Aero Testing the 1973 Mopar Missile Drag Racing Car (Plymouth Duster)
The Chrysler drag race group had a very limited budget.
The renting of a full size wind tunnel, if it was available, was
out of the question. They had to do it the old fashion way,
taping cotton tufts to the car, then using a chase car with
the racer traveling at high speed passing the chase car.
Someone had to hang out of the chase car taking
pictures, and some one else had to be strapped in the back
seat of the race car taking pictures of the tach and other instruments.
Now that is hard core.
The Plymouth Duster version of the Mopar Missile was, according to Joe Pappas, a Butler chassis built in late 1972, originally run as a 1972 and updated to a 1973. It was the most successful of the Missile cars, winning most of the major events it entered (mainly IHRA but also the NHRA SummerNationals at Columbus).
The aero testing required someone to take pictures from the outside, and someone to take pictures from the inside:
A great deal of information can be developed photos of the car as it is driven at high speed.
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