So while everyone bench races the pros and cons of having a lefty-righty race amongst all the lefties, I thought I'd throw a little history lesson in for good measure.
Did you know NASCAR sanctioned drag racing in the 1960s? Yep, you read that right.
I've known for years Richard Petty went drag racing for about half the year in 1965. NASCAR put a rules change hurtin' on the powerful hemi engine Richard used in 1964. As a result, Chrysler boycotted NASCAR and parked its factory-supported teams. Petty Enterprises raced to make money. While the company honored the factory boycott, Lee, Richard, Maurice, and Dale Inman still wanted to race and chose drag racing as the venue.
Petty Enterprises built a Plymouth Barracuda for Richard to run.
- NASCAR's Drag Racing Years
- North Carolina's Drag Racing Hall of Fame inductee Billy West
- H.A.M.B. thread on NASCAR drag racing
Before returning to the ovals, however, tragedy intervened for Petty. The photo below was shot at a drag strip in Dallas, Georgia on February 28, 1965. As the two cars green-lighted, Petty had problems, veered off the track, and plowed into some folks standing too near the strip. A young boy -8 year-old Wayne Dye - was killed.
TMC
I think your true calling in life should have been as a researcher. But, I guess, the profession you chose, you are a researcher in a sense! What you should do is forward this is Winston Kelly. If for some reason he has not come across this, this material is the type of stuff that makes going to a HofF fun. I wonder if that car is the Petty museum in Level Cross?
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