Beginning with Fred Lorenzen’s victory from pole position in 1964, NASCAR race winners at this week’s historic venue, Martinsville Speedway have received a grandfather clock for their effort.

But behind a vintage car clock’s fancy hands and dials, and behind its straightforward timekeeping function, there are some interesting mechanisms at play.

In 1966, most of these cars -- that is, the Impalas and Caprices -- came with a clock as standard equipment. Here's one that I pulled from a 1966 Impala Sport Sedan in a Denver self-service ...

It was one of many cars to use clocks by Waltham, at the time making almost half the car clocks in the US. The Waltham eight-day Car Clock was a hand wound clock with lasting popularity.

How often do you use your car's clock to let you know how late you are for work? Have you ever been in a rental car and spent more than a few seconds trying to figure out where the heck they hid ...

With clocks playing a vital role in interior design, see if you can match the timepiece with the car with our quiz below… Subscribe to The Week Escape your echo chamber.

Beginning with Fred Lorenzen‘s victory from pole position in 1964, NASCAR race winners at this week‘s historic venue, Martinsville Speedway have received a grandfather clock for their effort.