1963 1/2 Mercury Marauder

If you are beginning to have some NASCAR withdrawal and can’t wait for the 2013 season to start then have some fun and look backwards. Check out the history of NASCAR racing and you will appreciate today’s events even more. If you are a real Blue Oval lover or if you are just into the Aero Cars from Ford you need a good background in the history of the Company’s racing heritage. What better way to do that than with some vintage Speedway Newsletter articles.

If we did not already have a shortage of garage space I would be putting one of these 1963 1/2 Mercury Marauders in there. I have always liked their look. A friend has a couple of the 63 1/2 Ford Galaxy models and every time I see them I think NASCAR and how Ford changed the design to be faster at the track. Up until these cars came out the big Fords and Mercs all had Tbird style squared off formal roofs. The engineers knew that a fastback design would be more aerodynamic and help speed on the big tracks. They went to the design studio and worked up the 63 1/2 models you see here.

These cars hit the race track 5 years before the 1968 Failane/Torino/Cyclone Sportback killed the competition on the Speedways and just 6 years before the Talladega/Spoiler II. It is obvious Ford was getting into and learning about aerodynamics by this article and pictures. Next time you are on the highway take a look at some of Detroit’s newest offerings and see how important aerodynamics are today.

Thank you to Steve Marek for making these publications available.