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By the late-’70s in Winston Cup racing, the
number of brands had settled down to basically Ford, Mercury,
Chevy, Oldsmobile, and Pontiac. The MOPAR models left early in
the decade. But there was one interesting exception to that
rule that occurred in the early ’80s—the long-dormant Buick
brand.
Buick had experienced a short tenure of success in the
mid-’50s when 322cid-powered Centurys were competitive, but
then a quarter-century dry spell set in. That changed only
when General Motors came out with a super-slick Regal design
that set NASCAR on its ear starting in 1981.
Buick Body; Chevy Engine
The race cars featured Buick sheetmetal on the outside, but
there was no Buick power under the hood. That’s because GM had
decreed that all of its models running in Winston Cup would
use the same basic 358 cubic-inch, small-block Chevrolet
engine. That applied to Chevy, Pontiac, Oldsmobile, and Buick.
With the identical “corporate” engines, it was necessary to
acquire an edge in some other way, and Buick did it with
aerodynamics. The super-slick Regal body style was hands-down
superior to its GM brethren and the other brands. It looked
like a wind tunnel had played a big part in this design,
making it look like a rocket, and the car sure ran like one.
The design had a look that wouldn’t have been out of place
with the car models of the 21st century.
First, the grille was not vertical (as was the trend), a
design that allowed air to hit the old version like a barn
door. With the Regal, a double-angle slope in the grille
allowed a smooth, non-restricted airflow up and over the car.
Also, the windshield was sharply angled backward, with the
sides being completely smooth. It was though the shapely Regal
had been designed to be a race car from scratch. NASCAR
drivers loved the handling of the machine all around the
track. The front end of the model provided significant
downforce, which was a major reason for its superb cornering
capabilities.
Winners From The Start
The first Buick season came in 1981, and it was gangbusters.
Darrell Waltrip won the championship in a Buick, posting 12
wins and 21 Top-5 finishes. The second-place finisher, Bobby
Allison, also drove a Regal. But there were a lot more Buicks
in the Top 10, with Harry Gant in third, Terry Labonte in
fourth, Ricky Rudd in sixth, and Richard Petty (who drove
Buicks for this single season) in eighth place. Other drivers
wheeling Buicks that year included Tim Richmond. The coming
dominance of Buick certainly came to light when Richard Petty
took the Daytona 500 that season with a total of 14 Buicks in
the starting field.
The 1982 season was even better for Buick, with Waltrip again
taking the title, followed by Allison and Labonte in second
and third, Gant in fourth, Dave Marcis in sixth, Ron Bouchard
in eighth, and Morgan Shepherd in 10th. The domination was
again overpowering for Buick, with 25 total wins. Next in line
was Chevrolet, with just three wins. Twenty-five of the 42
cars starting the 1982 Daytona 500 were Buicks. Bobby Allison
took the win.
As other models started to catch up in 1983, the domination
fell off a bit for Buick, but it still had the champion, this
time with Bobby Allison. Waltrip had moved to a Chevrolet,
finishing second in the points. Harry Gant brought a Buick
home seventh, but that was it for the Top 15. In all, there
were only six victories, dropping Buick down to second place
behind Chevrolet’s 15 wins. The following year, there were
only two Buick victories, both of them coming from Allison.
Suddenly, as quickly as it started, the Buick phenomenon was
over. The other brands had noticed Buick’s success, and their
new models started incorporating aerodynamic improvements.
That was particularly typified with the new Ford Thunderbird
in the mid-’80s, which would be a dominator in NASCAR for
years to come. A new nose on the Monte Carlo would make that
model very competitive. It was an era that will never be
forgotten, a period when all the big guys were driving Buicks,
and running up front. That will never happen again, since the
Buick model has been dropped from NASCAR competition. But for
a single shining moment, Buick fans had their time in the sun.
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