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93-619: The car's primary rivals were the Ford Torino Talladega and Mercury Cyclone , a direct response to the Mopar aero car . It has also been speculated that a motivating factor in the production of the car was to lure Richard Petty back to Plymouth. Both of the Mopar aero cars famously featured a protruding, aerodynamic nosecone, a high-mounted rear wing and, unique to the Superbird, a horn mimicking

186-630: A Grand National Car while winner Bobby Allison drove a Grand American car, there is a technical dispute regarding which race is credited as his 200th win. NASCAR did not credit Petty with a class win, which was a dispute that affected two other drivers, Elmo Langley and Charlie Glotzbach , both of whom drove in combination races that season, finishing second to Grand American cars. Under modern NASCAR combination race rules for various series, Petty would be credited with that would be recognized as his 135th win. On May 20, 1984, Petty won what under modern regulations would be recognized as his 200th Cup class win,

279-604: A NASCAR exhibition race at the then new Calder Park Thunderdome , the first NASCAR race outside of North America. While he did not compete in the track's inaugural race, the Goodyear NASCAR 500 (though his son Kyle did), Richard Petty, in testing at the 1.119 mi (1.801 km) track which owner Bob Jane had modeled on the Charlotte Motor Speedway , set an unofficial lap record of 28.2 seconds (142.85 mp/h). This would have in fact landed him on pole position for

372-501: A Torino Talladega is a very collectible car. It was a special purpose built vehicle (some have even called it a "showroom race car") with a very strong racing history, with major links to the NASCAR teams of 1969, that achieved great success during the Aero Wars . Those few examples that still exist today, do so in very limited numbers. Until recently, their values had not risen nearly as high as

465-464: A character partially based on himself. Petty is a second-generation driver. His father, Lee Petty , won the first Daytona 500 in 1959 and was also a three-time NASCAR champion. In 1958, Petty married Lynda Owens, who would die of cancer on March 25, 2014, at her home in Level Cross, North Carolina at age 72. Lynda's brother Randy Owens was a member of Petty's pit crew and killed at age 19 during

558-590: A few public show appearances at racetracks. On August 18, 1993, NASCAR participated in a tire test at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway , in preparations for the 1994 Brickyard 400 . Petty drove several laps around the track, and then donated his car to the Speedway's museum. He would again step into a racecar in 2003 on the week of the final race under the Winston banner at Homestead-Miami Speedway , where he took

651-609: A large change in Petty's racing team. Dale Inman , Petty's longtime crew chief, left the team after the Daytona victory (Inman would win an eighth championship as crew chief in 1984 with Terry Labonte ). While the 1981 season gave Petty 3 wins, he felt the season was a failure, and the Regals being ill-handling and poor in reliability. For 1982, he made the move to the Pontiac Grand Prix, with

744-484: A lot of times doing a lot of things. He knows the system better." He was reelected to the county commission in 1982, 1986, and 1990. During his 1992 retirement tour, Petty took a parade lap before every race with the exception of the Southern 500 , where Democratic presidential candidate Bill Clinton served as grand marshal. In 1993, Petty formed a political action committee to support Republican candidates. In 1996, he

837-454: A mile long. Petty switched brands to Ford, due to his belief the Plymouth was not competitive on super-speedways; he wanted a slippery Dodge Daytona but Chrysler executives insisted he stay with Plymouth. He would win 10 races and finish second in points. He won in 1970 in the sleek new Plymouth Superbird with a shark nose and towel rack wing, Petty returned to Plymouth for the 1970 season. This

930-516: A nonprofit organization of which he is a former member. He has also established a summer camp known as "Victory Junction", which is intended to give seriously ill children an outdoors, summer-camp experience and has medical staff on hand around the clock in case of emergencies. In May 2011, Petty was chosen to be the Grand Marshal for the 2011 STP 400 of the Sprint Cup Series. In public, he

1023-578: A phone call from Lee Iacocca (who personally asked Petty to campaign a Dodge for 1981), the Petty team built a stunning 1981 Dodge Mirada and took it to Daytona in January 1981 for high speed tests. Petty's fans were also in a large part fans of his Dodges, so when word got out about the Mirada testing, 15,000 or so showed up on January 17, 1981, at Daytona Speedway to watch Petty put the Dodge through its paces. Sadly for

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1116-443: A pit road accident when a water tank exploded during the 1975 Winston 500 . Richard and Lynda had four children, including Kyle Petty . The family resides in Petty's home town of Level Cross, North Carolina. Petty's son Kyle is also a former NASCAR driver. His grandson, Adam (Kyle's son), was killed in a practice crash at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on May 12, 2000, five weeks after the death of Lee Petty. Adam's brother Austin

