to this day.

He is buried in Norfolk, and has (as a final joke) Riverside Raceway on his headstone.

---

Ford Fairlane   

Nascar 1956

Mel Larson

Quartzo

Mel Larson comes from Phoenix Arizona and competed in 47 Cup events in his career, racing part time from 1955 to 1978.  Despite not being able to place well in the points standings due to a limited schedule, he still gained two pole positions and was placed in the top ten fourteen times, with a best finish of 2nd at Pheonix in 1960.

---

Ford Fairlane

Nascar 1956  

Glen Wood

Quartzo
1008

Brothers Glen and Leonard Wood entered into NASCAR's new convertible division in 1956 - one of the first teams to join. The Wood Brothers team competed against the likes of Joe Weatherly, Fireball Roberts and Curtis Turner. In that first season, Glen posted 15 top-five finishes and ended up 10th in the final point standings.

Ford Fairlane

Nascar 1956  

Fireball Roberts

Quartzo
1004

One of the first superstars of NASCAR and considered by many to be the greatest stock car driver to never win a NASCAR Grand National (Winston Cup) Championship. He received the nickname "Fireball" as a pitcher on his high school baseball team, not as a racecar driver. His NASCAR debut came in 1950 and he won his first race that same year on August 13 in Hillsboro, North Carolina. His first full season was 1956 and he won 5 races and finished 5th or better in 16 of 33 races.

Ford Thunderbird

Nascar

Alan Kulwicki

Zerex

Quartzo 2037

For the 1987 season, Kulwicki secured primary sponsorship from Zerex Antifreeze and changed his car number to No 7. He picked up his first career pole position in the season's third race at Richmond. Later that season, he again qualified fastest at Richmond and Dover. Kulwicki came close to winning his first Winston Cup race at Pocono, finishing second after winner Dale Earnhardt passed him on the last lap. With nine Top 10 finishes, eleven DNFs, and an average finish of 18.2 in 29 events, Kulwicki finished fifteenth in the Winston Cup points for the season.

Ford Thunderbird

Nascar

Lake Speed

Spam

Quartzo 2042

Speed moved over to Harry Melling's team for the 1995 season and resurrected the organization. The normally red and white Melling car now was embazoned with Spam sponsorship and blue and yellow colors. Lake had two top ten runs, at Charlotte in the Coca Cola 600 and at Darlington in the Southern 500 to finish twenty-third in the points rundown. However, the 1995 season provided Speed with what is perhaps his most famous moment. After the Miller Genuine Draft 400, Michael Waltrip blocked Speed's car in the pits. Waltrip, angry with Speed for blocking him on the track, pulled down Speed's window net and began throwing punches at Speed, who was wearing his helmet. The incident was broadcast in front of a live television audience on the CBS network and resulted in a $10,000 fine for Waltrip, as well as much embarrassment for him.

Ford Thunderbird

Nascar

Sterling Marlin

Raybestos

Quartzo

In 1991 Sterling won an additional five poles and had six top-five finishes. Despite his career-high pole total, Marlin departed to drive the No 8 Raybestos Ford for Stavola Brothers Racing. He had just one top-five finish and fell to fourteenth in the standings.

Ford Thunderbird

Nascar

Kenny Wallace

Dirt Devil

Quartzo

 In 1992, Dirt Devil became his sponsor and he won his third Busch race of his career, but several mechanical problems forced him down to sixth in points

Ford Thunderbird

Nascar

Joe Nemechek

Burger King

Quartzo

In 1995 Joe Nemechek moved his 87 team up to the Cup series with sponsorship from Burger King, and posted a fourth-place finish at the MBNA 500 and finished 28th in points. After he dropped to 34th in points, he abandoned his Cup team and signed for SABCO Racing.

Ford Thunderbird

Nascar

Hut Stricklin

McDonald's

Quartzo

Hut Stricklin picked up a ride for 1993 with Junior Johnson, driving the No 27 McDonald's Thunderbird.

Ford Thunderbird

Nascar

Lake Speed

Quality Care

Quartzo

Lake Speed joined Bud Moore's Ford Team and his best finish at the end of the '93 season was an eleventh at Charlotte.

Speed remained with Moore for the 1994 season starting off with finishes of sixth at Atlanta, fifth at Darlington and third at Bristol, moving up to fifth place in the points. Two races later, Speed finished seventh at Talladega. It was during this time that Speed was inducted into the karting hall of fame. Speed would have to wait until the July Daytona race to get another top ten finish, a tenth. Speed and the team ran well through the summer stretch, often starting near the rear of the field but moving to the front. Unfortunately, Speed didn't manage a top ten finish until Dover where he finished ninth. In the final four races, Speed had three great runs. A fifth at Charlotte, a tenth at Rockingham and a fourth at Atlanta where he led twenty laps. It wasn't enough for Speed to finish in the top ten in points. He finished eleventh behind Bill Elliott.

