Stuff like this just makes me wonder how different things could have been. If you love racing history like this make sure you subscribe and check out the “racing history nerd zone” playlist on the channel! Stapletonautoworks.com
I don't know what it is about these videos, but I always end up watching them right away. I watch almost all of your videos eventually but the history stuff really gets me. I'm probably in the minority here on this but I also prefer the shorter format, 10-20 min is way easier for me to find time for than the longer stuff. Even if your were to break up some the longer videos and roll them out in multiple parts I'd be watching more of your content... I definitely need to know more about the "Taurus".
I love the different 'what-if' stories from different types of motorsports. Whether it's the scrapped BMW and VW Class 1 Touring Cars, the NASCAR L-R car, different IMSA and Trans-Am what-ifs or now this car... ...now to see if I can replicate this in 1:64.
That one off Taurus is definitely an interesting story, being a Blue Oval guy I’d love to hear what history you can dig up on that. I wholeheartedly agree that Ford’s decision to push the Taurus vs bringing a new fresh two door sedan (read: rwd!) into the market was a huge mistake as it alienated a ton of high performance people at that point.
It’s a shame you had to grow up in the Taurus days. When I was a kid I got to watch Bob Glidden and Bill Elliott clean house with their 80’s Thunderbird’s. My mom had to buy a T-Bird after watching Bill Elliott lap the field twice at Talladega.
Born in 92 and I hated the Taurus I love all the old car from the 80 and the early 90 but when they switch to the Taurus and Monte Carlo style I hated it
Kranefus/Haas also built a Mark VIII but kept the Continental rear deck with the rear spoiler following the contour of the hump. It put the spoiler higher in the center and gained downforce. This same idea was used on the later "Intimidator" Monte Carlos with great success obviously. The team unloaded it at Charlotte in full Kmart livery on purple paint and John Andretti drove it. IIRC, it was as fast as the current Thunderbird right out of the box. I believe this would have been a very successful car and again, if memory serves me, NASCAR was good with it. Then Ford changed their corporate mind and decided to keep Lincoln as its luxury division. A missed opportunity IMHO.
When sales numbers fall, cars get cancelled or replaced. The Thunderbird was at a point where it made no sense. It was neither a family car, nor a sports car. At the time it was finally cancelled, people were buying family cars, sports cars and the SUV craze was just starting to take off. Cars that lacked identity and sales, got cancelled. The only way Ford could have justified keeping the Thunderbird around, would have been to repurpose it to compete directly with the Corvette again, which they don't actually want to do.
They did make the "retro" styled T-Bird in the early 2000s, but it wasn't cheap and the 4.6 V8 was plagued with problems. Ended up being more trouble than it was worth to keep building.
I've been a nascar fan since I was a little kid in the mid-late 90's, right as the thunderbird went away and the Taurus showed up. I always thought the Taurus was goofy looking and didn't look right on track. I bought a mark viii as my first car, and still own one today, so it's great seeing these cars get some attention on your channel. I knew about the John Andretti car, but I had no idea this car existed! It really makes me wonder what could've been. This body combined with Yates power of that era would've been almost unstoppable. Keep up the good work, you've got one of the best channels on youtube.
Yup. This was a good looking car and the Taurus was eurgh. I had been a Petty fan as a little kid because my Dad drove Dodges, but as Dale was emerging became a fan.
Interesting point on the rear spoiler. The 2000-2002 Monte Carlos had a pretty similar (not as dramatic) hump in the rear spoiler as the 37 car shown. And, yes, we need to know more about the big booty Taurus!
I worked in Ford Body CAD in the nineties. I remember there was some work being done on a T-bird roofline that was a good bit lower than the stock vehicle. This story reminded me of that and how the two could be related. Cool story Stapleton
By gosh Mitch you keep knocking it out of the park with these interviews.. Don Miller a legend during the Miller Lite days should've asked him about the legendary "midnight car" driven by Rusty Wallace... keep up this kinda great work
That generation of Taurus was an awful-looking road car and looked even worse as a NASCAR. I'm curious to hear the story about the one out back, though!
The Taurus was the start of cars having no relationship to the real road car. It was such terrible aero package they had rewrite the book to have a y competition.
Back in 1997, I was working at a car rental office on Sharon Amity Boulevard in Charlotte, NC (Branch 5311 for any old-school “E” folks). We received a reservation from a NASCAR team for a Ford Taurus. As a race fan...I spoke with the guys that were sent to retrieve the car. They said they were going to use it to make some templates...which I thought was pretty cool. They loaded the rental Taurus on an open trailer...and returned it a few days later (with the same mileage...they didn’t even put a mile on the vehicle).
Working as a porter at a Ford Lincon Mercury dealership just south of Awesome Bill from Dawsonville Ga I got to drive a bunch of bling-bling back and forth to ATL Ford executive head office. Back then I couldn't figure out why the pimpest ride wasn't being raced. Now I know. Thanks, guys for finally solving a long-ago mystery for me. There certainly would have been a cup with Mark's name on it!
Damn Taurus looked like it had the newer escort tail lights, hell yea man this back story videos for all brands is fkn awesome. These are a part of racing history 95% of us have never heard or would have ever known without you bringing it to us, im a die hard Ford guy and never knew any of this with the Lincoln as a race car. I cant go to car Museums, last one they almost ran me off because i cant just look at the outside and be happy, i was sliding under them looking at what made them work vs todays stuff so they got pissed and we argued then the big 300lb guy told my little 120lb ass i best get to stepping so stepping i did.
@@bravesws95 Yeah search Google images for a 96 Taurus with a side view. That silver one has some drastic alterations to the trunk lid and quarter panels. Ford probably could have sold them like that advertising extra ten cubic feet of trunk capacity.