1209-524: A record 200 races during his career. This included winning the Daytona 500 a record seven times and winning a record 27 races in one season (1967). Petty was inducted into the inaugural class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2010. He is also statistically the most accomplished driver in the history of NASCAR, having racked up most wins (200), most poles (123), tied for most championships (seven), most wins in

1302-604: A record 1,184 starts, including 513 consecutive starts from 1971 to 1989. Petty was the first driver to win in his 500th race start, being joined by Matt Kenseth in 2013. The Richard Petty Museum was formerly in nearby Randleman, North Carolina , but moved back to its original location in Level Cross in March 2014. Petty has also voiced a role in Disney/Pixar's animated films Cars and Cars 3 , playing Strip "The King" Weathers,

1395-682: A scoring error on the officials' part. Hours later, Lee was awarded the win. In 1960, he finished 2nd in the NASCAR Grand National Points Race, and got his first career win at the Charlotte Fairgrounds Speedway. 1963 was his breakout year, winning at tracks like Martinsville and Bridgehampton . In 1964, driving a potent Plymouth with a new Hemi engine, Petty led 184 of the 200 laps to capture his first Daytona 500 , en route to 9 victories, earning over $ 114,000 and his first Grand National championship. Joining in

1488-513: A season (27), most Daytona 500 wins (seven), most consecutive wins (10) and most starts (1,185). He earns broad respect in motorsport where beyond driving, he remains very active as both a team ambassador ( Legacy Motor Club ) in the Cup Series and owner of Petty's Garage (a car restoration and modification shop) in Level Cross, North Carolina . During his 35-year career, Petty collected a record number of poles (123) and over 700 top 10 finishes in

1581-400: A single 4-barrel carburetor . Only 135 models were fitted with the 426 Hemi. As the 440 was less expensive to produce, the "street" version of the 426 Hemi engine used in competition was homologated by producing the minimum number required. On the street, the nose cone and wing were very distinctive, but the aerodynamic improvements hardly made a difference there or on the drag strip. In fact,

1674-456: A solo lap honoring his seven Winston Cup Championships for Winston's salute to the champions. In 2009 at the Coke Zero 400 in Daytona, for the 25th anniversary of his final, 200th victory in 1984, Petty drove one of his 1980s Pontiac racecars during the pace laps, leading the field for the first one. The field split him and he followed it for one more pace lap before he pulled his car in. Finally, at

1767-458: A spokesman for Liberty Medical , Cheerios and the GlaxoSmithKline products Nicorette and Goody's Headache Powder . His portrait was featured on Brawny paper towels during a limited time when the company replaced their image with several "real Brawny men". General Mills created a Petty-themed packaged cereal, "43's," its boxes featuring his image and story. Petty also played himself in

1860-586: A sports investment since 2008 when he formed a special-purpose acquisition company together with Hank Aaron , a Medallion board member, and others. In 1995, Petty moved to the television broadcast booth, joining CBS as a color commentator. Petty promised his mother not to accept alcohol sponsorship . Therefore, he never collected purses for the Bud Pole Award, and he competed at the Busch Clash only once, in 1980. As well as his numerous victories, Petty

1953-518: A win in the 1983 Carolina 500, barely edging out a young Bill Elliott. After a controversial win at Charlotte in October 1983 (recognised by NASCAR as win No. 198), Petty left the race team his father founded for the 1984 season. He spent '84 and '85 driving for Mike Curb before returning to Petty Enterprises in 1986. Because of the 1971 Myers Brothers 250 combination race in 1971 that Petty finished second in

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2046-408: Is 1,935 SuperBirds built and shipped to United States dealers, with some 34 to 47 allegedly shipped to Canada. The engine option is also questioned, although the most frequently seen numbers report 135 Hemi SuperBirds and 716 440ci. six-barrel editions, with the remainder powered by 440ci. 4bbl. motors. It is believed that over 1,000 Plymouth SuperBirds exist today. In Autumn 1968, Richard Petty left

2139-533: Is Emeritus Chairman and Founder of Victory Junction, a SeriousFun Children's Network camp established by the Pettys after Adam's death. Petty was born in Level Cross, North Carolina , the son of Elizabeth Petty ( née Toomes) and Lee Arnold Petty , also a NASCAR driver, and the older brother of NASCAR personality Maurice Petty . He was educated in Randleman, North Carolina and attended Randleman High School , where he