Ford Thunderbird

Nascar

Jeff Burton

Raybestos

Quartzo
2038

1994 was Burton's rookie year in the Winston Cup Series, driving the No 8 Raybestos Ford for Stavola Brothers Racing.  After five races, he reached a season-high 14th place in the overall standings, but by the end of the year he dropped to 24th after being disqualified at the Miller Genuine Draft 400 for illegal holes drilled on the roll cage, a safety violation. He had a season-high fourth place finish on the way to earning 1994 NASCAR Rookie of the Year.  The next year, in 1995, Burton had one top-five and finished 32nd in points.

Ford Thunderbird

Nascar

Jeff Burton

Track Gear

RacingImage

Jeff Burton in the number 9 Roush Racing entry from the Busch Series 1997.

Ford Thunderbird

Nascar

Michael Waltrip

Citgo

RaceImage

Michael Waltrip joined Wood Brothers Racing to drive their #21 Citgo Fordin 1996. He won the 1996 edition of The Winston (NascarSprint All-Star Racr) . After posting one top-five finish over a period of three years, and missing his first race since 1986 at the 1998 Dura Lube/Kmart 500, Waltrip left the team at the end of 1998.

Ford Thunderbird

Nascar

Ted Musgrave

Family Channel

Quartzo
2028

In 1994, Ted was hired by Jack Roush to race for Roush Racing in the No 16 Family Channel Ford Thunderbird as a teammate with Mark Martin. In his first season, Musgrave had three poles, and finished fifteenth in points. In 1995, Musgrave had a breakout year of sorts, posting 7 top-five finishes (including two second-place finishes) and 13 top-tens. At one point in the season, he was third in Winston Cup points. He slumped late in the season and finished 7th, but most felt his first race win was just around the corner. 1996 turned out to be a disappointment for Musgrave. He usually ran well in most races, but could never find what he needed to get his first win. He had several top-tens early in the season, but once again slumped in the second half and wound up 17th in points.

Ford Thunderbird

Nascar

Ted Musgrave

Family Channel

RaceImage

In 1997 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Roush vowed to give Musgrave whatever he needed to win his first race. The #16 car now had dual sponsorship from Family and Primestar. Once again, he started off well, and came very close to his first win at Darlington Raceway. Musgrave was running second late in the race and clearly had a faster car than leader Dale Jarrett in the closing laps. At one point, he was side by side with Jarrett, but Jarrett held him off for the win. Critics of Musgrave would say after the race that he should have been more aggressive and bumped Jarrett out of the way to get his first win. Later in the season at Pocono Raceway, Musgrave had a strong car and was running second late in the race with a chance to win when his car went unexpectedly loose. He ended up 4th. Musgrave was in the top 10 in points for most of 1997, but a bad final race at Atlanta caused him to fall to 12th for the year.

Ford Thunderbird

Nascar

Davey Allison

Texaco

Quartzo
2004

Davey Allison finished 3rd in the inaugural race at New Hampshire International Speedway. The following day, Monday, July 12, 1993, Davey Allison boarded his newly acquired Hughes 369HS helicopter to fly to Talladega Superspeedway. He picked up a family friend, legendary racer Red Farmer, en route to the track. Allison was attempting to land the helicopter inside a fenced-in area of the track infield when the craft nosed up suddenly, then crashed. (The National Transportation Safety Board blamed the crash on Allison's inexperience in helicopters, coupled with the decision to attempt a downwind landing.) Neil Bonnett was able to free a semi-conscious Red Farmer from the wreckage, but could not reach Allison. Paramedics arrived and freed Allison, who was alive but had suffered serious head injuries. He died the next morning, July 13, 1993, at Carraway Methodist Medical Center. Thousands packed the auditorium at St. Aloysious Church in Bessemer, Alabama to pay their respects at his funeral. He is buried near his brother, Clifford in Bessemer's Highland Memorial Gardens.

Ford Thunderbird

Nascar

Geoff Bodine

Exide

Quartzo
2026 

The 1994 Nascar Winston Cup racins season was an exciting and successful one for driver/owner Geoff Bodine and his Exide Batteries Team. The team earned its first victory at Charlotte, in the all-star Winston Select.  Geoff powered his wat to 3 more victories during the season at Pocono, Michigan and North Wilkesboro. The Exide Batteries Team finished the season with eight top 5 and eleven top 10 finishes.