Now I went to some of those museums in 2012 and I just asked them if I could look at some of the details of the cars and they let me do it. Granted it was on a weekday and hardly anyone was there, but I found everyone to be pretty friendly and nice to let me take pictures and stuff up close of some of the cars. I just made sure not to touch anything.
quite a few years back my family and I got to meet Mr. miller while we were on vacation there. He gave us a little tour around the museum. and brought us outside to show us the drag car that he was going to run one last time if his wife did not find out lol. I wonder if he got to run that car? I May have to go back down there and find out. great guy and awesome museum. we enjoyed it a lot more then the hall of fame.
Growing up and watching Winston cup and having that curiosity of how these men were doing what they did how these cars went so fast just the little things of yes you did this but how does it work why does it work that's how these men directly influenced me to get into mechanical engineering so to actually see and hear some of the stuff that went on behind the scenes is just amazing for me and I would imagine for anybody that grew up in that time frame this is just thank you it's really all I can say to you and them for sharing their stories this is just amazing
I had a 93 Mark 8 in the 90's and loved it. It was fast on the highway and smooth riding. Amazingly it got great gas mileage on the highway, not so much in town. I'd heard rumors of a possible Cup car in NASCAR at the time, and now I know the rest of the story.
I've owned a few Mark VIII's and have a '95 as my fun car in the garage. Trust me many of us knew all about this car when it was out and couldn't understand Ford/Lincoln built such a car and held it back.
I wanna hear more about the Taurus. That thing has a big ol butt stuck on it. Same thing that he said about the Mark7 though, not enough trunk to make downforce, I can't tell exactly what they did, but I'm sure its twice as tall at the trunk as a normal taurus.
I went to that museum years ago with my grandpa and my uncle. When I heard the story of that Lincoln I thought it was one of the coolest pieces of racing history.
I’ve had 7 Marks in the course of my life and I’ve loved everyone of them. The best was when I was in high school surprising the Camaros and Mustangs when we would race.
Very cool to talk with Don and get some insight behind that car. I'm sure like a lot of the guys that have been around racing for a long time he has a lot more stories to tell.
I'm 43 and seen all the cool cars that were driven on the track when Nascar was cool. I think the cars they are running now are the best looking since the 90s.
Man, I had a mark viii in highschool..thing was an absolute ripper. Leather and air ride. Got it cheap because it needed compressor and bags. Cool to hear from Don Miller. Big Rusty fan growing up too
I've never seen this before, though I remember John Andretti being a big advocate as the then-current Monte Carlo was absolutely beating up on the Fords.
Oh I remember the Taurus fiasco, from 4 doors to 2 doors. But ford wanted to use it because it was a huge selling car when it came out. Great video, thanks Mitchell and Logan.
Ford was on top at this point and they had so many options. They could've kept the Taurus re-design similar to its first two generations and raced that. A NASCAR version of the early 90s SHO would've been awesome. They could've made this Lincoln as a coupe on the same platform as the Crown Vic/Grand Marquis and given it whichever badge they wanted. They could've redesigned the Taurus as they did but raced the Crown Vic, like they did with the full-size Torino in the 70s. Instead they dropped the massive turd that was the Taurus, completely ruining the best selling car in the world, punted on the luxury coupe market that became fully import soon after this, and kicked off the bad decisions that cost NASCAR its fanbase IMO.
Really enjoyed watching Bill Elliot driving the thunder bird. Agreed the Monte Carlo was a cool race car. Would like to see the story of the Taurus that is outside.
I`m definately down for the story on that silver car! Back then I wasnt a Ford fan either, (team #3 forever!) but I do like the cool stories of how and why things happened, no matter the driver, team or brand! Keep `m coming, I`ll keep watching, liking and commenting!
I grew up in a lil trailer court in my hometown and our neighbor was a really nice old man that helped teach me alot of things from taking care of my bike to building jumps for it that weren't going to come apart after hitting the jump 3 times haha..he drove a green colored Lincoln mark VII...that thing was showroom mint right up to the last time I saw it in his driveway...truly miss ol Harry
Would definitely love to hear the story behind the Taurus because it’s clearly stretched out in the back and to me it looks like it has lights from an escort 🤨 depending something interesting going on there
I remember back then when one of the Nascar weekly TV shows on either TNN or ESPN network, there was mention of Jack Rouse playing with a Lincoln for use in Nascar. Seems like Jeff Andretti was driving it in practice.
Your right about that they had the car at the track race ready built to the rules with stock hood ,roof and deck lid. I don't remember who was the car owner or driver. I seen the same show your talking about it was on TNN.
Holy crap what a great interview, hit this outta the park, gunna have to check out this museum my next day off work, place is only a few miles up the road from me and I need to see this car in person
If they'd made this, I would've owned it at some point. I loved the Mark series. The Marauder was cool as they made it, but a grand tourer would've been so much cooler.
Oh hell yeah love this fantastic channel and all the adventures and cool stuff you do and share thanks for all the awesome content so far and what’s to come!
I know that the Taurus wasn’t a very good looking car but I remember well the first race that they ran the Taurus the first group of cars that crossed the finish line first that day had the Taurus body on them. The other teams had a fit and NASCAR made them take three inches off of the rear spoilers. I will never forget the reaction that everyone else had !
I love these type videos. Your passion for racing history is amazing. Please keep making these. Don't forget the car builds as well. I like a variety of content, keeps it from getting stale and redundant. Great job you two.
