No. 12 Meineke Ford Thunderbird

Ford Thunderbirds entered the NASCAR race track in 1977, taking the place of the Torino model. This was also the first year of production for their seventh generation of T-Birds. Despite their boxy appearance, driver (and later team owner) Bobby Allison won 13 races between 1977 and 1980 in Thunderbirds.

Other drivers of note include Bill Elliot, who took 1st in a Thunderbird in the 1988 Winston Cup Series, and Alan Kulwicki, who took the same honor in 1992 in what he called his “Underbird,” nicknamed for his underdog status as a racer.

Bill Elliot even holds the top two fastest track qualifying records of all time — Daytona (210 mph) as well as Talladega (212mph) — both were set in Ford Thunderbirds in 1987. Those records were done so prior to the restrictor plate requirement that went into effect at both of those tracks the following year.

No. 12 Meineke Ford Thunderbird was driven by Jimmy Spencer in the 1993 NASCAR season. In 1993, Spencer signed to drive for Bobby Allison's team full-time in this vehicle, and finished in the top-five five times, resulting in a career-best fifteenth-place in the final standings.

Ford ceased production of the Thunderbird model in 1997, replacing it with the new Taurus model. In 1998, both Taurus’s and T-Birds were on the track for the Winston 500, with many drivers, including Spencer, making a run for it in a Thunderbird. Many of the seasoned drivers preferred the T-Birds at the time because they had gotten used to them, and weren’t ready to learn the Taurus. While Spencer started 36th, he was able to score in the top 10 in the race.