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"Ten years ago this week, the final Oldsmobile rolled off the assembly line in Lansing, Michigan. By 2004, Olds dealerships had become cesspools of sloppy front-drive snoozers. It was more euthanasia than anything else, but it&amp;#039;s easy to forget that Oldsmobile was once a motorsports powerhouse. We could go on and on, citing each of the company&amp;#039;s NHRA titles or Trans-Am Series wins, reminiscing about the Smothers Brothers and Hairy Hurst and IRL engines. Instead, we&amp;#039;ve neatly highlighted half a dozen moments when the crew from Lansing exemplified racing badassery. Oldsmobile introduced the speedometer in 1901. Every so often, it reminded us why.   1. 1949 - 62 percent of the time, it wins every time NASCAR&amp;#039;s maiden Strictly Stock (see: Sprint Cup) title went to Robert &amp;quot;Red&amp;quot; Byron and his &amp;quot;Rocket&amp;quot; 88 in 1949. That season, Olds&amp;#039;s drivers won five of the eight Grand National races in Big Bill France&amp;#039;s fledgling series. We hear that stock-car racing thing has quite a following these days. CHECK OUT: Our 13 best cars under 100,000   2. 1950 - Viva M\u00E9xico! Nine stages. Five days. 2100 miles. Completing the Carrera Panamericana was a Herculean feat, akin to conquering the Mille Miglia and equally as dangerous\u2014so dangerous, in fact, that the Mexican road rally was canceled after just five years. But at the Panamericana&amp;#039;s inaugural finish line, four of the first seven cars across were Oldsmobiles, including the overall winner, Herschel McGriff.   3. 1969\u201370 - The 442 gets dirty James Garner raced a tube-chassis, mid-ship-converted 442 W-31 in Baja off-road rallies in &amp;#039;69 and &amp;#039;70. It was bright blue, made 480 hp, rode on lifted suspension with 11 inches of travel, and was nicknamed &amp;quot;Goodyear Grabber.&amp;quot;      &amp;#039;Nuff said. RIDE ALONG: From L.A. to Vegas, tracing the legacy of Carroll Shelby   4. 1987 - Record-setting speed Oldsmobile once put an experimental, wind tunnel-tested composite body onto a March 84C CART chassis. Then the Lansing crew added a 1000-plus-hp twin-turbo 2.0-liter and made A.J. Foyt drive. The Aerotech Concept shattered Mercedes-Benz&amp;#039;s closed-course speed record, laying down a 267.39-mph two-direction average. Crack open the FIA&amp;#039;s official standings nearly three decades later, and you&amp;#039;ll still find &amp;#039;Oldsmobile&amp;#039; scribbled all over Category A. CHECK OUT: The 10 best designs from Bertone&amp;#039;s past.   5. 1992 - A nine-year winning streak In capturing the &amp;#039;92 NHRA Manufacturers Cup, Oldsmobile became the only marque ever to earn nine consecutive titles\u2014an accomplishment that still stands today. During this span, legends like Warren Johnson, Randy Ayers, and John Force drove under the florid rocket crest in all classes. Oldsmobile was laid to rest with 14 NHRA constructors&amp;#039; crowns, second only to Chevrolet&amp;#039;s all-time.   6. 1996 - Olds beats Enzo In a spectacular finish at Daytona, a Ferrari 333SP was left staring at the tail end of an Oldsmobile-powered Riley &amp;amp;amp; Scott MkIII when the checkered flag was thrown at the &amp;#039;96 Rolex 24. Oh, and an Aurora took first in the GTS-1 class, too. Not a bad day for Lansing, huh? Olds went on to win the &amp;#039;96 IMSA manufacturers title. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/features/a7779/6-greatest-oldsmonile-racing-moments/>