Stapleton, I'd love to see 00 Reutimann's Dominos or Burger King Specials either in a Proper Museum Home or Raced Again. I love to see some of the Earlier Toyotas be Homed in either a Museum or Race Track. I still Mad at China Red Bull is doing Red Bull things, especially if the F1 Team is too big for its own good.
We are building a 1993 Ford Thunderbird for a customer! Race car version! The Superbird would’ve been an awesome thing to see! It was before my time! Cool video
Long time subscriber, first time commenter. Love the content you and Logan put out. My grandfather worked for Texaco, so I grew up around the old Yates 28 show cars. I rep my Stapleton Auto Works Robert Yates style shirt and hat all the time. Thanks for telling the stories of old time NASCAR and keeping the history alive!!
I LOVE old history like this! It's what made me want to know EVERYTHING about NASCAR!!! But.....I certainly didn't know about this! So glad you are getting stuff like this on film. Sadly, guys like this won't be around for ever and if stuff like this wast documented, it would be lost. That car would probably be gotten rid of as "some old dumb race car" and it would just suck if that were to happen. Awesome video dude!!!
@@Stapleton42 you are very lucky to be able to talk to all the folks you've had in your videos. I know the "Tribute Petty" car was kind of a joke (it was the first video of yours I watched...I've since watched the rest of your collection) but even talking the guys at that shop was really informative and I'm sure had a ton of history behind them. 🤘🔥
So good to see Mr Miller again, I dealt with him a number of times during my stay in NASCCAR, a nicer guy you will never find. Cool story, I knew of the KH Lincoln as I had access to the shop and took photos of it back in the day. I did not know the Superbird stroy, shows that there are still stories to dig up. THX
NASCAR didn’t want that car racing cause it would have been dominanting the competition like when nascar said the Daytona super bird and the 1974 Dodge Charger Richard petty drove was to fast they want the field equal
Ford had the Talladega also, main part that killed them was technology was not up to par, at the speeds these cars were capable of going, tires were coming apart.
The race Taurus actually looked infinitely better than the street version. I actually am a bit fonder of that 98/99 body style because it was such a weird footnote in the history of things. That Thunderbird tho was legit. In reality though, the Taurus was fine, it just had some superspeedway struggles by itself but always drafted well. So many "coulda, shoulda, woulda's" out there, gotta tell as many of those stories as you can. Great job!
I love your Nascar videos. You really do a great job of getting the history. I have been into Nascar since the 60's and I have a 89 Iroc Z and a 04 Intimidator Monte Carlo. Keep up the good work. I watch all of your videos.
There's a couple other significant. Mark Viii's ,land speed record tan one, twin supercharged white one Tasca Ford built I believe animal jims black one.. Lowest drag coefficient car that Lincoln has ever produced., I owned a champagne and a silver one, both awesome cars they were like a flying couch with air ride. But parts getting tough to find.
I owned a 93 Mark 8, white with a black interior in the 90's and loved it so much I had a chance to buy a 94 Mark 8 in 2009, Black with a grey interior, 63,000 miles for $3200. I snagged it and still have it. Yes parts are hard to come by though.
Great video Mitch. At the time, Ford's decision to switch to the Taurus in '98 was extremely disappointing to me as a 16 year old fan, especially because it was getting axed just in time for Nascar's 50th anniversary. The Thunderbird was so much better looking than the new Taurus (even as a blue oval fan, I can't see how anyone would actually spend money on that Taurus body style). The Thunderbird was the last vehicle in Nascar (at that time) which was still a V8 RWD platform in street car form. Growing up, I was a big fan of Bill Elliott, Rusty Wallace, Mark Martin, Davey Allison, and Alan Kulwicki, and those T-Birds were some awesome looking machines. You bring up a fascinating point at 14:30 - as a young kid, you probably figured Ford was the hokiest thing on the track (and the street) because of the lame choice of body styling. Being a little older, I got to enjoy the T-Bird setting records at Daytona and Talladega and was the car my favorite drivers and teams chose. By the late 90's, there was no doubt the Monte Carlo and Grand Prix were much better looking race cars. That being said, I'd still love to see a video about the old Taurus sitting out behind the museum. Keep up the great work!
I was too. Just thought how much the Taurus were successful with Daytona 500 wins and three cup championships. Even though I love the T-Birds it was time for a change for the blue oval.
LOGAN and Mitchell are back at it again. Like,share and enjoy everybody. This is magnificent content and the story told through the eyes of thw ones before us that made racing today what it is. You guys are blowing my mind with these interviews.
Cool! Love to hear about racing history, this rocks! Glad to see you two exploring the NASCAR background and documenting it for all of us. Always with you & Logan, & keep up the excellent video content! Thanks man!
Another great video in the discussion/interview series. Well done again. This truly isn’t you father’s Lincoln. The rear bumper lines, with the comparable photo you posted, drove it home. Love to see a video on the Taurus, if you’re up to it. Just wanted to add, no matter the brand you take the time to give it respect. Greatly appreciated.
Front wheel drive cars got like 4 more inches of rear width or something like that if I remember correctly... shaped em like a wedge... dope vid again dude 🤘
I was a police officer in the Daytona Beach area back in 1990 and I pulled Mr. Miller over one night. The race team was behind him in a truck and they jumped out and we all chatted for a few. It was about 2 in the morning and they had all been out partying (with Don Miller). Lots of fun back in those days.
I HAVE to know the history of that Taurus in the parking lot. It has always mystified me. I could tell something was up with the rear trunklid/bumper and I would fixate on it as I drove by every day on my way to working at the Penske wind tunnel nearby. I never had time to stop and look into it and would only work there a week or so at a time before returning to Michigan, but could tell it was significantly reshaped and not just a bad repair job. It bugged me so bad that I even had my parents stop and take some photos of it for me years later when they were on a trip south and drove through Mooresville! This is the biggest mystery in my life and I need answers so I can sleep at night!
