What is the Goodyear’s Gold Car trophy? All you need to know about the unique NASCAR championship reward

The format that crowned Darrell Waltrip, the NASCAR Cup Series champion back in 1985, is obsolete today. However, what remains common between him and every single driver who has won the series title since then is a meticulously designed 24-karat gold-plated keepsake. Known as Goodyear’s Gold Car trophy, this award represents tradition, craftsmanship, and, above all, success.

But what is so special about this trophy? Let’s take a look into the history of how this beautiful trophy came into existence and why drivers like Kyle Larson and Joey Logano hold their Goodyear Gold Car trophies so dear to their hearts.

It all started with Mike Dunlap, the master creator. As a kid, Dunlap used to be fascinated by miniatures. A lover of automobiles, Dunlap started forging realistic model cars soon. He showed one of his creations to Roger Penske, the owner of Team Penske and chairman of the Penske Corporation.

Penske seemed to like it so much that he ended up purchasing a few of Dunlap’s model cars. The year was 1983. That’s exactly when Goodyear turned its eyes to Dunlap’s talent and decided to make it a staple of the champions.

In a Goodyear video from 2022, Dunlap recalled,

“1985 was the first delivery. I think Darrell Waltrip won that year. He was the first recipient from Goodyear of the gold car.”(1:08)

The gold car is an extremely detailed replica of the championship-winning car. So much so that even the lug nuts are scaled down to 1/12th of their original size on the car. Joey Logano, who drives full-time for Team Penske in the Cup Series and has two of these trophies at home already, appeared in the Goodyear video and said:

“There is not a better trophy in sports than that.” (1:29)

Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevy, who also won the title in 2021, said:

“It's the most valuable piece of anything that I own (1:35

Joey Logano added a third Gold Car trophy to his collection this year. Logano held off his teammate and reigning Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney by 0.33 seconds to take the checkered flag at Phoenix Raceway on November 10.

Mike Dunlap reveals how he manages to deliver NASCAR’s coveted trophy on time

Come to think of it, the championship race at Phoenix Raceway and the NASCAR Awards ceremony are less than a couple of weeks apart. So how does Dunlap know which car to make the replica of? How does he deliver the Goodyear Gold Car on such short notice?

Mike Dunlap explained,

“The materials that I use are primarily brass and copper for parts that are electro-formed or electric plated. I get the files from the manufacturers. I have those files cleaned up so that we can 3D print the bodies, and that's the first step." (2:03)

Dunlap has to be prepared to make any of the cars that qualify for the title-deciding finale. Therefore, he brings the cars up to a certain point where he can assemble their body, chassis, suspension, etc., and then focuses more on the car that seems to gain more momentum towards the end of the season. The last few days are all about the finishing touches.