2232-506: Is believed a total of 754 Talladegas may have been built, although the Talladega/Spoiler Registry can only account for 750. This number includes all prototypes, pilot cars, and production cars built, plus a special post-production car for the president of Ford Motor Company, Semon "Bunkie" Knudsen , in March 1969. The Knudsen car was significantly different from all of the homologation cars with regard to options and color, and

2325-577: Is remembered for three of the many disastrous crashes that he survived: In 1978, Petty was elected to the Randolph County Commission as a Republican . In 1980 he endorsed John Connally for the Republican nomination for president. According to Petty, it was a "tossup" between Connally and Ronald Reagan , but he chose Connally "basically on personality. And Connally's been there in Washington

2418-470: Is the car in which Petty is cast in the Pixar film Cars (2006), in which Richard and Lynda had voice roles. On February 14, 1971, Petty won his third Daytona 500, driving a brand-new (for 1971) Plymouth Road Runner and beating Buddy Baker , by little more than a car length en route to another historic year, making him the first driver to win the race 3 times. He won 20 more races (which would make him become

2511-611: The Mopar "aero cars" in spite of their rarity and their great track successes during the pinnacle of stock car racing (the aero wars years). Some experts have assumed that this was due to the sheer outrageousness of the Dodge Charger Daytona and the Plymouth Superbird , with their bolted on huge rear wings and nose cones; as the MOPAR winged cars' prices had eclipsed the far more subtle, and aerodynamically integrated, bodywork of

2604-508: The 100-mile (160 km) event. He would end up recording 4 wins there in his career, including one in 1970 in which he was very ill before the race. 1967 was a milestone year. In that year, Petty won 27 of the 48 races he entered, including a record 10 wins in a row (between August 12 and October 1, 1967). He won his second Grand National Championship. One of the 27 victories was the Southern 500 at Darlington , which would be his only Southern 500 victory. His dominance in this season earned him

2697-495: The 1970 Road Runner was actually quicker in the quarter mile and standard acceleration tests due to the increased downforce produced by the Superbird's nose and wing. Only at speeds in excess of 60 mph (97 km/h) did the modifications begin to show any benefit. Chrysler memos of September 1969 show that the sales programming staff were preparing to handle 1,920 winged Plymouths for 1970, but published figures say as many as 2,783 were built. The current figure generally accepted

2790-424: The 1971 season limited the " aero-cars " to an engine displacement of no greater than 305 cu in (5.00 L) or they had to carry much more weight compared to their competitors. While they were still legal to race, the power-to-weight consequences that would come with the smaller engine or the increased weight rendered the cars uncompetitive. This was the start of a trend of rules slowing down NASCAR, because

2883-399: The 1990s and won three races—the 1996 Checker Auto Parts 500 at Phoenix , the 1997 ACDelco 400 at North Carolina Speedway , both with Bobby Hamilton driving, and the 1999 Goody's Body Pain 500 at Martinsville Speedway , with John Andretti driving. Petty remained as operating owner until his son Kyle Petty took over day-to-day operations a decade later. However, in 2008, Kyle Petty

Plymouth Superbird - Misplaced Pages Continue

2976-546: The 2008 film Swing Vote , where he commends the film's protagonist by allowing him to briefly drive his famous "43" Plymouth. For public benefit, Petty and his son Kyle have lent their talent to host "Lifting It Right", an automotive lift safety training DVD produced and distributed by the Automotive Lift Institute (ALI); it is used in high school vocational programs and community colleges. He has recorded public service announcements for Civitan International ,

3069-429: The 2017 Southern 500 at Darlington, Petty led the field through several pace laps in his Plymouth Belvedere. He apparently stayed out a lap longer than expected and was humorously black flagged by the starter. Petty followed the pace car down pit road at the start of the race. In later years of his career, Petty developed the career of crew leader Robbie Loomis , who was at the helm of Petty Enterprises as crew chief in

3162-570: The Budweiser 500 at Dover International Speedway , when the Winston-Salem class win is recognized. On July 4, 1984, Petty won his officially-recognized 200th (and what would turn out to be his final victory) race at the Firecracker 400 at Daytona International Speedway . The race was memorable: On lap 158, Doug Heveron crashed, bringing out the yellow caution flag, essentially turning lap 158 into

3255-541: The Charger Daytona fielded by sister company Dodge in the previous season. The Charger 500 version that began the 1969 season was the first American car to be designed aerodynamically using a wind tunnel and computer analysis, and later was modified into the Daytona version with nose and tail. The Superbird's smoothed-out body and nosecone were further refined from that of the Daytona, and the street version's retractable headlights (made of fiberglass) added nineteen inches to