Nascar seems to have a lot of this... Incredibly nice, soft spoken, mega successful people that just want to tell stories to whoever will listen. I hope you get Schrader one day. He's seriously awesome to meet and talk to. My first experience with someone heavily involved in Nascar happened at my uncles house in upstate NY around 92 when I was 8. He owned a couple hundred acres of land with ponds, I was brought over to go fishing, I was only 8 and admired Rusty Wallace and had his shirt on, but I also liked Dale Earnhardt and was wearing a #3 hat. We went back to my Uncles house after fishing and he was having coffee with a friend who said "hey son, cool shirt but that hat isn't okay around me" jokingly. My uncles friend was Geoff Bodines crew chief and told me a long story about why his driver wasn't friends with Earnhardt anymore. 🤣
i think it would have been the Mercury Marauder and it would have been an absolute monster in its first season and then Mr. Bill France would step in and do what he did to Gordon's T-Rex and rewrite a bunch of rules around that particular car to either ban it or remove its advantage
Love the channel btw and love how you're teaching the history of a sport I love, last post was definitely not meant to throw shade...Just an old Nascar fan/dude perspective 👍☺
A lincoln based Nascar would have been awesome. I have always liked the mark Lincolns and always thought the 8 would have made a cool Nascar. So seeing that it was a thought at one time was really cool.
The car they used in the test wound up being reskinned and converted over to a Ford Thunderbird and Dale Jarrett promptly won with at Bristol in August of 1997. And of course, Don Miller was a partner in Penske Racing when Rusty, Don, and Roger Penske formed that team. It's no wonder Rusty put so much into winning and being competitive as he owned part of his car. I never knew Rusty was a partner in his own race team back then.
Do you know if the car in the video was a different iteration? I notice that the center decklid isn't tapered nearly as much (if at all) compared to the Andretti test car.
If it was the same car I doubt they would have gone to the trouble of reskinning is again to put it on display, but I certainly could be wrong. And it surprises me that Dale Jarrett would have driven it since he was with Robert Yates and I don't recall Penske having an association with RYR. Just my 2 cents, your mileage may vary.
aww man that was good i like to hear about the cars back then that looked so fast settting still man i could spend all day long in there walking around and looking at everything that place is awesome
Stuff like this just makes me wonder how different things could have been. If you love racing history like this make sure you subscribe and check out the “racing history nerd zone” playlist on the channel!
Stapletonautoworks.com
I don't know what it is about these videos, but I always end up watching them right away. I watch almost all of your videos eventually but the history stuff really gets me. I'm probably in the minority here on this but I also prefer the shorter format, 10-20 min is way easier for me to find time for than the longer stuff. Even if your were to break up some the longer videos and roll them out in multiple parts I'd be watching more of your content...
I definitely need to know more about the "Taurus".
I love the different 'what-if' stories from different types of motorsports. Whether it's the scrapped BMW and VW Class 1 Touring Cars, the NASCAR L-R car, different IMSA and Trans-Am what-ifs or now this car...
...now to see if I can replicate this in 1:64.
Watching 1320 vid an at 23:45ish i saw the blue beast. Under split engine in half
That one off Taurus is definitely an interesting story, being a Blue Oval guy I’d love to hear what history you can dig up on that. I wholeheartedly agree that Ford’s decision to push the Taurus vs bringing a new fresh two door sedan (read: rwd!) into the market was a huge mistake as it alienated a ton of high performance people at that point.
@@bigcamracing219
Ford already had a great RWD sedan, Americans deserved the return of the Falcon.
It’s a shame you had to grow up in the Taurus days. When I was a kid I got to watch Bob Glidden and Bill Elliott clean house with their 80’s Thunderbird’s. My mom had to buy a T-Bird after watching Bill Elliott lap the field twice at Talladega.
Born in 92 and I hated the Taurus I love all the old car from the 80 and the early 90 but when they switch to the Taurus and Monte Carlo style I hated it
Kranefus/Haas also built a Mark VIII but kept the Continental rear deck with the rear spoiler following the contour of the hump. It put the spoiler higher in the center and gained downforce. This same idea was used on the later "Intimidator" Monte Carlos with great success obviously. The team unloaded it at Charlotte in full Kmart livery on purple paint and John Andretti drove it. IIRC, it was as fast as the current Thunderbird right out of the box. I believe this would have been a very successful car and again, if memory serves me, NASCAR was good with it. Then Ford changed their corporate mind and decided to keep Lincoln as its luxury division. A missed opportunity IMHO.
I watched the shakedown laps in person. It likely would have worked very well
Been to this Museum last year. Not knowing much about Nascar here in Germany and it was an absolute Highlight to get a tour with Don Miller there.
In my opinion ford shouldve never stop making the thuderbird
I agree
When sales numbers fall, cars get cancelled or replaced. The Thunderbird was at a point where it made no sense. It was neither a family car, nor a sports car. At the time it was finally cancelled, people were buying family cars, sports cars and the SUV craze was just starting to take off. Cars that lacked identity and sales, got cancelled. The only way Ford could have justified keeping the Thunderbird around, would have been to repurpose it to compete directly with the Corvette again, which they don't actually want to do.
They did make the "retro" styled T-Bird in the early 2000s, but it wasn't cheap and the 4.6 V8 was plagued with problems. Ended up being more trouble than it was worth to keep building.
