I've historically thought of snooker as a billiards game. The word, however, can also sometimes be skillfully applied to motorsports.
Daytona's annual Firecracker 400 in 1974 was scheduled as it had been since the first one in 1959: on the 4th of July. Regardless of the day of the week on which the 4th fell, the Firecracker began at 10 AM on Independence Day. In 1974, the race was run on a Thursday morning.
Four drivers won the season's first fifteen races:
Bobby Allison, 1
David Pearson, 4 in only nine starts
Richard Petty, 5
Cale Yarborough, 6
Pearson was the two-time defending champion of the Firecracker and the winner of Talladega's Winston 500. Petty had finished second in the Firecracker three consecutive years (twice to Pearson), captured the Daytona 500 in the second race of the season, and finished third at Talladega. Clearly all eyes were on the #43 STP Dodge Charger and #21 Purolator Mercury.
The race included the normal cast of NASCAR regulars. In addition to them, two USAC regulars - A.J. Foyt and Johnny Rutherford - joined the fray. Rutherford was making his second of three NASCAR starts in 1973.. He won the Indianapolis 500 six weeks before the Firecracker and the Schaefer 500 at Pocono few days earlier.
Pearson won the pole, and Bobby Allison flanked him in his Roger Penske-owned, Coca-Cola sponsored Matador. Donnie Allison qualified third in his DiGard Chevy, and Charlie Glotzbach timed a pleasantly surprising fourth in Junie Donlavey's famed #90 Ford. Petty nabbed the sixth starting spot.
The competition was intense all day long. Bobby Allison launched from his front row starting spot to lead lap 1. Buddy Baker in Bud Moore's Ford then led laps 2 and 3. Bobby decided he liked the look of the top spot, and he went back in the lead for another couple of laps. And so it continued all morning.
Rutherford brought out the first caution after losing an engine and spinning in his own oil.
Source: Daytona Beach Morning Journal via Google News Archive
Once the car stopped, the normally open wheeled driver took the rare opportunity to stand on the roof of his car to signal his crew all was OK. JR looked, however, a bit like Ricky Bobby up there: Help me Tom Cruise! Help me Oprah!
Source: Spokesman Review via Google News Archive
Fans witnessed 48 lead changes among 9 drivers. Only twice in the 160-lap race did a driver's lead last for 10 more more laps. And neither of the two "large" lead segments lasted more than 14 laps.
With about 15 laps to go, Pearson took the lead from Baker and brought Petty with him in the draft. The two titans and career rivals then began to pull away from Baker and Cale Yarborough.
Immediately after Pearson took the white flag, he slowed dramatically and pulled to the inside. Petty kept his foot on the floorboard, swept around the Wood Brothers Mercury, and pulled a sizable lead down the backstretch.
Many sensed Pearson's car had dropped a cylinder or cut a tire. Instead, he simply lagged a bit and showed no signs of a developing engine or tire problem. As the two barreled through turns three and four, Pearson closed the gap he intentionally had opened. Then coming through the tri-oval, Pearson used the draft to sling-shot past Petty for the win.
Source: Southern Illinoisan
ABC aired a condensed version of the race a few weeks later. Here is the final two laps with accompanying audio by Ken Squier and Barney Hall of MRN.
Lost perhaps a bit at the time because of the Petty-Pearson battle was the race for third. Baker and Cale raced side by side much of the last lap - though they trailed the first two by a quarter to half a lap. As the two headed for the stripe, Baker's Ford was on the outside with Cale's Junior Johnson Chevy to his inside. Cale leveraged the draft to pull even with Baker. At the stripe, however, the two literally tied. Had today's technology been available then, it's possible NASCAR could have determined who finished ahead of whom. With the cameras and scoring technologies available, however, no one could determine who got the edge. The tie remains the only one in the NASCAR history books.
Source: Daytona USA by William Neely
While the King had to settle for his fourth consecutive second-place finish in the Firecracker and left over birthday cake, Pearson went to victory lane for the third straight year. Once there, he got the trophy, a peck from Miss Winston, and a fresh cig.
