21. Form or Fashion
There is a widely popular myth that the massive rear wing on the 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona and 1970 Plymouth Superbird was built in order to allow the trunk to open completely. This myth adheres to the belief that NASCAR required trunks to open completely in order for the vehicle to be admissible in races. This is, in fact, not true. John Pointer, the rocket scientist turned automobile engineer, was brought in to make the Chrysler vehicles ‘go faster’. NASCAR rules (if you want to read them from 1970), along with Pointer’s own testimony, debunk the popular myth. Pointer simply said the design had nothing to do with the trunk and everything to with aerodynamics.