Some great publicity, but not very realistic. The Judge's standard engine (RAIII) was all done by 5700 rpm, the RAIV engine could maybe hit 6200 rpm, in stock trim, at the shift points, but neither engine would sustain those rpm's making a top end run. The Judge's rear wing also caused the nose to lift severely at speeds over 80 mph. By 110 mph, your Judge sat like it had a straight axle in front. This story was probably just a reponse to the fact that the Dodge Daytona and Charger 500 were built for racing, so Steve Malone was just protecting the image of the Judge, and that radical rear wing.
The 69 Trans Am was actually capable of hitting higher speeds than the GTO. Smaller frontal area than the GTO, and the Trans Am sat 1" lower. The engineers put a front spoiler on the Trans Am to prevent the nose from lifting, and to balance the rear wing downforce. Also, the Trans Am's side air extractors pull trapped air from under the hood to further prevent front end lift. The original RAV (303 cid) powerplant that was scheduled to go into the 1969 Trans Am was capable of more revs, but even then, Pontiac estimated a 135 mph top end with 3.90 gears reving to 6200 rpm. In theory, a 3.23 gear with the RAV engine may have pushed the 69 Trans Am to 140-145 mph. With the 400 cube version of the RAV, and a lazy rear gear, 150 mph MAY have been possible, but only in the 69 Trans Am body.
Like I said, just a publicity move to promote the Judge, but a very interesting article nonetheless. Thanks for posting!
