August 1 - This day in Petty history - Part 2

1976 - Richard wins his 179th career race in the Purolator 500 at Pocono. He was greeted in victory lane by Miss Winston, Pattie Huffman. Less than three years later, Miss Winston became Mrs. Kyle Petty and in turn, Richard's daughter-in-law.

Source: Motor Racing Programme Covers

If you read the accompanying article closely, you may note Junior Johnson's team changed a blown engine in Cale Yarborough's Chevy. Until the mid 70s, changing engines during a race was unheard of. From the mid 70s through the early 80s, the practice happened a bit more often - with Johnson's team doing it perhaps more than others.

Article courtesy of Jerry Bushmire

As noted in the last couple of paragraphs of the article, Petty raced the same car to victory in the 1976 NASCAR Pocono race as he did in the 1973 Acme 500 USAC stock car race.

The audio from MRN Radio's broadcast of the 1976 race is available at MotorRacingNetwork.com or via streaming here.



TMC
Edited July 27, 2014