@@deanladue3151 It was a 3.9 liter V8 from Jaguar. The 4.6 was a very solid engine that gets a lot of flak because of the 5.4
First gen of the new, sleek Thunderbird and its sister the Cougar were the best.
I've been a nascar fan since I was a little kid in the mid-late 90's, right as the thunderbird went away and the Taurus showed up. I always thought the Taurus was goofy looking and didn't look right on track. I bought a mark viii as my first car, and still own one today, so it's great seeing these cars get some attention on your channel. I knew about the John Andretti car, but I had no idea this car existed! It really makes me wonder what could've been. This body combined with Yates power of that era would've been almost unstoppable.
Keep up the good work, you've got one of the best channels on youtube.
Thanks man we are glad you’re here!
you have almost identical experience as me about NASCAR and Mark VIII.
but I have some different cars now
Yup. This was a good looking car and the Taurus was eurgh. I had been a Petty fan as a little kid because my Dad drove Dodges, but as Dale was emerging became a fan.
Interesting point on the rear spoiler. The 2000-2002 Monte Carlos had a pretty similar (not as dramatic) hump in the rear spoiler as the 37 car shown.
And, yes, we need to know more about the big booty Taurus!
I worked in Ford Body CAD in the nineties. I remember there was some work being done on a T-bird roofline that was a good bit lower than the stock vehicle. This story reminded me of that and how the two could be related. Cool story Stapleton
By gosh Mitch you keep knocking it out of the park with these interviews.. Don Miller a legend during the Miller Lite days should've asked him about the legendary "midnight car" driven by Rusty Wallace... keep up this kinda great work
Thank you Jason! Hopefully Don will make some more videos with us
That generation of Taurus was an awful-looking road car and looked even worse as a NASCAR. I'm curious to hear the story about the one out back, though!
The nose was ugly looking
The 98-99 Taurus NASCAR body wasn’t horrible in my opinion, but the 2000-2005 nose and tail pieces looked awful.
Taurus was called "tortois" lol
I knew a guy who ran a Taurus bodied Pro Stock and it was sponsored by "Clee Motors".......so naturally, it was the "Clee Taurus"
The Taurus was the start of cars having no relationship to the real road car. It was such terrible aero package they had rewrite the book to have a y competition.
Would love to hear the story of the Taurus.
If that car made it to the track. Chevy & Dodge would have been crying to NASCAR about Ford's unfair advantage.
Back in 1997, I was working at a car rental office on Sharon Amity Boulevard in Charlotte, NC (Branch 5311 for any old-school “E” folks). We received a reservation from a NASCAR team for a Ford Taurus. As a race fan...I spoke with the guys that were sent to retrieve the car. They said they were going to use it to make some templates...which I thought was pretty cool. They loaded the rental Taurus on an open trailer...and returned it a few days later (with the same mileage...they didn’t even put a mile on the vehicle).
Working as a porter at a Ford Lincon Mercury dealership just south of Awesome Bill from Dawsonville Ga I got to drive a bunch of bling-bling back and forth to ATL Ford executive head office. Back then I couldn't figure out why the pimpest ride wasn't being raced. Now I know. Thanks, guys for finally solving a long-ago mystery for me. There certainly would have been a cup with Mark's name on it!
Damn Taurus looked like it had the newer escort tail lights, hell yea man this back story videos for all brands is fkn awesome. These are a part of racing history 95% of us have never heard or would have ever known without you bringing it to us, im a die hard Ford guy and never knew any of this with the Lincoln as a race car.
I cant go to car Museums, last one they almost ran me off because i cant just look at the outside and be happy, i was sliding under them looking at what made them work vs todays stuff so they got pissed and we argued then the big 300lb guy told my little 120lb ass i best get to stepping so stepping i did.
it's the entire rear end of that Taurus
@@bravesws95 Yeah search Google images for a 96 Taurus with a side view. That silver one has some drastic alterations to the trunk lid and quarter panels. Ford probably could have sold them like that advertising extra ten cubic feet of trunk capacity.
Now I went to some of those museums in 2012 and I just asked them if I could look at some of the details of the cars and they let me do it. Granted it was on a weekday and hardly anyone was there, but I found everyone to be pretty friendly and nice to let me take pictures and stuff up close of some of the cars. I just made sure not to touch anything.
More interviews like this would be sooooooo sick
quite a few years back my family and I got to meet Mr. miller while we were on vacation there. He gave us a little tour around the museum. and brought us outside to show us the drag car that he was going to run one last time if his wife did not find out lol. I wonder if he got to run that car? I May have to go back down there and find out. great guy and awesome museum. we enjoyed it a lot more then the hall of fame.
Growing up and watching Winston cup and having that curiosity of how these men were doing what they did how these cars went so fast just the little things of yes you did this but how does it work why does it work that's how these men directly influenced me to get into mechanical engineering so to actually see and hear some of the stuff that went on behind the scenes is just amazing for me and I would imagine for anybody that grew up in that time frame this is just thank you it's really all I can say to you and them for sharing their stories this is just amazing
I had a 93 Mark 8 in the 90's and loved it. It was fast on the highway and smooth riding. Amazingly it got great gas mileage on the highway, not so much in town. I'd heard rumors of a possible Cup car in NASCAR at the time, and now I know the rest of the story.
I've owned a few Mark VIII's and have a '95 as my fun car in the garage. Trust me many of us knew all about this car when it was out and couldn't understand Ford/Lincoln built such a car and held it back.
Ford Taurus SHO?? Very cool to hear the OG’s talk about racing history.
Honestly I thought the tail light and trunk were both up about 8 inches compaired to a normal one. The whole trunk doesn't slope off like normal.