3348-678: The Chrysler boycott of NASCAR due to the organizing body's ban of the Hemi engine, Petty spent much of 1965 competing as a drag racer. Petty Enterprises installed the Hemi in the new compact Barracuda and lettered "OUTLAWED" on the door. He crashed this car at Southeastern Dragway, in Dallas, Georgia, on February 28, 1965, killing an eight-year-old boy and injuring seven others. Petty, his father Lee , and Chrysler Corporation faced lawsuits totaling more than $ 1 million, though Petty and his team came to settlements with

3441-558: The Driver's Championship, and it won the 1969 ARCA Manufacturer's Championship with Benny Parsons winning that Driver's Championship. Chrysler 's initial competitor was the Dodge Charger 500 , which proved to be aerodynamically inferior to the Talladega, especially on NASCAR's super speedways (tracks of a mile or more in length). After realizing that Ford's Talladega (and its sister ship,

3534-701: The Ford Torino Talladega and its sibling, the Mercury Cyclone Spoiler II . Regardless, most experts still consider the Talladegas and the Spoiler IIs to be very undervalued; but, in 1969 (and overall during the two years of the Aero Wars) Ford's Talladegas (and Spoiler IIs) owned the high banks of NASCAR and ARCA . Richard Petty Richard Lee Petty (born July 2, 1937), nicknamed "

3627-476: The General Motors fold proved successful as Petty recorded six top-ten finishes in the final ten races of the 1978 season and finished sixth in the final standings. He would go on to even better results in 1979. Petty won the Daytona 500 in an Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme in the " Famous Finish " and ran most of the remaining races in a Chevrolet, winning four additional races and taking the NASCAR championship for

3720-498: The Hemi was reinstated, Richard continued drag racing the 43 JR until early 1966. ± On February 27, 1966, Richard Petty overcame a 2-lap deficit to win his second Daytona 500 when the race was stopped on lap 198 of 200 because of a thunderstorm. This made him the first driver to win the event twice. In 1966, he won the first ever race at Middle Georgia Raceway (Morelock 200). Petty broke the half-mile NASCAR record for half-mile tracks with an average speed of 82.023 miles per hour during

3813-579: The King ", is an American former stock car racing driver who competed from 1958 to 1992 in the former NASCAR Grand National and Winston Cup Series (now called the NASCAR Cup Series ), most notably driving the No. 43 Plymouth / Pontiac for Petty Enterprises . He is one of the members of the Petty racing family. He was the first driver to win the Cup Series championship seven times (a record now tied with Dale Earnhardt and Jimmie Johnson ), while also winning

Plymouth Superbird - Misplaced Pages Continue

3906-543: The Mercury Spoiler II) were much more effective as race cars, Dodge went back to the drawing board to create the Dodge Charger Daytona , which managed to win a total of 6 races during the 1969 and 1970 NASCAR seasons. Richard Petty finished second in NASCAR's Grand National points race in 1969, driving a Talladega. 1969 was Ford's last year of factory involvement in racing of any kind for several years. Following Congressional hearings in which they were questioned about

3999-559: The Plymouth NASCAR Racing Team for Ford's. Charlie Grey, director of the Ford stock car program, felt that hiring Petty would send the message that "money rules none". However, the Superbird was designed specifically to lure Petty back to Plymouth for the 1970 season. Petty did reasonably well against strong Ford opposition on the NASCAR tracks that year, winning eight races and placing well in many more. NASCAR's rules implemented for

4092-475: The R&;D costs of racing vs. improving fuel economy and safety, Ford completely abandoned all of their racing programs, starting with the 1970 season. Subsequently, most of the NASCAR and ARCA race teams that were running Fords continued to run their 1969 Talladegas in 1970 without any factory support, when it became apparent that their Talladegas were aerodynamically superior to the 1970 Torinos Ford had intended to be

4185-498: The Road Runner's original length. The rear wing was mounted on tall vertical struts that put it into less disturbed air thus increasing the efficiency of the downdraft that it placed upon the car's rear axle. For nearly 30 years the mathematic formula used to determine the exact height of the enormous wing was thought to be a highly guarded Chrysler secret. In the 1990s, a retired Chrysler project engineer incorrectly claimed publicly that

4278-422: The Road Runner's signature " beep, beep ." Superbirds equipped with the top-of-the-line 426 cu in (7.0 L) Hemi engine with a pair of four barrel Carter AFB carburetors (2x4bbl) producing 425 hp (317 kW) could accelerate from 0 to 60 mph (97 km/h) in 5.5 seconds. Developed specifically for NASCAR racing, the Superbird, a modified Road Runner, was Plymouth's follow-on design to

