After leaving the Winner's Circle, I headed around the corner to the Showcase Pavilion to see what was on display this year. One of the themes for this year was the 75th Anniversary of NASCAR. I headed inside to check out the vintage race cars.

Louise Smith 1939 Ford Coupe tribute.

Louise Smith was a pioneer in the world of auto racing and one of the first female race car drivers. She began her career in 1946 in Greenville, South Carolina driving a 1939 Ford coupe. The idea of a female race car driver was more of a novelty in that era. But she had an aggressive style and was a fan favorite. She also had a tendency to crash a lot, earning her the moniker of Louise "Crash or Win" Smith. She won 38 races over the course of her career and retired from driving in 1956.

The Wood Brothers 1971 Mercury Cyclone.

This car was raced from 1970 - 1973 by various Woods Brothers team drivers, and won 11 races in the 1972 - 73 season.

According to the display card, this is the actual car, not a tribute.

It appears exactly as it was after David Pearson's victory at the American 500 at Rockingham Speedway on October 21, 1973.

Tim Flock's 1952 Hudson Hornet tribute.

Hudson was the king of the NASCAR tracks in the early 1950s. Hudson factory drivers such as Tim Flock, his brother Fonty Flock, Herb Thomas, Marshall Teague, Frank Mundy, and Dick Rathman drove "Twin H Power" Hornets to 79 race victories from 1951 - 55, and won the Grand National Championship in 1952, 1953, and 1954. "Twin H Power" refers to the twin carburetors that sat on top of the 308 CID "Super Six" inline 6-cylinder engine.

This car comes from the days when Stock Car races actually used stock cars with limited modifications.

From what I read, this car is a tribute to the car Tim Flock drove during his championship season of 1952.

Bobby Allison's 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona tribute.

This particular car is a tribute to Bobby Allison's ride for the 1969 NASCAR season. According to the signage with the car, Allison helped build this tribute. The actual Bobby Allison Daytona does exist and was restored after being found in a barn many years ago. That car sold for $1,300,000 at Mecum's Kissimmee 2023 Auction.

The 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona exists solely because of NASCAR. In order for a car to be eligible for competition, it had to be a "stock car" that was available for sale to the general public in sufficient quantities, which for 1969 was a minimum of 500 cars. The figure I see most often for Dodge Charger Daytona production is 503 cars. But some sources list as many as 550 cars.

The idea for the Daytona grew out of the Charger 500 program from earlier in the year that wasn't as successful on the NASCAR tracks as expected. Chrysler engineers needed to up their game, and took the nose from the Charger 500, which was already significantly modified over the standard Charger, and completely covered it with a pointed nose cone that increased the overall length of the car by 18 inches. The other significant change from the Charger 500 was the addition of the 23-inch tall rear wing. The result was a car that could break the 200 mph barrier.

Marty Robbins' 1969 Dodge Daytona.

This car started out its racing life dressed as a 1967 Dodge Charger and driven by James Hylton.

At some point, the bodywork was changed to a 1969 Charger 500. But when Hylton went to Ford in early 1970, country music star and aspiring driver Marty Robbins bought the car and had it converted to Daytona bodywork. The car was completed in time for the National 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on October 11, 1970.

Robbins started in 33rd position. But on lap 105, the mighty 426 Hemi grenaded itself. Robbins officially finished the race in 32nd position taking home $1,160 in prize money. That race was the only time this car competed as a Daytona.

The car was re-discovered in 2005 and restored by Ray Evernham's Big Iron Garage in Mooresville, North Carolina. It now features a Ray Barton iron 426 Race Hemi V-8 with factory single 4-barrel intake.

The Marty Robbins Daytona crossed the block at Mecum's Orlando 2021 auction event where it was a no-sale at $475,000.

Dick Trickle's 1969 Ford Torino.

Of the estimated 2,200 races Dick Trickle competed in over the length of his career, only 303 were NASCAR Cup Series events. A majority of Trickle's career was spent on Short Tracks around the country

This USAC Stock Car was raced by Trickle during the 1969 season, and has been fully restored.

Bill Elliott's 1992 Ford Thunderbird.

The information displayed with the car indicates that the battle for the 1992 NASCAR Cup Series Championship was won by Alan Kulwicki, also driving a Ford Thunderbird. Bill Elliott finished in 2nd place by a mere 10 points.

1978 IROC Chevrolet Camaro.

The International Race of Champions (IROC), originated in 1973 as a competition between 12 invited drivers from various forms of motorsports. All of the cars used in each race were identically prepared by one team of mechanics in an effort to make the race a contest of driver skill.

IMSA GT driver Peter Gregg won the October 14, 1978 IROC race at Riverside International Raceway in Riverside, CA in this car.

1956 Chrysler 300B Tim Flock tribute.

We go from the Tim Flock tribute Hudson Hornet seen earlier to a Flock tribute Chrysler 300.

The 1952 Hudson Hornet Tim Flock tribute car seen earlier was built as a tribute to his 1952 NASCAR championship winning season. This car is a 1956 Chrysler 300B that was also built as a Tim Flock tribute car.

Flock won his second NASCAR championship in 1955.

The photo above is a reference to a record Flock set at the Daytona Measured Mile competition from 1955.

This car is from the era when stock cars were "stock".

Tim Flock was one of NASCAR's early great drivers, winning 39 races over the course of 13 years.

Tim Steele's 1999 Ford F150 (L) and Lyle Larson's 2021 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 (R).

Tim Steele competed in 13 Craftsman Truck Series races in a truck that was owned by his father. Although not winning a race, he had one top-ten finish, and finished 25th overall in the points standings.

Kyle Larson won both the Regular Season championship and the Cup Series championship in 2021.

Neil Bonnett's 1989 Ford Thunderbird.

Neil Bonnett won 18 NASCAR Cup Series races during his 18 year career. In 1990, he was involved in a serious crash, after which he retired from driving and became a color commentator.

Jeff Gordon's 1997 Chevrolet Monte Carlo "T-Rex."

The display sign seen in the photo above indicates that this car was nicknamed "T-Rex" because of the team's sponsorship connection to Jurassic Park.

However, according to the sign seen in the photo above displayed in the window of the car, the car was nicknamed for Rex Stump, Hendrick's R & D team leader.

According to the information displayed with the car, this chassis dominated to the point that NASCAR changed several rules in order to equalize the playing field.

Richard Petty's 1972 Plymouth Road Runner.

Richard Petty is NASCAR's all-time Cup Series wins leader with 200 victories.