I had a SHO, twin turbskis and a 6 speed manual. That thing would fly man
@@ryurc3033 hmm... RWD then?
I’m thinking RWD, just to see if it worked.
I wanna hear more about the Taurus. That thing has a big ol butt stuck on it. Same thing that he said about the Mark7 though, not enough trunk to make downforce, I can't tell exactly what they did, but I'm sure its twice as tall at the trunk as a normal taurus.
Def taller deck lid and the rear bumper was more flat no pertrusion below trunk also
I think that's a Ford escort deck lid and taillights grafted onto the back of the Taurus. It's definitely taller than normal.
I went to that museum years ago with my grandpa and my uncle. When I heard the story of that Lincoln I thought it was one of the coolest pieces of racing history.
I’ve had 7 Marks in the course of my life and I’ve loved everyone of them. The best was when I was in high school surprising the Camaros and Mustangs when we would race.
Absolutely awesome information, thank you for doing this interview!
Thanks dude!
Man that’s a cool car so glad someone like you are out there documenting the history of Nascar keep up the good work
I heard about this back in the 90's. I used to own a 94 Mark VIII and a 96 Mark VIII LSC. Great cars that I owned a long time back in the day.
Met Don at a car show at Charlotte motor speedway back in 90s looking at car parts. Heck of a nice guy! Humpy was with him. !
Excellent story!! I really appreciate you bringing NASCAR history to light. You definitely should post the Taurus video!
Can't wait to hear the details directly about the Taurus
What a cool piece of unsung NASCAR history. Thank you for documenting this.
You’re welcome man. Thank you for being here for it
The Kranefuss Haas Lincoln in the photos was a beautiful beast. Who remembers Cale’s 98 team shaking down a Cougar?
I do. Here's a TH-cam link th-cam.com/video/7-pgCy2ilB8/w-d-xo.html&ab_channel=NASCARNick2488
So cool. I remember thinking isn't the Taurus a 4 door when they came out with that body. My dad and grandpa owned Tbirds.
This content about what nascar used to be is absolutely awesome. You can make the episode's way longer because it's worth watching. Keep it up.
Thank you Tony
All these stories bring me back to when I was watching Nascar as a teen in the 90s
Very cool to talk with Don and get some insight behind that car. I'm sure like a lot of the guys that have been around racing for a long time he has a lot more stories to tell.
They absolutely do…and we’re gonna do our best to get them told 😂
@@Stapleton42 I'm here for it brotha.
To document these stories is priceless as when these people have gone what is not written or recorded will be lost forever
I'm 43 and seen all the cool cars that were driven on the track when Nascar was cool. I think the cars they are running now are the best looking since the 90s.
Man, I had a mark viii in highschool..thing was an absolute ripper. Leather and air ride. Got it cheap because it needed compressor and bags. Cool to hear from Don Miller. Big Rusty fan growing up too
I've never seen this before, though I remember John Andretti being a big advocate as the then-current Monte Carlo was absolutely beating up on the Fords.
Don Miller .. was the man . Penske Racing South !!!!
Oh I remember the Taurus fiasco, from 4 doors to 2 doors. But ford wanted to use it because it was a huge selling car when it came out.
Great video, thanks Mitchell and Logan.
Ford was on top at this point and they had so many options. They could've kept the Taurus re-design similar to its first two generations and raced that. A NASCAR version of the early 90s SHO would've been awesome. They could've made this Lincoln as a coupe on the same platform as the Crown Vic/Grand Marquis and given it whichever badge they wanted. They could've redesigned the Taurus as they did but raced the Crown Vic, like they did with the full-size Torino in the 70s. Instead they dropped the massive turd that was the Taurus, completely ruining the best selling car in the world, punted on the luxury coupe market that became fully import soon after this, and kicked off the bad decisions that cost NASCAR its fanbase IMO.
Really enjoyed watching Bill Elliot driving the thunder bird. Agreed the Monte Carlo was a cool race car.
Would like to see the story of the Taurus that is outside.
I`m definately down for the story on that silver car! Back then I wasnt a Ford fan either, (team #3 forever!) but I do like the cool stories of how and why things happened, no matter the driver, team or brand! Keep `m coming, I`ll keep watching, liking and commenting!
I grew up in a lil trailer court in my hometown and our neighbor was a really nice old man that helped teach me alot of things from taking care of my bike to building jumps for it that weren't going to come apart after hitting the jump 3 times haha..he drove a green colored Lincoln mark VII...that thing was showroom mint right up to the last time I saw it in his driveway...truly miss ol Harry
Would definitely love to hear the story behind the Taurus because it’s clearly stretched out in the back and to me it looks like it has lights from an escort 🤨 depending something interesting going on there
Never heard about this before. Absolutely incredible! Definitely wanna hear about the Taurus.
I remember back then when one of the Nascar weekly TV shows on either TNN or ESPN network, there was mention of Jack Rouse playing with a Lincoln for use in Nascar. Seems like Jeff Andretti was driving it in practice.
Your right about that they had the car at the track race ready built to the rules with stock hood ,roof and deck lid. I don't remember who was the car owner or driver. I seen the same show your talking about it was on TNN.
We need more on this car and that Taurus sitting back there. And if you know where anymore of cars like this are we need those stories
I really enjoyed this interview! And appreciate your content and how your bringing Nascar history to your channel!
Thanks Michael!
Holy crap what a great interview, hit this outta the park, gunna have to check out this museum my next day off work, place is only a few miles up the road from me and I need to see this car in person
If they'd made this, I would've owned it at some point. I loved the Mark series. The Marauder was cool as they made it, but a grand tourer would've been so much cooler.