Barry McDermott covered the race for Sports Illustrated for SI's July 15, 1974 issue. Also, Ed Hinton, long-time motorsports writer, retired in 2014. On his way to retirement, he reflected upon his first race to see in person and his first race to cover as a professional writer: the 1974 Firecracker.
Petty was physically hot from having just raced 400 miles on a Florida summer morning. He was also hot at having been snookered by Pearson in the way that he did and likely for having finished second in the race for the fourth consecutive year.
Source: Spartanburg Herald Journal
Two days after the race, however, Petty and Pearson met again during an appearance at Piedmont Interstate Fairgrounds in Spartanburg, SC as a fund raiser for the Greenville Shriners Hospital. Though I'm not sure all was forgotten, the two career rivals and long-time friends were friendly and in a joking manner.
The 1973 NASCAR Winston Cup season consisted of only 28 races. The total tied with 1985 as the fewest number of races in the modern era (1972 to present) and third overall behind the first two seasons in 1949-1950.
Daytona's Firecracker 400 was often the mid-point of the season. In 1973, however, the race represented the 17th of the year's 28-race schedule.
The year opened with the late Mark Donohue winning on Riverside's road course for Roger Penske, Donohue's first and only Cup victory. The King, Richard Petty, won his then-unmatched fourth Daytona 500 and tallied three more wins between the two Daytona races.
The story of the season, however, was David Pearson and his #21 Wood Brothers team. Running a limited schedule, the Purolator Mercury team raced in only 10 of the season's first 16 races. Yet Pearson won seven of his ten starts. Even more impressively, those seven wins came in the previous eight starts - with Pearson nabbing a second at the only race he didn't win during that streak.
Bobby Allison won the pole for the Firecracker - his first for a Daytona race. He'd win one other pole at the speedway in his career, the 1981 Daytona 500. Allison dominated the race but lost it to Petty's 43 on an epic pit call by Dale Inman. *snicker*
Cale Yarborough, a two-time, back-to-back winner of the Firecracker in 1967-68, qualified second alongside Allison followed by Bobby Isaac in Bud Moore's Ford. Petty, who celebrated his 36th birthday two days before the race and had finished second in the 400 the past two years, qualified fourth. Independent driver from Columbia, TN, Coo Coo Marlin, laid down a fantastic lap to earn the fifth starting spot. Pearson, the defending winner of the race, lined up beside Marlin in sixth.
Two USAC Indy car regulars, Gordon Johncock and A.J. Foyt, started 16th and 18th respectively. Both had quick cars but were ineligible for a top starting spot because they missed the first day of qualifying on Sunday, July 1. Both were in Pennsylvania for the running of the Schaefer 500 at Pocono, a race won by Foyt.
Allison got the jump as the race went green and led the first lap. Isaac battled back, took the lead, and then led laps two and three.
Source: The Pantagraph
From there, four drivers led the remaining 157 laps: Allison, Pearson, Petty, and Yarborough. But fans witnessed twenty-five lead changes throughout the morning on the 4th of July.
Despite leading 33 laps early in the race, Yarborough's day was done after 65 laps. He blew a tire coming through the tri-oval, pounded the fence head first, and was done for the day.
Next to fall by the wayside was the pole winner Allison. After losing an engine in his self-owned, Coca-Cola sponsored Chevrolet, he was done after 125 laps.
With two of their biggest competitors in the garage with DNFs, Petty and Pearson took the rest of the field to the woodshed. The two drafted each other and swapped the lead every few laps the remaining 150 miles.
As per usual, the Petty Enterprises and Wood Brothers crews nailed their jobs. This ensured the two legends would settle the race on the track rather than have one prevail because of a miscue on pit road. If whoever captioned the following photo for Getty Images is correct, the race was the first time the second generation Wood, Eddie, went over the wall as a crew member.