4371-409: The Talladega's replacement. After the 1970 season, NASCAR effectively banned the "aero cars" by restricting all five of these "production" cars to having to compete with engines no larger than 305 cubic inches of displacement (vs. the 426, 427, & 429 cubic inches other cars could use), and the competitive history of the Talladega (and its aerodynamically developed rivals) was essentially over. It

4464-429: The back lots of dealerships as late as 1972. Some were converted into 1970 Road Runners to move them off the sales lot. Some manufacturers produce Superbird conversion kits for 1970 Road Runners and Satellites. Kits are also available for unproduced 1971 and 1972 bodies for the Superbird. More recently they have been very steadily rising in price, regularly fetching from US$ 200,000 to $ 450,000 however this does vary based on

4557-464: The car off the track, and climbed out of the burning machine uninjured. His pit crew worked diligently with less than 20 laps to go to get the car running again, and with two laps to go, Petty pulled out of the pits and was credited as running at the finish in his final race. He took his final checkered flag, finishing in 35th position. After the race, Petty circled the track to salute the fans one final time in his trademark STP Pontiac. Thereafter he made

4650-494: The car were initially fitted with the FE 427 side oiler engine that had been Ford's main racing engine since 1963. Later in the season, the Boss 429 engine was used by many of the teams, after it had finally been declared "officially homologated" by NASCAR president Bill France . The Boss 429 engine was homologated in the 1969 Ford Mustang Boss 429 . In a very unusual move, Ford homologated

4743-483: The car's length by about six inches, with a flush-mounted grille on a more aerodynamic front end. The close-fitting bumper was actually a rear bumper that had been cut, narrowed, V'ed in the center, and filled on the ends to create a crude air dam, further improving the aerodynamics of the car at high speeds. In another well kept secret design move, the rocker panels of the Talladega were reshaped and rolled to allow Ford teams to run their racing cars about an inch closer to

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4836-473: The cars, but Petty balked and after an all-night negotiation session, the familiar STP orange/"Petty blue" paint scheme was agreed to as a compromise that would later become part of STP's motorsport paint schemes, most notably Gordon Johncock 's win in the 1982 Indianapolis 500 (where the car had a primarily "Petty Blue" scheme). Thanks to his 28 Top 10 finishes (25 Top 5 finishes and 8 victories), Petty went on to win his 4th NASCAR Cup Series championship. 1972

4929-486: The case of Plymouth, that meant having to build 1,920 Superbirds. Due to increasing emissions regulations, combined with insurance spike for high performance cars and NASCAR's effective ban on the aero cars, 1970 was its only production year. "Superbird" decals were placed on the outside edges of the spoiler vertical struts featuring a picture of the Road Runner cartoon character holding a racing helmet. A smaller version of

5022-434: The championship by 10 points because he had led the most laps, one more than Elliott, which gave him a five-point bonus. Facing intense pressure, Petty barely managed to qualify at Atlanta, posting the 39th fastest speed out of 41 cars. He would not have been eligible for the provisional starting position, and had to qualify on speed. On the 94th lap, Petty became tangled up in an accident, and his car caught fire. Petty pulled

5115-474: The covers or "air extractors" were a cosmetic enhancement. Ground clearance was 7.2 inches (18 centimetres). NASCAR's homologation requirement demanded that vehicles to be raced must be available to the general public and sold through dealerships in specific minimum numbers. For 1970, NASCAR raised the production requirement from 500 examples to one for every two manufacturer's dealers in the United States; in

5208-399: The decal appears on the driver's side headlight door. Superbirds had three engine options: the 426 Hemi V8 engine producing 425 bhp (431 PS; 317 kW) at 5000 rpm and 490 lb⋅ft (664 N⋅m) at 4000 rpm of torque , the 440 Super Commando Six Barrel with 3X2-barrel carburetors producing 390 hp (290 kW) and the 375 hp (280 kW) 440 Super Commando with

5301-506: The end of 1977), outlasted Baker (now with the K&;K Insurance Dodge race team) to win his 4th Daytona 500 after Baker's engine gave out with 6 laps to go. A year later, Petty won the Daytona "450" (shortened 20 laps {50 mi/80 km} due to the energy crisis ) for the fifth time en route to his 5th Winston Cup Championship. 1975 was another historic year for Petty, as he won the World 600 for

5394-464: The engine separately from the car in which it was to race. Many experts think this may have been done in order to get the bodywork of the Talladega officially homologated at the beginning of the 1969 race season, as the Boss 429 was not yet in production in sufficient numbers to homologate it. All production Talladegas were actually equipped with the new 428 Cobra Jet , which, while very powerful and reliable,

