This 1972 Monte Carlo Was Once Raced By A NASCAR Legend And Has Been Restored To Perfection


This 1972 Monte Carlo Was Once Raced By A NASCAR Legend And Has Been Restored To Perfection

This 1972 Chevy Monte Carlo was once the property and steed of Jack “Ironman” Ingram. Ingram was one of the sport’s best racers in the Busch Grand National division. He racked up an impressive list of stats over the course of a career that spanned decades. Ingram was the first Grand National driver to win a race with a V6, the first to earn a million dollars in the Grand National series, and when he hung it up in the early 90s he was the winningest driver in the series with 31 checkered flags to his name. This 1972 Monte Carlo was part of that winning heritage and according to the ad, it held a speed record at Charlotte and was so good that when Ingram was done it was later raced by David Pearson and Donnie Allison.

So what sets this one apart from other race cars of the era other than its cool looks? For starters it was built by Banjo Matthews who was the single most dominant NASCAR chassis builder of the 1970s and 80s. There’s an amazing stat that in a 10 year period 72% of the race winning cars in the sport were built by the Banjo Matthews shop. This is long before the days of today’s mega-teams. But back to this car.

Powered by a 364ci small block Chevy engine and hooked to a four speed, the mechanical end of the thing is brutally simple and cool. While the engine and trans may not be all that exciting to talk about, the suspension and chassis is. There is an under car shot below that really shows how cool the car is. The four shock absorbers at the rear, the truck arms, the beefy control arms out front, and just the tank like nature of the thing’s construction is ver much contrasted by today’s oddly shaped and insanely engineered cars. It is all evolution but we like this version better.

The Roadkill boys and their Nascarlo build had us smiling for days. This one has us drooling and longing to own it for the history below. We’d take it vintage racing and let that small block roar as well as letting that Banjo Matthews engineering do what it was intended to!

Scroll down to check out the photos and then hit the link at the bottom for more –

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eBay Link: 1972 Monte Carlo former NASCAR Grand National Racer 


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5 thoughts on “This 1972 Monte Carlo Was Once Raced By A NASCAR Legend And Has Been Restored To Perfection

  1. David

    This car has been on a couple different sell sites, for at least six months…including, Ebay. I talked to a guy, who has seen it in person…he said photos, DO NOT, do it justice.

  2. cercle jerkr

    It\’s funny how these old nascar cup cars resemble the drift cars that are the rage now

    Who wants to dump big $$$ into a miata, 240, 300Z, or E series BMW when these old cup cars are available everywhere and far more durable.

    An LS1 update makes these perfect for burning tires.

  3. Truckin Ted

    I too have seen this car, (and others from this particular seller), up for sale for several months. I wonder why it’s still up for sale considering the history. The front suspension, (rear steer geometry), seems to fit the time period.

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