Ford Thunderbird

Nascar

Alan Kulwicki

Hooters

Quartzo
2013 

 After running the second and third races of the 1991 season in a plain white unsponsored car, Kulwicki was approached by Hooters for a one-race sponsorship deal for the fourth race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Hooters had been sponsoring Mark Stahl's car, but Stahl did not qualify for the race. Kulwicki had qualified on the pole position for the upcoming race. Hooters and Kulwicki signed a one-race sponsorship agreement, followed by a long-term deal after Kulwicki finished eighth in the race. Later in the season, Kulwicki won the Bristol night racefor his third career win. In 29 races, he had eleven Top 10 finishes, four poles, and finished thirteenth in the points.

Ford Thunderbird

Nascar

Bill Elliott

McDonalds

Quartzo
2040 

Bill scored just one win the 1994 season in the Southern 500 while finishing 10th in the championship standings. After his Darlington victory, Elliott announced he would be starting his own team with sponsorship from McDonald's in 1995.

After leaving Johnson's team, Elliott fielded his own Winston Cup race team from 1995 to 2000. Elliott suffered a long winless streak during this time, though he did manage two top ten finishes in the championship standings, with eighth place finishes in both 1995 and 1997. In 1996, Elliott suffered a broken leg during an accident at Talladega and missed several races that season.

Ford Thunderbird

Nascar

Todd Bodine

Factory Store

Quartzo
2033

Todd Bodines first full-time season came in 1994  when he raced for Butch Mock Motorsports. He raced the #75 Ford Thunderbird sponsored by Factory Stores. He missed one race the whole season and scored two Top 5's and 7 Top 10's on his way to a 20th place position in the point standings.

Ford Thunderbird

Nascar

John Andretti

K-Mart

Quartzo
2043

In 1995, John Andretti began driving for Michael Kranefuss in #37 K Mart/Little Caesars Ford Thunderbird. He won his first career pole at the Southern 500 and finished in the top-ten five times, and ended the season eighteenth in points.

Ford Thunderbird

Nascar

Mark Martin

Valvoline

Quartzo
2041

 In 1987 Mark Martin drove in the NASCAR Bush Series. Later that year, in Dover Delaware, Martin enjoyed his first NASCAR win, a win that caught the eye of car owner Jack Roush.  The Roush/Martin pair debuted in 1988 when Martin drove Roush's number six car in the Daytona 500 in 1988

Ford Taurus

Charlotte Speedway
Nascar 1998

Dale Jarrett

Revell
Rc439801041-1

1 of 4008

 A rare item in the UK, this was produced to publicise the new Batman film. It featured a one off Batman livery that was driven by Dale Jarrett at the Charlotte Speedway 1998.

Ford Thunderbird

Nascar

Bill Elliott

Coors Light

Quartzo

The year 1991 saw Elliott's sponsorship change to Coors Light beer and the familiar red on the car was replaced with blue. Elliott won once in the Pepsi 400 and won two poles and finished eleventh in the championship standings during his last season with Melling Racing.

Ford Thunderbird

Nascar

Rusty Wallace

Miller

Quartzo
2025

---

Ford Thunderbird

Nascar

Sterling Martin

Maxwell House

Quartzo 
2008

Marlin signed to drive the #22 Maxwell House Ford Thunderbird for Junior Johnson & Associates in 1991. He had a second-place finish at Daytona to start the season and won two poles at Talladega Superspeedway and the Firecracker 400, finishing seventh in the standings. The next season, he won an additional five poles and had six top-five finishes.

---

Ford Thunderbird  

Nascar

Morgan Shepherd

Motorcraft

Quartzo
2021

In 1990,Morgan Shepherd scored a career high season-end ranking of fifth for Bud Moore Engineering in the #15 Motorcraft Ford Thunderbird. In addition, he picked up his third career win at the season-closing Atlanta Journal 500.

---

Ford Thunderbird

Nascar

Brett Bodine

Lowes's

Quartzo
2064

For 1995 Brett Bodine signed with Junior Johnson piloting the Lowe's Ford Thunderbird. He posted two top ten finishes and finished twentieth in points.

 
Ford Thunderbird

Nascar

Greg Sacks

U.S. Air

Quartzo
2032

 1994 marked just the second time in Greg Sacks Cup career that he completed the full schedule, piloting the #77 USAir Ford owned by D.K. Ulrich.

Ford Thunderbird

Nascar

Rick Mast

Skoal

Quartzo
2017B

In1994 Precision Products Racing PPR switched to Ford and Rick  Mast had a career best year, with ten top-ten finishes, finishing a career-best second at Rockingham Speedway (barely losing to and running almost side-by-side with Dale Earnhardt at the end), as well as winning the pole at the inaugural Brickyard 400.

 Back to top