The career rivals separated themselves from the field. They hammered down and eventually lapped the field - including the third place car by four laps. As the white flag fell, Pearson was comfortably in front of Petty - but still may have been wondering about the possibility of the King's pulling a slingshot by him. With a restrictor plate on his big block hemi, however, Petty's STP Charger didn't have the needed punch. Pearson continued his lead all the way to the checkers, and he won the Firecracker by about six car lengths.
Source: Daytona Beach Morning Journal
Buddy Baker in the #71 K&K Insurance Dodge prepared by legendary crew chief Harry Hyde finished third. Johncock, the winner of the star-crossed and solemn Indianapolis 500 two months earlier, finished fourth in Hoss Ellington's Chevy. Finishing a very impressive 8th was country music singer and part-time Cup racer, Marty Robbins. Unfortunately, Coo Coo Marlin was not able to capitalize on his prime starting spot. He lost an engine only 35 laps into the race and finished 38th in the 40-car field.
Pearson headed to victory lane for the eighth time in eleven starts in '73. The King had to have scratched his head wondering "what the...?" after finishing second for the third consecutive year.
Source: Warren Times Mirror and Observer
A week after Pearson's win at Daytona, his hometown of Spartanburg, SC saluted him on David Pearson Appreciation Day.
Following a parade through town, approximately 1,200 folks stuffed Spartanburg's Memorial Auditorium for a meal and entertainment. As a sign of "that's racing, no hard feelings", the King was one of many racers who attended the event.
Source: Spartanburg Herald
Another racer attending the shin-dig also provided the featured entertainment. Marty Robbins who finished eighth at Daytona sang several songs and quipped "This is as close as I'll ever get to David Pearson going across the finish line." Spartanburg songwriter Joe Bennett also performed his song Little David. Come on internet, cough up an MP3 of this single!
1984 - Driving for Curb Motorsports, Richard Petty leads 53 of 160 laps and wins his 200th career NASCAR Winston Cup victory in the Firecracker 400 at Daytona International Speedway. Coincidentally, his race winnings that day embedded his car number, Daytona 500 wins, championships, and number of victories needed to break his dad's record for career wins: $43,755.
The Build-Up
After the King scored win number 199 at Dover in May 1984, the hype intensified as he sought the round-numbered, 200-wins milestone. Over the course of the next month, the 43 team finished 34th in the Coke 600 at Charlotte, 23rd at Riverside, 13th at Pocono, and 34th at Michigan - not exactly Big Mo' for the team as the series returned to the beach. But it was Daytona - a track at which the King had excelled throughout his career.
A few weeks before the race, the White House announced President Ronald Reagan would attend the race as part of the nation's Independence Day celebrations.
NSSN cover courtesy of Russ Thompson
Reagan gave the command to start the engines aboard Air Force One. As the race proceeded, his plane landed at the Daytona airport right behind the speedway - providing a once-in-a-lifetime photo-op for a fortunate and skilled photographer.
The Win, The Greeting and The Picnic
As the race wound down, long-time competitors Cale Yarborough and Petty drafted each other and separated themselves from the rest of the field. On lap 157, the caution flew for a wreck in the grass near turn 1. The cars raced back to the start-finish line in that era of racing, and races could end under caution. Both drivers knew it was go-time to race back to the yellow - and ultimately the win.
At the stripe, Petty nipped Cale by *this much* and circled the track two more laps for his memorable and final win.
Immediately after his win, Petty stopped at the start-finish line, exited the car, and was hustled through the crowd up to the press box to meet with President Reagan.
Following the press box introductions, Petty returned to the official victory lane for the traditional trophy presentations and a bazillion photos.
Rather than limit his time in one location, re-board Air Force One and fly to another campaign stop on the nation's birthday, Reagan stayed in Daytona for a post-race fried chicken picnic and other celebrations in the garage area.
