The number one car on our top five list is Dale Earnhardt’s iconic 1986 Monte Carlo SS Aerodeck. Driving the Monte Carlo Aerodeck to NASCAR Winston Cup Championships in 1986 and 1987, the team changed to the more recognizable black Goodwrench Monte Carlo in 1988.
Sponsored by Wrangler Jeans, the yellow-and-blue number 3, prepared by Richard Childress, set the standard as the car to beat in 1986. Opening the year at Daytona by winning the Busch Clash and the all-star race, along with one of the 125 mile qualifiers, the rest of the field took notice.
Like the first 19 runs at the Daytona 500 for Earnhardt, disaster struck the racer when he ran out of fuel leading the race with three laps to go.
Even with the misfire at Daytona, Earnhardt had a year that would help solidify his legend. Winning five times and finishing in the top five 23 times, Earnhardt won his second Winston Cup title.
The next season Earnhardt drove the Aerodeck to 11 wins to capture his third Winston Cup title.
In NASCAR, the Monte Carlo SS captured Manufacturers’ Cup Championships for Chevrolet in 1983, ’84, ’85, ’86 and ’87. The Monte Carlo SS rolled into the 1988 season as the longest-running, most successful nameplate in NASCAR Winston Cup history. Besides leading Chevrolet to five consecutive Winston Cup Manufacturers’ Championships, the Monte Carlo SS won 95 of 183 races since it first took to the track in1983.
We stand behind the 1986 Monte Carlo SS Aerodeck as the number one car on our top five list for its racing success and launching the legend that became “The Intimidator.”