5487-542: The engine, gearbox and other factory options on the car. The Superbird and the Dodge Charger Daytona were each built for one model year only (1970 and 1969 respectively). Ford Torino Talladega The Ford Torino Talladega is a muscle car that was produced by Ford only during the first few weeks of 1969. It was named for the Talladega Superspeedway , which opened the same year. The Talladega

5580-412: The entire 1992 season, not just selected events as other drivers have done before retirement. His year-long Fan Appreciation Tour took him around the country, participating in special events, awards ceremonies, and fan-related meetings. Racing Champions ran a promotional line of diecast cars for every race in Petty's Farewell Tour. At the 1992 Pepsi 400 on July 4, Petty qualified on the front row for

5673-513: The fans, the car could do no better than 186 miles per hour, about eight miles per hour slower than the GM and Ford cars. Petty gave up on returning to Dodge knowing that for the superspeedways the Mirada would not be competitive, and bought a Buick Regal for the Daytona race. In the 1981 Daytona 500, Petty used a "fuel only" for his last pit stop, with 25 laps to go, to outfox Bobby Allison and grab his seventh and final Daytona 500 win. This win marked

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5766-414: The field on the pace lap to salute the fans. Petty's final race, the season-ending Hooters 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway , which also marked the start of Jeff Gordon 's NASCAR career and the second-closest points championship in NASCAR history, with six drivers mathematically eligible to win the championship, is hailed to this day as the greatest race in NASCAR history. A record 160,000 spectators attended

5859-504: The first driver to earn more than $ 1 million in career earnings) and claimed his 3rd Grand National Championship. At the end of the 1971 season, Chrysler told the Pettys they no longer would receive direct factory funding support; this caused the Petty team great concern. In 1972, STP began what would turn into a successful 28-year sponsorship arrangement with Petty, however, it marked the end of his famous all "Petty Blue" paint job. STP previously insisted on an all STP orangish-red color for

5952-408: The first time in his career, one of 13 victories en route to his 6th Winston Cup. The 13 victories is a modern (1972–present) NASCAR record for victories in a season and was tied in 1998 by Jeff Gordon , although Gordon won 13 out of 33 races, compared to Petty's 13 out of 30 races. In 1976, Petty was involved in one of the most famous finishes in NASCAR history. Petty and David Pearson were racing on

6045-506: The first time since 1986. Before the start of the race, he was honored with a gift ceremony which included a visit from President George H. W. Bush . When the green flag dropped, Petty led the opening five laps as the holiday crowd cheered wildly. Unfortunately, the oppressive heat forced him to drop out after completing just 84 laps. Despite the busy appearance schedule and mediocre race results, Petty managed to qualify for all 29 races in 1992. On his final visit to each track, Petty would lead

6138-427: The ground while staying within NASCAR rules; this also greatly enhanced the top speed of the car by lowering its center of gravity, and further reducing its wind resistance. The cars were also equipped with an engine oil cooler, a power steering oil cooler, staggered shocks, a 3.25:1 Ford 9 inch 31 spline nodular open rear end, and most surprisingly: a heavy duty C-6 (cast iron tailshaft) automatic transmission that

6231-459: The height was determined in much simpler fashion: he claimed it was designed to provide clearance for the trunk lid to open freely. This is an urban myth. The actual height was set to clear the roofline so it was in clean air. The rear-facing fender scoops were to hide cutouts. On Daytonas , the scoops were actually for ventilating trapped air from the wheel wells in order to reduce under fender air pressure and lift. For standard road going Superbirds

6324-417: The last 247 homologation cars were built between February 14 and February 28, following a 2-week break in production.) It is unknown as to why Ford built an "extra" 247 homologation cars, once the homologation requirements had been met during the initial run, as it is thought that Ford lost several thousand dollars on every Talladega that was built. The only options offered on the production vehicles (besides

6417-413: The last lap as the two drivers battled back to the start-finish line. Petty and Cale Yarborough diced it out on that lap, with Yarborough drafting and taking an early lead before Petty managed to cross the start/finish line only a fender-length ahead. (This is no longer possible because of the 2003 rule change freezing the field immediately upon caution. Furthermore, in 2004 the green-white-checkered rule

6510-442: The last lap out of turn 4 in the Daytona 500. As Petty tried to pass Pearson, at the exit of turn 4, Petty's right rear bumper hit Pearson's left front bumper. Pearson and Petty both spun and hit the front stretch wall. Petty's car came to rest just yards from the finish line, but his engine stalled. Pearson's car had hit the front stretch wall and clipped another car, but his engine was running. Members of Petty's pit crew came out onto

