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Richard Petty
Born 1937 • Level Cross, NC

Few names in the racing world make one think of Pontiac as does Richard Petty. The career of “The King” spans many exciting years of everything from the formative years to the present world of bib business NASCAR. The Petty family has carved out a big name in the racing world, starting with the early career of father Lee Petty in 1948. In these early years Lee Petty established a bond with the Plymouth folks which lead to Dodge and Chrysler connections as the new hemi engines were coming into prominence; however, in 1957 the Petty crew switched to Oldsmobile. It was shortly thereafter, in July 1958, that Richard Petty got the nod from his father and began driving a tired ‘57 Olds– well, it was GM, but not yet Pontiac. However the GM connection was short lived as both father and son were back in MOPAR rides by the ‘59 season.

The following MOPAR years were a series of wins that catapulted Richard Petty into the spotlight– where he stayed. However, they were also troubling years where, following a terrific accident which almost cost father his life while qualifying for the 1961 Daytona 500, and tremendous advances within GM saw the likes of Chevrolet and Pontiac beginning to dominate the race scene. It wasn’t until the introduction of the second generation hemi that the Petty race team began to move back out front again, as witnessed by the 1-2-3 finish at the 1964 Daytona 500 in the new hemi Plymouths. But, this new MOPAR dominances was short lived as Chrysler pulled out of NASCAR racing at the end of the 1964 season when their powerful hemi was banned. Richard took the powerful MOPARs to the drag strip and torn things up, until in 1965 when NARCAR allowed the hemi back into their circuit. But, their were “political” problems which continued with both Chrysler and Ford that hurt everyone– especially the fans who had come to expect ‘all-out” racing! The restrictions put on them didn’t seem to hurt the Petty team as they continued to win with their Plymouths through the late ‘60s. But, it was body style changes and what was apparently some lack of cooperation by Chrysler not responding to Petty’s requests in 1969 that caused the bomb to drop when he announce at the end of the 1968 season that he would be switching to Ford. Needless to say, this was not well received at Chrysler!

The Ford connection didn’t last long though, as the Petty crew was not very happy with the performance, and the race results showed it. It was the promise of the winged MOPARs (as well as being allowed to be the “single source” for Chrysler racing) that got Petty back into he Chrysler camp. Even after extraordinary amounts of work to make a Plymouth winged warrior (Dodge was first), the winged cars never did become all that was expected, although they sure captured a lot of attention. Petty continued with Chrysler through some turbulent times in the late ‘60s and into the early ‘70s: winged and other “specialty cars” were restricted by NASCAR to smaller engines, Chrysler tremendously reduced its racing support, and Petty suffered a near fatal accident. But a greater blow was still to come as at the end of the ‘71 season Chrysler withdrew completely for supporting the Petty team. An unlikely figure stepped into the picture.

Andy Granatelli, of STP fame, approached Richard Petty with the idea of parterning. And so was born the Petty-STP Plymouth, which continued to the mid-‘72 season when the switch was made to Dodge; Plymouth was gone with next to no fanfare, after many years of successes. Not much is known why.

But where does Pontiac fit in among all this MOPAR banter, you ask. Well, information about how the switch to Pontiac took place is sketchy, perhaps overshadowed by all the many years of Chrysler connection. However, the Pontiac-Petty connection is probably what most of us Pontiac lovers remember Petty for the most. And why not? It was a marriage of Pontiac-Petty-STP that lasted from 1972 through 2000. It represented some of the most exciting growth of NASCAR into perhaps the largest sporting events in the nation. And, although Richard Petty would eventually, during this Pontiac time, step out of the driver’s seat, son Kyle and other drivers for the Petty team would continue taking the Pontiacs on to victories. After the 2000 season, STP was gone and Cheerios became the sponsor for the Petty race crew, and then in 2001 it was back to Dodge. The Petty race history had come full-circle. But that’s another story.....

Suffice it to say, Richard Petty did the racing industry and us Pontiac lovers proud. His incredible seven Daytona wins, numerous Most Popular Driver awards, 1971 Driver of the Year award, and his 1997 induction into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame have truly cemented with him the well deserved title of “The King”!

For more about the life and career of Richard Petty check: www.pettyracing.com, www.allpar.com, and www.internationalmotorsportshalloffame.com

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