Tuesday, June 26, 2012

June 26 - This day in Petty history - part 3

1971 - Starting second alongside pole-winner Bobby Allison, Richard Petty leads 89 of 200 laps and wins the Pickens 200 at Greenville-Pickens Speedway in South Carolina to capture his 129th career victory. According to Greg Fielden in his book Forty Years of Stock Car Racing - Volume 3:
Allison was unveiling a new 1971 Holman-Moody Ford at Greenville-Pickens Speedway. He led all but one of the first 107 laps when his engine blew, sending him into the guard rail... Petty took over and held off Tiny Lund's surprising effort to win the 200-lapper ..."The only thing that bothered me was when Bobby's engine blew," said Petty. "I was lucky to miss him. I was just a matter of inches behind him. I still don't know how I got by."
The following article shared with me by Jerry Bushmire - as he has done throughout this 200 Wins series - is a neat read. Its a rare column that included good detail for readers in the day - but also provides great historical context some 40 years later.

Photo courtesy of Jerry Bushmire
Article courtesy of Jerry Bushmire
TMC

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