I'm not any of the NASCAR greats aforementioned, but I won 13 races in 2 seasons with a 67 GTO dirt car, cast rods, no failures 1975-76. There were no budget racer choices but cast rods during that time frame.
I also went 3 seasons with a 428 in a 69 Grand Prix dirt car, cast rods, no failures. 1977-78-79. The engine is still together as it was pulled from the car in 1980.
If you were a budget racer in the 70s there were no affordable connecting rods other than cast rods. We polished the beams, resized them, and put good rod bolts in them. Would I do that today, not likely, but if I wanted to race back then, I used cast rods.
Contrary to popular belief they work, as long as you keep the RPM reasonable, prep the rods, and run at least .002 rod clearance. They're not made of porcelain and fragile like tableware.
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