Chevrolet actually wasn’t a contender when Bill France Sr., founded NASCAR in 1949, and wouldn’t be for another six years. It took the arrival of the small-block V-8 in 1955 for the ball to start rolling towards the winner’s circle. Chevrolets collected wins at 18 Grand National (now called Cup) races in 1957, and dominated the 1958 season with 23 victories – the most NASCAR races won in a single year by the Chevy contingent. Then, a steady stream of high-performance cylinder heads, heavy-duty suspension components and fuel injection manifolds filled the parts pipeline leading to the stock car strongholds of the South.
In 1963 Chevrolet drivers showed spectacular speed with the top-secret “Mystery Motor,” the forerunner of the mighty big-bock V-8, before GM’s pullback from motorsports opened the door for its rivals in the 1960s. However, Chevrolet came back with a vengeance a decade later in the ’70s.
From 1972-79, Monte Carlo powered Chevrolet to seven NASCAR manufacturer’s championships in eight years. The 1980s began with few changes for Monte Carlo, and many drivers on the NASCAR circuit were behind the wheel of vehicles with sleeker Oldsmobile sheet metal. Even though the nameplate was Olds, the same GM small-block V-8 engine used in NASCAR Monte Carlos actually powered those racecars. Monte Carlo was still the car of choice on short-track raceways.
The ’80s version of Monte Carlo SS rolled into the 1988 season as the most successful nameplate in NASCAR Cup history. It had led Chevrolet to five consecutive manufacturer’s championships and won 95 of 183 races from 1983-87. In the first 16 years of NASCAR’s modern era (1972-1988), Monte Carlos captured nine NASCAR driver’s championships and 14 manufacturer’s championship titles for Chevrolet. Lumina coupes stepped in for Monte Carlo from 1989-94, and Chevrolet collected four more drivers and manufacturers titles in what was then called Winston Cup competition.
Monte Carlo continued to dominate the competition by winning 22 races in the 2004 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, matching Chevrolet’s single-season modern era (1972 – present) race win record set in 1980. No manufacturer has carried more drivers to NASCAR championships than Chevrolet, and Monte Carlo has won more NASCAR races than any car in history.
Here’s the bottom line on Chevrolet and NASCAR Cup Drivers Championships:
They hold the All-time Win record (19492005) with 22 and in the Modern era, (19722005) 19 Championships were won. The first Chevrolet driver champion was Buck Baker in 1957. The most consecutive driver championships was six in 19931998. Chevy won driver championships: 1957, 1960, 1961, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001 and 2005.
And far as Chevrolet’s NASCAR Nextel Cup Manufacturers Championships go, the All-time number is 30 from 19492006 with 26 in the Modern era (19722006). The first Chevrolet manufacturer championship as in 1958 and the most consecutive manufacturer championships was nine from 19831991. Chevrolet won manufacturers championships in 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006.
For comparisons, the total NASCAR Cup Victories by Corporation (1949-2005) has General Motors with 908 (Chevrolet, 573; Pontiac, 154; Oldsmobile, 116; Buick, 65). Ford has 670 (Ford, 571; Mercury, 96; Thunderbird, 6; Lincoln, 4) and Chrysler has 437 (Dodge, 187; Plymouth, 191; Chrysler, 59).
Like we said, Who’s Yer Daddy?