The following photo has always made me laugh. Richard Petty and Bobby Allison were rivals on the track. They rarely agreed on much or saw eye-to-eye, but they were unified in their support of Reagan. As a result, it stood to reason they'd flank the President and smile throughout the meal. But I've often wondered what Benny Parsons was thinking as he looked around from the nearby "kid's table".
Controversy or "Petty" Jealousy?
As noted at the opening, Petty won his 200th race while driving for Curb Motorsports. He'd left the family Petty Enterprises team after the 1983 season. After considering offers from other team owners such as Butch Mock's established RahMoc team and a possible start-up organization by (yep) Rick Hendrick, Petty settled on Mike Curb's start-up team. Buddy Parrott was hired as the crew chief, and Curb contracted with DiGard as the engine supplier. (Coincidentally, Buddy's son, Todd Parrott, is crew chief for Marcos Ambrose - driver of the Richard Petty Motorsports #9 Ford.)
Long-time Petty rival (and DiGard's driver) Bobby Allison, had a different take. Chapter 29 of Peter Golenbock's book Miracle: Bobby Allison and the Saga Of The Alabama Gang recaps Allison's memories about Petty's engine built by DiGard. Allison has always struck me as someone who was paranoid about everything and suspicious of everyone. While there are more holes in this story than a piece of swiss cheese, I chose to include it anyway.
An excerpt...
Bobby first had been suspicious of Petty's winning engine the week before the race. From time to time, he would walk through the DiGard engine room to go see Robert Yates, who built his engines as well. When Bobby viewed the engine that he was sure Yates was building for Richard Petty, he thought that it looked significantly oversized. When he asked who it was for, he was told "Don't worry about that. Its for a customer. Get out of here." Allison, suspicious, went back and scratched a little mark on the engine block with a sharp object in a "very inconspicuous place." Said Bobby "I knew where to look. Before the race, I looked under the hood of Petty's car and saw the mark on the block." ... Adding insult to injury, according to Bobby, NASCAR skipped the post-race inspection, an indication to Bobby that NASCAR was turning a blind eye to what he believed was an oversized engine. ~ pp. 200-201
And all of chapter 29...
Personal Memories
Dave Fulton, Motorsports Coordinator for 7-Eleven Stores in the 1980s (Kyle Petty's sponsor at the time), remembers:
It was an electric moment when President Reagan gave the "Start Engines Command" while in flight to Daytona. Even more electric was the sight of Air Force One coming down out of the blue Daytona sky behind the backstretch just as the blue & red #43 came out of turn 2. Richard Petty and Ronald Reagan literally raced side-by-side the length of the Daytona backstretch!
I was allowed to string many banners throughout the compound where the post race Presidential picnic would take place (in what was the old Busch Series Garage). Somewhere in my archives I still have one of those huge blue banners with white lettering reading "7-Eleven Welcomes President Reagan."
I particularly remember the Secret Service snipers stationed on top of the Daytona Dog Track next door, as well as on the roof of the Speedway. There were guys in suits wearing sunglasses and earphones everywhere that hot Daytona morning. Back then, the race still started at 10:00 a.m. to avoid afternoon thunderstorms. The old Daytona Speedway radio ad promised, "At the track at 10:00, On the beach by 2:00."
STP always had a bunch of rooms at the Indigo resort across International Speedway Boulevard from the Speedway. It was decided the President would go from the track to a room at the Indigo resort and "change clothes" before the post race picnic. To accomplish the security required for the Secret Service, the road in and out of Indigo resort was blocked. During the middle of the night on July 3rd, dump trucks, road graders, and bulldozers were brought in ahead of the President to secure the road. Ralph Salvino, Steve Tucker and Richard's other STP car sponsor personnel almost couldn't get out of their rooms to get to the track on race day morning!
I was very lucky to have been invited to be in the NASCAR suite with my wife that day. When the race ended, all the folks in the infield garage areas were cleared out. All of the fences surrounding the garages had been covered in heavy green fabric preventing "outsiders" from peering in. Those were the same fences where I hung my 7-Eleven banners.
