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Street cars that can hit 200 mph are a dime a dozen these days, but a half-century ago it was still a big deal when a race car could reach that speed on an oval racing track.
The first NASCAR car to do it was a Dodge Daytona that Buddy Baker drove around Talladega Superspeedway in March 1970 at an average of 200.447 mph during a private test.
The same car had already set a qualifying record at the track the previous September at 199.446 mph with Charlie Glotzbach behind the wheel and its history as interesting as the vehicle is significant.
It started its life as a Dodge 500 press car and had been stolen and recovered before it was converted into a race car and entered into the 1969 Daytona 500.
It later became one of the early Dodge Daytona development cars, with the iconic nose cap, tall rear wing and 426 cubic-inch V8, and returned to racing in its new guise.
Bobby Allison, Dan Gurney, Bobby Isaac and James Hylton are among those who drove the car over the years. It never won a NASCAR Cup Series race, but did find success in the hands of Don White on the USAC Stock Car circuit before being retired.
The car, which carries the DC-93 serial number, was later restored and is currently owned by famed NASCAR crew chief Ray Evernham, who is putting it up for auction this month at the Mecum Indy event.
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The historic Daytona will be offered with no reserve and carry a pre-auction estimate of $350,000 to $450,000 when it crosses the block on Saturday, May 21.