AMC Matador - Matador Coupe - NASCAR Racing

NASCAR Racing

Penske prepared factory-backed Matador hardtops and coupes were used in NASCAR stock car racing by Indy winner Mark Donohue and Bobby Allison, and won a number of races. The company's effort "raised eyebrows" for many NASCAR veterans because AMC was not known for cultivating a racing image. Racing pundits "initially scoffed at the notion of an AMC entry" on the circuit, but "the Matador acquired a fan following of its own."

The Matador was one of the first oval stock car to use disk brakes. After Donohue won the Western 500 with the first generation Matador hardtop with four wheel disks, other teams soon followed with the upgrade.

The new 1974 coupe replaced the previous "flying brick" two-door hardtop design. Penske was quoted as saying that they did what they could with the old hardtop, and it did better on tracks with more curves and fewer straightaways. Donohue did not survive to drive the new aerodynamically designed fastback coupe, that many believe was aimed at NASCAR racing. The five wins for the AMC Matador are:

  • Winston Western 500 - Riverside - Mark Donohue - January 21, 1973
  • Los Angeles Times 500 - Ontario - Bobby Allison - November 24, 1974
  • Winston Western 500 - Riverside - Bobby Allison - January 19, 1975
  • Rebel 500 - Darlington - Bobby Allison - April 13, 1975
  • Southern 500 - Darlington - Bobby Allison - September 1, 1975

Bobby Allison also won the non-points Daytona 125 qualifying race on 13 February 1975, and finished second in the Daytona 500 three days later.

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