6603-409: The last lap. Petty held off Darrell Waltrip and A. J. Foyt . The race is also regarded as being the genesis of the current surge in NASCAR's popularity. The East Coast was snowed in by a blizzard, giving CBS a captive audience. The win was part of Petty's seventh and last NASCAR Winston Cup Championship. He was able to hold off Waltrip to win the title in 1979. In 1980, Petty won two races early in

6696-574: The lawsuits within 1 month of the suits being filed. Afterwards, a second Hemi Barracuda was built, this time with an altered wheelbase and eventually with Hilborn fuel injection. This car was lettered with a large "43 JR" on the door. The car was very successful, winning its class at the Bristol Spring Nationals and competing in many match races against well-known racers such as Ronnie Sox, Don Nicholson, Phil Bonner, Huston Platt, Hubert Platt and Dave Strickler. Even after returning to NASCAR once

6789-403: The new 1978 Dodge Magnum to handle properly, even though much time, effort, and faith were spent massaging the cars. Unhappy with the seven top-five and eleven top-ten finishes (including three-second places), Petty decided that his longtime relationship with Chrysler could not continue and he instead began racing a secondhand 1974 Chevrolet Monte Carlo at the fall race at Michigan. Returning to

6882-529: The nickname "King Richard". He had previously been known as "the Randleman Rocket". In 1968, Petty won 16 races including the last ever race at Occoneechee Speedway . In 1969 Ford significantly ratcheted up their factory involvement in NASCAR when they introduced the Ford Torino Talladega . The Talladega was specifically designed to give Ford a competitive race advantage by being more aerodynamic and thus faster, especially on super-speedway tracks more than

6975-568: The promise of substantial factory support from Pontiac. 1982 was a repeat of 1978, and no victories were to be had. At first, the Grand Prix behaved much like the Dodge Magnum of 1978, with handling and speed problems. Toward the end of 1982 things improved with several top-10 finishes, which opened the door to a successful 1983 season with three victories, and several top-5 and top-10 finishes. In 1983, he broke his 43-race winless streak from 1982 with

7068-418: The race and celebrated Petty's farewell. In the intense title race, the championship contender, Davey Allison , got mixed up in a crash with Ernie Irvan, dashing his title hopes. Long-shot contenders Mark Martin, Kyle Petty and Harry Gant fell behind in the long run, which left Bill Elliott and Alan Kulwicki to compete for the title. The race went down to the final lap with Elliott winning and Kulwicki taking

7161-462: The race, as the fastest time in official qualifying was by Alabama Gang member Neil Bonnett , who recorded a 28.829-second lap (139.734 mp/h) in his Pontiac Grand Prix. On October 1, 1991, Petty announced he would retire after the 1992 season. Petty's final top ten finish came at the 1991 Budweiser at the Glen which was the same race J. D. McDuffie was killed in a fifth lap accident. Petty chose to run

7254-406: The races were exceeding the technology of tires and safety over 200 mph (320 km/h). Ford, in response, also designed the 1970 Torino King Cobra with an aerodynamic, superbird-style nose, but it was abandoned. The Superbird's styling proved to be extreme for 1970s tastes (many customers preferred the regular Road Runner), and as a consequence, many of the 1,920 examples built sat unsold on

7347-478: The seventh, and last, time by 11 points which was the closest points margin in NASCAR history until 1992. Petty won two more Daytona 500s in 1979 and 1981. In 1979, he snapped a 45-race drought, winning his sixth Daytona 500, the first to be televised live flag-to-flag; it would become notorious for a fistfight between competitors following the controversial finish. Petty won the race as the first and second place cars of Donnie Allison and Cale Yarborough crashed on

7440-472: The three color choices, including Wimbledon White (286 built), Royal Maroon (258 built) or Presidential Blue (199 built)) were power steering, power brakes, color keyed racing mirrors, AM radio and argent styled steel wheels with F70 X 14 wide oval tires. All production Talladegas received the same options with no substitutions including the C6 automatic transmission and Code 9 3.25 ratio conventional rear axle. Today,

7533-430: The track and tried to push the car to the finish line, but ultimately failed. Pearson was able to drive his car toward the finish line, while Petty's car would not restart. Pearson passed Petty on the infield grass and won the Daytona 500. Petty was given credit for second place. Oddly, 1978 will stand out as the one year during his prime that Petty did not visit the winner's circle. The Petty Enterprises Team could not get

