How many of you remember the iconic Superbird, the unique version of the Dodge Charger Daytona and its sister car, the Plymouth Road Runner Superbird, that Richard Petty made famous in NASCAR in 1970, going on to win 18 races that season?
With the huge spoiler that rose about two feet above the trunk lid and a massive 426-cubic-inch Hemi engine under the hood, the Superbird was unlike any race car NASCAR has ever seen – and likely will ever see again.
Borrowing a page from the Reddit/Dogecoin crowdfunding for Josh Wise’s car in Sprint Cup, now comes a report from Hooniverse.com that a group of producers and obviously die-hard gearheads are attempting to raise money also through crowdfunding to make a movie about the fabled ‘Bird.
The tentative working title for the movie is quite appropriate: “Winged Warriors.”
The producers are trying to raise enough money through an initiative on KickStarter.com to not only make the film, but also to build or buy several replica cars, including the original Dodge No. 88 Daytona test car that spawned the Superbird, as well as Petty’s No. 43 Plymouth Superbird, James Hylton’s No. 48 Dodge Charger and the No. 99 Dodge Charger Daytona owned by Charlie Glotzbach and Richard Brickhouse.
Kickstarter will be the first of two fundraising efforts, according to Hooniverse, with a goal of $462,000, of which nearly $275,000 will be designated for building or purchasing eight variations of the Superbird.
The fundraising effort has some unique perks: If you pledge $10,000, you’ll get a brief speaking part in the movie and an executive producer credit.
Even those who can only afford $25, there’s a perk, as well: a DVD of the film and a poster.
The fundraising pledge effort kicked off June 1, but admittedly is going slowly: As of 7 pm ET Saturday, producers had raised just under $14,000, or about three percent of their goal. The fundraising effort continues until June 30.
Media and fan attention focused on a controversial run-in between Haiden Deegan and his Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing teammate Jordon Smith during Round 10 of the Monster Energy Supercross race at Detroit, after which the 250 East points’ Hunter Lawrence defends the young rider in the postrace news conference.
Deegan took the early lead in Heat 1 of the round, but the mood swiftly changed when he became embroiled in a spirited battle with teammate Smith.
On Lap 3, Smith caught Deegan with a fast pass through the whoops. Smith briefly held the lead heading into a bowl turn but Deegan had the inside line and threw a block pass. In the next few turns, the action heated up until Smith eventually ran into the back of Deegan’s Yamaha and crashed.
One of the highlights of the battle seemed to include a moment when Deegan waited on Smith in order to throw a second block pass, adding fuel to the controversy.
After his initial crash, Smith fell to seventh on the next lap. He would crash twice more during the event, ultimately finishing four laps off the pace in 20th.
The topic was inevitably part of the postrace news conference.
Smith had more trouble in the Last Chance Qualifier. He stalled his bike in heavy traffic, worked his way into a battle for fourth with the checkers in sight, but crashed a few yards shy of the finish line and was credited with seventh. Smith earned zero points and fell to sixth in the standings.
Jordon Smith failed to make the Detroit Supercross Main and fell to sixth in the points. – Feld Motor Sports
“I think he’s like fifth in points,” Deegan said. “He’s a little out of it. Beside that it was good, I don’t know. I wasn’t really paying attention.”
Deegan jokingly deflected an earlier question with the response that he wasn’t paying attention during the incident.
“He’s my teammate, but he’s a veteran, he’s been in this sport for a while,” Deegan said. “I was up there just battling. I want to win as much as everybody else. It doesn’t matter if it’s a heat race or a main; I just want to win. I was just trying to push that.”
As Deegan and Smith battled, Jeremy Martin took the lead. Deegan finished second in the heat and backed up his performance with a solid third-place showing in the main, which was his second podium finish in a short six-race career. Deegan’s first podium was earned at Daytona, just two rounds ago.
But as Deegan struggled to find something meaningful to say, unsurprisingly for a 17-year-old rider who was not scheduled to run the full 250 schedule this year, it was the championship leader Lawrence who came to his defense.
A block pass by Haiden Deegan led to a series of events that eventually led to Jordon Smith failing to make the Main. – Feld Motor Sports
“I just want to point something out, which kind of amazes me,” Lawrence said during the conference. “So many of the people on social media, where everyone puts their expertise in, are saying the racing back in the ’80s, the early 90s, when me were men. They’re always talking about how gnarly it was and then anytime a block pass or something happens now, everyone cries about it.
“That’s just a little bit interesting. Pick one. You want the gnarly block passes from 10 years ago and then you get it, everyone makes a big song and dance about it.”
Pressed further, Lawrence defended not only the pass but the decision-making process that gets employed lap after lap in a Supercross race.
“It’s easy to point the finger,” Lawrence said. “We’re out there making decisions in a split millisecond. People have all month to pay their phone bill and they still can’t do that on time.
“We’re making decisions at such a fast reaction [time with] adrenaline. … I’m not just saying it for me or Haiden. I speak for all the guys. No one is perfect and we’re under a microscope out there. The media is really quick to point a finger when someone makes a mistake.”
The media is required to hold athletes accountable for their actions. They are also required to tell the complete story.
