The winged warrior

This 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona has been in one family since 1970. Octane charts its history and discovers a highway hero steeped in dirt tracks and ovals

- Preston Lerner

Nature or nurture? Philosophers, behavioural scientists and bewildered parents have been arguing over that one for centuries. Sean Machado blames both for his devotion to – no, make that obsession for – the outrageous high-wing, shark-nose exemplar of American exceptionalism officially known as the 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona.

In 1969 and 1970, the Daytona and its Mopar twin, the Plymouth Superbird, leveraged the power of the Chrysler Hemi V8 and the skills of drivers such as Richard Petty and Bobby Allison to dominate NASCAR’s superspeedway races. But first, to homologate the models for stock-car racing, street versions of the winged warriors were briefly sold in Chrysler showrooms. And Machado’s father, Joe, had to have one of his own.

The thing you’ve got to understand about Joe Machado is that he was a diehard Charger guy. He’d bought a new one in 1966, then another in 1967, and a third in 1968. He passed on the ’69 version (he didn’t like the grille), but when the high-wing Charger Daytona went on sale he found one of the 500 cars slated to be built on sale locally at a dealer.

Then his wife discovered that it had been spec’d without airconditioning, so was a no-go as a family-hauler in Southern California. Joe tore up his sales contract, bought a Daytona wing from a dealer and slapped it on the rear deck of his ’68 Charger.

A year passed. Then Joe’s sister spotted another Daytona for sale at a local dealership. Turns out it had been bought new by an undercover narcotics cop who’d reluctantly traded it in for a Dodge van because it was too conspicuous to use for surveillance (though it performed admirably in car chases, except for drum brakes that faded after repeated stops from 135mph). When Joe bought the car, his son was nine months old.