My Mom driving a Mark viii at the time, I remember being super excited when they tested this car.
In the late 90s the monte was WAAAY better looking than the taurus, but the grand prix looked best
Nice job and history. So the Sprint car and the coupe modified is what I grew up with and owned throughout my racing career. Keep up the good work
Oh hell yeah love this fantastic channel and all the adventures and cool stuff you do and share thanks for all the awesome content so far and what’s to come!
Thanks man we are glad you’re on the team!
Awesome. Y’all never disappoint.
Thank you Richard!
I am always impressed at your age the ability to get this type of interview. I find it ironic that Edsel Ford made a bad decision about a body style.
Please do the story of the Taurus. Always been a NASCAR fan and it’s cool to learn the back stories. I guess I’m a racing Nerd!
I know that the Taurus wasn’t a very good looking car but I remember well the first race that they ran the Taurus the first group of cars that crossed the finish line first that day had the Taurus body on them. The other teams had a fit and NASCAR made them take three inches off of the rear spoilers. I will never forget the reaction that everyone else had !
I love these type videos. Your passion for racing history is amazing. Please keep making these. Don't forget the car builds as well. I like a variety of content, keeps it from getting stale and redundant. Great job you two.
Thank you Chris! We are going to be working on the 632 install in the suburban tomorrow 💪🏻
@Stapleton42 damn right you are. Forgot to mention, I would love to see the deal with the Taurus.
Cool interview! That car is very interesting. Looks good. Imagine if it could have been raced.
Stapleton, I'd love to see 00 Reutimann's Dominos or Burger King Specials either in a Proper Museum Home or Raced Again. I love to see some of the Earlier Toyotas be Homed in either a Museum or Race Track. I still Mad at China Red Bull is doing Red Bull things, especially if the F1 Team is too big for its own good.
We are building a 1993 Ford Thunderbird for a customer! Race car version! The Superbird would’ve been an awesome thing to see! It was before my time! Cool video
Long time subscriber, first time commenter. Love the content you and Logan put out. My grandfather worked for Texaco, so I grew up around the old Yates 28 show cars. I rep my Stapleton Auto Works Robert Yates style shirt and hat all the time. Thanks for telling the stories of old time NASCAR and keeping the history alive!!
That is awesome!
Definitely want to hear more about the one off Taurus
I LOVE old history like this! It's what made me want to know EVERYTHING about NASCAR!!! But.....I certainly didn't know about this! So glad you are getting stuff like this on film. Sadly, guys like this won't be around for ever and if stuff like this wast documented, it would be lost. That car would probably be gotten rid of as "some old dumb race car" and it would just suck if that were to happen. Awesome video dude!!!
Thank you Jeremiah! That’s exactly why we set out to document things like this. To keep it alive forever 💪🏻
@@Stapleton42 you are very lucky to be able to talk to all the folks you've had in your videos. I know the "Tribute Petty" car was kind of a joke (it was the first video of yours I watched...I've since watched the rest of your collection) but even talking the guys at that shop was really informative and I'm sure had a ton of history behind them. 🤘🔥
That’s awesome. Great job. So cool to see stuff like that and right from the source.
So good to see Mr Miller again, I dealt with him a number of times during my stay in NASCCAR, a nicer guy you will never find. Cool story, I knew of the KH Lincoln as I had access to the shop and took photos of it back in the day. I did not know the Superbird stroy, shows that there are still stories to dig up. THX
They could build a street version of that car today stuffed with one of there big performance engines tied to a manual shift and it would sell .
NASCAR didn’t want that car racing cause it would have been dominanting the competition like when nascar said the Daytona super bird and the 1974 Dodge Charger Richard petty drove was to fast they want the field equal
Ford had the Talladega also, main part that killed them was technology was not up to par, at the speeds these cars were capable of going, tires were coming apart.
This channel really comes up with some gems sometimes. Great job man.
The race Taurus actually looked infinitely better than the street version. I actually am a bit fonder of that 98/99 body style because it was such a weird footnote in the history of things. That Thunderbird tho was legit. In reality though, the Taurus was fine, it just had some superspeedway struggles by itself but always drafted well. So many "coulda, shoulda, woulda's" out there, gotta tell as many of those stories as you can. Great job!
thanks David we are glad you're here!
I love your Nascar videos. You really do a great job of getting the history. I have been into Nascar since the 60's and I have a 89 Iroc Z and a 04 Intimidator Monte Carlo. Keep up the good work. I watch all of your videos.
Thank you David we appreciate you
Of course we want to know !
There's a couple other significant. Mark Viii's ,land speed record tan one, twin supercharged white one Tasca Ford built I believe animal jims black one.. Lowest drag coefficient car that Lincoln has ever produced., I owned a champagne and a silver one, both awesome cars they were like a flying couch with air ride. But parts getting tough to find.
I owned a 93 Mark 8, white with a black interior in the 90's and loved it so much I had a chance to buy a 94 Mark 8 in 2009, Black with a grey interior, 63,000 miles for $3200. I snagged it and still have it. Yes parts are hard to come by though.