7626-537: The year at North Wilkesboro and Nashville but a violent crash at Pocono in July ended his championship hopes. He finished 4th in points. For 1981, NASCAR dictated that all teams had to show up with the new downsized cars of 110" wheel-base, that Detroit had been building since 1979. Though Petty had been successful with the Chevrolet and Oldsmobile cars he had been running, he wanted to get back to his Mopar roots. After taking

7719-631: Was a special, more aerodynamic version of the Torino / Fairlane produced specifically to make Ford even more competitive in NASCAR racing, and it was sold to the public only because homologation rules required a certain minimum number of cars (500 in 1969) be produced and made available. A largely equivalent vehicle was also sold under the Mercury marque as the Cyclone Spoiler II . The 1969 Torino Talladega

7812-458: Was a year of change in other ways, as it was the last year where Petty would campaign a Plymouth-based race car; as in the middle of the year, he debuted to drive a newly built 1972 Dodge Charger in a few races (winning one of them), as he believed that the car would have a slight aero advantage over the Plymouth body style. In a driver's duel on February 18, 1973, Petty, in a newly built 1973 Dodge Charger (a body style he would use exclusively until

7905-538: Was an All-Conference guard on the football team. After his 1955 graduation, he took a business course at Greensboro Junior College, then began work for his father's racing company, Petty Enterprises. He began his NASCAR career on July 18, 1958, 16 days after his 21st birthday. His first race was held at CNE Stadium in Toronto , Ontario, Canada (the site of BMO Field and the Honda Indy Toronto currently). In 1959, he

7998-565: Was based on the Fairlane "Sportsroof" (Ford's trade name for a fastback ) 2-door hardtop. To make the car more aerodynamic at high speeds, a sleeker front section (whose design and construction is often attributed to the Holman-Moody race team's shop) was added. Regular production Fairlanes and Torinos had a then-fashionable inset grille and headlights, which fared poorly in the wind tunnel. The Torino Talladega replaced this nose with one that extended

8091-421: Was column shifted. These other special performance parts were normally only available when ordering a "drag pack car" which would have been equipped with a 4-speed and a limited-slip rear end. Also unique to the Talladega was the presence of competition black hoods and rear tail panels on all production cars, as well as the only interior offered: black vinyl and cloth with a front bench seat. Racing versions of

8184-417: Was created for cases when the yellow flag waved with two laps, but not just one, remaining. Also, under current combination race rules, Petty would be recognized for his 201st win.) President Ronald Reagan was in attendance, the first sitting president to attend a NASCAR race. Reagan celebrated the milestone with Petty and his family in victory lane. In early 1988, Petty traveled to Australia to help promote

8277-451: Was even built at a different plant: Ford's Lorain, Ohio plant on March 20, 1969. All production examples were constructed during January and February 1969 at Ford's Atlanta Assembly plant in Atlanta, Georgia , and all homologation cars between January 21 and February 28. (According to the Talladega/Spoiler Registry's records, Talladega number 502 was actually completed on January 31, and then

8370-422: Was intended as a street engine for Ford's muscle cars, as it developed high torque at low RPMs, rather than being a high-revving race engine. The Torino Talladega did exactly what Ford hoped it would do on the racing circuit: it won 29 Grand National races during the 1969 and 1970 NASCAR seasons - far more than any other model. Further, it won the 1969 NASCAR Manufacturer's Championship with David Pearson winning

8463-463: Was named NASCAR Rookie of the Year , after he produced 9 top 10 finishes, including six Top 5 finishes. That year, he had participated in the inaugural Daytona 500 at the new Daytona International Speedway , but after his day ended due to engine trouble, he joined his father Lee's pit crew, who won the race. In Lakewood, Georgia in 1959, Petty won his first race, but his father Lee protested, complaining of

8556-566: Was released by Petty Enterprises , and, because of lack of sponsorship, Petty Enterprises was bought out by Gillett-Evernham Motorsports. The name was originally going to stay the same, but when Evernham left the team, it was renamed Richard Petty Motorsports , despite George Gillett continuing to own the majority. In November 2010, an investment group including Medallion Financial Corp., Douglas G. Bergeron and Petty, signed and closed sale on racing assets of Richard Petty Motorsports. Andrew M. Murstein , president of Medallion, had been seeking

8649-456: Was the Republican nominee for North Carolina Secretary of State , but was defeated by State Senator Elaine Marshall in the general election. Petty was mistakenly seen as a shoo-in, and his campaigning was sporadic. Following his loss, Petty stated, "If I had known I wasn't going to win, I wouldn't have run." In June 2016, he made an appearance on stage with Donald Trump . Petty is currently

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