Our overview of the winning cars of NASCAR starts in 1985, when Darrell Waltrip wrapped up his second straight championship in a Chevy Monte Carlo. Back in those days, fans could still see some resemblance between what Waltrip and Earnhardt were driving in Daytona and the Monte Carlo that Tom, Dick and Harry could buy from their local bowtie dealers. NASCAR required that the race cars wear the same sheetmetal as the grocery-getter versions on the street, and it was because of that fact that GM engineers created a new Monte Carlo model in 1983. To be competitive on high-speed tracks, race teams needed a more aerodynamic car, so Chevy dealers welcomed the new Monte Carlo SS with its prominent front air dam and rear spoiler, features that soon found their way to the body shops of NASCAR.

With aerodynamics in their favor, Chevy drivers found themselves and their Monte Carlos in the winner’s circle quite a bit during the early 1980s. Terry Labonte brought it home for Chevy in 1984 and Darrell Waltrip did the same in 1985. Fans interested in driving their own Monte Carlo could choose from the V6 or V8 coupes, or the SS model. Prices ranged from about $9,000 to more than $11,000 and horsepower was a meager 130 with the V6 and maxed out at 180 from the SS’s 305 cubic-inch V8.