I know the guy who did the 92 Lincoln Mark viii speed record. He’s actually going to do another one soon
I owned two Taurus I couldn't imagine racing it 😂
Great video Mitch. At the time, Ford's decision to switch to the Taurus in '98 was extremely disappointing to me as a 16 year old fan, especially because it was getting axed just in time for Nascar's 50th anniversary. The Thunderbird was so much better looking than the new Taurus (even as a blue oval fan, I can't see how anyone would actually spend money on that Taurus body style). The Thunderbird was the last vehicle in Nascar (at that time) which was still a V8 RWD platform in street car form. Growing up, I was a big fan of Bill Elliott, Rusty Wallace, Mark Martin, Davey Allison, and Alan Kulwicki, and those T-Birds were some awesome looking machines. You bring up a fascinating point at 14:30 - as a young kid, you probably figured Ford was the hokiest thing on the track (and the street) because of the lame choice of body styling. Being a little older, I got to enjoy the T-Bird setting records at Daytona and Talladega and was the car my favorite drivers and teams chose. By the late 90's, there was no doubt the Monte Carlo and Grand Prix were much better looking race cars. That being said, I'd still love to see a video about the old Taurus sitting out behind the museum. Keep up the great work!
Thanks man! We appreciate your insight
I was too. Just thought how much the Taurus were successful with Daytona 500 wins and three cup championships. Even though I love the T-Birds it was time for a change for the blue oval.
LOGAN and Mitchell are back at it again. Like,share and enjoy everybody. This is magnificent content and the story told through the eyes of thw ones before us that made racing today what it is. You guys are blowing my mind with these interviews.
Thank you!
Cool! Love to hear about racing history, this rocks! Glad to see you two exploring the NASCAR background and documenting it for all of us. Always with you & Logan, & keep up the excellent video content! Thanks man!
I had a 92 Lincoln Mark 8 it's a beautiful car beautiful 4v engine too
The Mark VIII started in 93
@@EricaEchos no 92 I owned one I know what year it came out.
Another great video in the discussion/interview series. Well done again. This truly isn’t you father’s Lincoln. The rear bumper lines, with the comparable photo you posted, drove it home. Love to see a video on the Taurus, if you’re up to it. Just wanted to add, no matter the brand you take the time to give it respect. Greatly appreciated.
Front wheel drive cars got like 4 more inches of rear width or something like that if I remember correctly... shaped em like a wedge... dope vid again dude 🤘
I was a police officer in the Daytona Beach area back in 1990 and I pulled Mr. Miller over one night. The race team was behind him in a truck and they jumped out and we all chatted for a few. It was about 2 in the morning and they had all been out partying (with Don Miller). Lots of fun back in those days.
Epic 😂
Great video, another piece of the puzzle regarding the mid '90's Lincoln-Mercury NASCAR flirtations.
I HAVE to know the history of that Taurus in the parking lot. It has always mystified me. I could tell something was up with the rear trunklid/bumper and I would fixate on it as I drove by every day on my way to working at the Penske wind tunnel nearby. I never had time to stop and look into it and would only work there a week or so at a time before returning to Michigan, but could tell it was significantly reshaped and not just a bad repair job.
It bugged me so bad that I even had my parents stop and take some photos of it for me years later when they were on a trip south and drove through Mooresville! This is the biggest mystery in my life and I need answers so I can sleep at night!
😂 man that’s funny. We will get you answers!
Nascar seems to have a lot of this...
Incredibly nice, soft spoken, mega successful people that just want to tell stories to whoever will listen.
I hope you get Schrader one day. He's seriously awesome to meet and talk to.
My first experience with someone heavily involved in Nascar happened at my uncles house in upstate NY around 92 when I was 8. He owned a couple hundred acres of land with ponds, I was brought over to go fishing, I was only 8 and admired Rusty Wallace and had his shirt on, but I also liked Dale Earnhardt and was wearing a #3 hat. We went back to my Uncles house after fishing and he was having coffee with a friend who said "hey son, cool shirt but that hat isn't okay around me" jokingly. My uncles friend was Geoff Bodines crew chief and told me a long story about why his driver wasn't friends with Earnhardt anymore. 🤣
That’s funny 😂
Awesome content! Love the little known NASCAR stories. Looks like the back glass in that taurus has been modified.
ABSOLUTELY want you to elaborate on the Taurus man….love these videos man, keep ‘em coming
You got it
That Lincoln stockcar actually looks really cool. I think it is anyway.
i think it would have been the Mercury Marauder and it would have been an absolute monster in its first season and then Mr. Bill France would step in and do what he did to Gordon's T-Rex and rewrite a bunch of rules around that particular car to either ban it or remove its advantage
Probably 😂
Love the channel btw and love how you're teaching the history of a sport I love, last post was definitely not meant to throw shade...Just an old Nascar fan/dude perspective 👍☺
Thanks man!
A lincoln based Nascar would have been awesome. I have always liked the mark Lincolns and always thought the 8 would have made a cool Nascar. So seeing that it was a thought at one time was really cool.
Stapes! You’ve been hitting them all outta the park lately with these uploads!
We have been trying! It’s hard. So thank you a ton!
The car they used in the test wound up being reskinned and converted over to a Ford Thunderbird and Dale Jarrett promptly won with at Bristol in August of 1997. And of course, Don Miller was a partner in Penske Racing when Rusty, Don, and Roger Penske formed that team. It's no wonder Rusty put so much into winning and being competitive as he owned part of his car. I never knew Rusty was a partner in his own race team back then.
Do you know if the car in the video was a different iteration? I notice that the center decklid isn't tapered nearly as much (if at all) compared to the Andretti test car.
If it was the same car I doubt they would have gone to the trouble of reskinning is again to put it on display, but I certainly could be wrong. And it surprises me that Dale Jarrett would have driven it since he was with Robert Yates and I don't recall Penske having an association with RYR. Just my 2 cents, your mileage may vary.
I remember Cale Yarborough Racing built and tested one of the cars.
I’ve never cared about a Taurus in my life but I definitely want to hear the story of that silver one!!
aww man that was good i like to hear about the cars back then that looked so fast settting still man i could spend all day long in there walking around and looking at everything that place is awesome