wrote in his autobiography, "so it was just self-defense." Yunick's success was also due to his expertise in the aerodynamics of racing cars. In another incident, Yunick showed up for a race with stock rear fenders that partially covered the rear tires of his Chevelle. The car qualified well due to improved aerodynamics but the other teams were laughing and wondering how he was going to change the tires during pit stops. After qualifying, Yunick promptly cut out the rear fender openings. The other teams complained to NASCAR but Smokey said, "The rules say that I CAN cut out the rear fenders but it doesn't say WHEN I can cut them." Yunick also built a 1968 Camaro for Trans-Am racing. Although Yunick set several speed and endurance records with the car at Bonneville Speedway, with both a 302 cubic inch (~4942 cubic centimeter) and a 396 cubic inch (~6489 cubic centimeter) engine, it never won a race while Yunick owned it. It was later sold to Don Yenko, who did win several races. In typical Yunick fashion, the car, although superficially a stock Camaro, had acid-dipped body panels and thinner window glass to reduce weight, the front end of the body tilted downwards and the windshield laid back for aerodynamics, all four fenders widened, the front subframe Z'ed (to physically move the front suspension higher and lower the front of the car) and the floorpan moved up to lower the car, and many other detailed modifications. The drip rails were even brought closer to the body for a tiny aerodynamic improvement. A connector to the engine oil system was extended into the car's interior, to allow the driver to add oil from a pressurized hose during pit stops. To allow the driver enough freedom of movement, the shoulder harness was modified to include a cable-ratchet mechanism from a military helicopter. In 1993, Vic Edelbrock Jr. purchased and restored the car. Contrary to popular opinion, Yunick designed the first "safe wall" race track barrier in the early 1980s using old tires between sheets of plywood but NASCAR did not adopt his idea. Also, Yunick developed air jacks for stock cars in 1961 but NASCAR did not deem them appropriate. Awards He was inducted in the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1990 (inaugural year) and the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2000. Yunick is a member of over 30