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Money No Object: Richard Petty’s 1978 Dodge Magnum Race Car Is Up For Grabs!


Money No Object: Richard Petty’s 1978 Dodge Magnum Race Car Is Up For Grabs!

Replacing Richard Petty’s 1974 Dodge Charger was always going to be a monumental tasking. At the end of the 1977 season, the Charger had proven to be highly successful and the pressure was on Chrysler Corporation to produce another winner, since the four-year-old B-body was no longer eligible for racing. Look at what was in the stable at Dodge in 1977, and see if you can spot a winner. There were two options: the Cordoba-like 1977 Dodge Charger SE, and the other B-body shape, the car that had just been re-minted as the Dodge Monaco. Mechanically, both were identical to each other and more importantly, to the 1974 Charger for the hard parts. The problem was aerodynamics. Both cars had the frontal area of a barn door and a square shape that didn’t make for a great high-speed machine. Hurriedly, Dodge went to work on smoothing out the Charger and for 1978, produced the Magnum, complete with covered headlights and a sloped nose area that worked to make the big car at least marginally better at cutting through the air.

Originally, when Petty first debuted the Magnum, things looked promising. The big sled would do 190 miles an hour in testing and at the 1978 Daytona 125, Petty scored a second place. Petty was even leading laps at the ’78 Daytona 500 before a tire failure screwed up the day. But two issues were causing Petty Enterprises major headaches. One was that the Magnum was just not up to par. No matter how much Petty and crew tried, the Magnum wasn’t playing along. In his first winless season since 1960, Petty would often find himself lapped or well off of the pace. When he finally got out of the car at the Magnum’s last run at the Talladega 500, Petty made his opinion on the matter clear: “”I’m glad it’s over. We’ll clean ’em up and put ’em in the corner of our shops. We’ll go with the Chevrolet for the next race.”

The other side of the coin was that Chrysler Corporation had bigger issues than one NASCAR team’s woes. In quick terms, it was a full-on dumpster fire in Auburn Hills and the fire extinguishers had been filled with JP-8. Chrysler was in no position to assist any teams past some body parts and the occasional engine component here and there, let alone design a competitive race-ready car that wasn’t a 3,900 pound battle cruiser. Unfortunately, NASCAR was very clear that 1978 was going to be a full-size car only race after some Chrysler teams petitioned to have the Dodge Diplomat approved for use.

So the Magnum was cast aside for a Chevrolet Monte Carlo. Kyle Petty ran the Magnum for a couple of years, and after that the car was restored back to 1978 trim. Petty sold the car in 1995, and that owner loaned it out to the Charlotte Motor Speedway for display up until recently. And now it’s up for auction with no reserve at Dragone’s Lime Rock Auction. It was effectively a failure, but that’s the machine Petty drove. It was the last Mopar Petty raced in competition before jumping ship to General Motors (the “Petty Mirada” didn’t make it past testing). Auction estimates are $80,000-$90,000. We suspect the final bid will be higher.

Dragone Classic Motorcars Auction: 1978 Dodge Magnum NASCAR by Petty Enterprises


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2 thoughts on “Money No Object: Richard Petty’s 1978 Dodge Magnum Race Car Is Up For Grabs!

  1. 61Impala

    “full-on dumpster fire in Auburn Hills”

    Chrysler didn’t start moving from Highland Park to Auburn Hills for another 15 years.

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