“Win on Sunday,sell on Monday,” the mantra that ostensibly explains why auto manufacturers participate in motorsports,typically works better if the vehicle in victory lane matches what you have sitting in the showroom. For NASCAR, this wasn’t much of an issue during its formative years, as the powerful, V-8-equipped coupes that thundered down the sands at Daytona (and eventually, along the same-name super speedway’s asphalt banks) were dead ringers for the hottest-selling models flying off dealer lots.
By the time 1960 rolled around, though, there was a shift in how automakers were building their line-ups. Small cars-in part due to a raft of cheap and cheerful imports-were suddenly being pushed as an crucial part of detroit’s mix for Americans seeking cheaper pricing, lower operating costs, and easier-to-park footprints versus the mile-long finned fantasies that had defined the styling excesses of the previous decade.
Canny businessperson that he was,NASCAR founder “Big” Bill france sensed an chance to further expand his empire by courting the marketing departments at Ford,chevrolet,and Chrysler,each of which had recently introduced its own compact car. The centerpiece of his approach? An all-new racing series focused on these pint-size performers.
The NASCAR Compact Series is long-forgotten, but it demonstrated how innovative the association was during that period, and how open to new ideas its management could be when chasing down the almighty racing dollar. It’s also a potential blueprint for getting a new generation of racing fans into the fold by shifting the focus away from the composite silhouettes of Camaros and Mustangs and once again shining a spotlight on smaller models that speak to a different slice of the enthusiast pie.
Cannonball compact car division Takes Shape In 1960
## Chrysler’s Ringer Joins NASCAR Stars
Smaller cars weren’t the only draw for the new series. In addition to putting the less powerful entry-level models on the big ovals and tight short tracks that were NASCAR’s backbone, they would also showcase their nimble handling by including road courses as part of the mix. The first race, which took place during daytona Speed Week just before the Daytona 500, incorporated both of these elements by breaking competition into both oval and road course heats at the speedway, with the second portion of the competition running clockwise rather than the traditional counter-clockwise setup.
Helping to keep costs down and participant interest up, NASCAR was fairly strict about how modified the compact cars could be. This was as close to “run what ya brung” racing as the organization would allow in that era, with no additional safety requirements for what were essentially factory stock racers wearing the best of what the manufacturer could provide from the order sheet.
Natura
NASCAR repeated the race the following year, this time sticking exclusively to the road course component. There were a couple of other Compact Car events during the course of 1961, but with the major automakers seemingly unwilling to invest much past the proof of concept phase, and a distinct lack of door-to-door competition on the track (as the Valiant’s dominance continued), the series quickly faded into footnote status.
Compact car racing wasn’t completely dead under the NASCAR banner, but it did find itself on hiatus until the 1970s, when a loose affiliation of drivers started up the “Baby Grand National Racing Association” using four-door, four-cylinder sedans mixed with V-6 models. This hodge-podge series eventually fell under NASCAR’s auspices, and like the Compact Car division, the races were shorter and tied to more prestigious NASCAR events being run at the same track.
The occasionally wild action attracted drivers piloting Volkswagens, Datsuns, toyotas, Mitsubishis (in the form of the Dodge colt), and even European Fords (the capri) fighting it out alongside domestic Pintos. In the 1980s, race cars included the Pontiac Sunbird, the Chevrolet Cavalier, the Buick Skylark, and the Ford EXP, and some teams even managed to win races with the Pontiac Iron Duke under the hood as the hot drivetrain setup. The following decade saw Dodge Daytonas, Oldsmobile Achievas, and Ford Mustangs and Probes fill out the field.
Eventually renamed the International Sedan series, then the goody’s Dash series after the headache-powder sponsor, its association with NASCAR ended in 2003, but it continued until 2011 under ISCARS sanctioning.
Bringing Compacts Back
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