When I was in high school, (I graduated in 1965), all of the boys would keep up with who won the Daytona 500. It was not so much that we were NASCAR fans. It was who would get bragging rights between Ford and Plymouth. There were other brands too but that was the big two.
After Daytona, we hardly even noticed who won.
Here are some of the names o the drivers who drove at Bridgehampton that day : Richard Petty ( won and got $ 1000 ! ), Fred Lorenzon , Fireball Roberts , Joe Weatherly , David Pearson , Bobby Issac , Buck Baker , Lee Petty ...Petty 1st in a Plymouth ; followed by 2 Fords, a Dodge and yet another Ford in 5th , so I hear ya re: the Ford / Plymouth-Dodge rivalry .