After an appropriate time period, we were escorted through metal detectors manned by the Secret Service at the entrances to the garage. Tables had been set up under the open air garage for the actual picnic. Not a single person who was there that day shall ever
forget the sight of Richard and Lynda Petty, seated with Bobby and Judy Allison, eating Kentucky Fried Chicken with the President of the United States.
President Reagan was extremely gracious and cordial to all. He was of course running for re-election. But, I always had the feeling he'd have been just as gracious any other time.
A big stage had been erected in the old Busch Series garage for the festivities. The late Bill France, Sr. was brought on stage to introduce the President. He had endured a lot of talk about his age and the need for him to step completely down and turn all command of NASCAR over to Bill France, Jr. As you may remember, President Reagan had also endured questions about his age. When the ever crusty France, Sr. introduced Ronald Reagan to the picnic guests, he asked the President a question. Mr. President, what is all this Old Man s**t we keep hearing?! Everybody roared!!!
Behind the President a curtain began to slowly raise as an unseen country music band began to play. The electricity in the air was unbelievable. Stepping from behind the curtain was singer Tammy Wynette who broke into her all-time hit song "Stand By Your Man" as she walked forward and hugged the unsuspecting President of the United States. You should have seen the smile on Reagan! That may have been the most dramatic moment I have ever witnessed - at or away from a racetrack!
For me, I spent the summer of 1984 living with my aunt and uncle in Jacksonville, FL as I worked between college semesters. On the 4th of July, my aunt hosted a retirement picnic at their home for her outgoing boss. Like a good husband, my uncle agreed to do all the grilling, keep the beer flowing, and provide a cigarette-friendly porch (my aunt wouldn't and still doesn't allow smoking in the house).
I played the role of the good nephew and house guest by shuffling food from the kitchen to the grill to the table. I continually re-iced coolers, had the opportunity to meet a lot of wonderful folks, nibbled along the way, and occasionally stopped to enjoy a cold one with someone I'd just met. My aunt and uncle always treated me as a young adult rather than as older kid - a level of respect I'll always treasure.
Because of all that was going on, I didn't have an opportunity to check in with the race. When the party ended later that afternoon, I couldn't believe it when I heard the King had won #200. Some time later, my uncle told me a story that made my jaw drop even further. He had been offered a pair of tickets to the 400. Knowing he'd already committed to help my aunt with the party, he knew he wouldn't go. But he assumed I wouldn't go alone. Truth be told, I don't know if I would have gone or not. Petty's finishes in the month of June gave me no reason to believe he'd score a win at Daytona. And my black, high-mileage, 1965 Dodge Dart - without air conditioning - had been having water pump and radiator issues that summer. Yet knowing how things turned out, I can't believe I could have had the opportunity to witness #200.
Race Coverage
For those of you who may have started following NASCAR in the 1990s or beyond and get frustrated by the coverage by FOX or ESPN, I give you Jim Lampley and Sam Posey. How Lampley drew the assignment is beyond me. By the mid 80s, CBS was knocking it out of the park for its Daytona 500 coverage in February. But the summer Firecracker race was still thought of largely as a second-tier race on the schedule and received little national media coverage.
The race wasn't aired in its entirety on TV. Instead, ABC joined it in-progress, provided updates during the race, and was there for the finish. If you want to fast forward, the real excitement begins around the 14 minute mark.
Yarborough manned-up and gave ABC a post-race interview after he hit pit road a lap early thinking the race was over. Cale's bare-chested interview with Larry Nuber cracks me each time I see it. Though a bit odd, its a visual reminder of how hot the day was and how much it must have pained him to be that close to getting another win. (Having won the Daytona 500 in February 1984, I'm sure Cale really wanted the season-sweep too.)
Source: TMC Archives - The Tennessean
Epilogue
The winning Pontiac was donated by Curb Motorsports to the Smithsonian's Museum of American History in Washington DC. I had the good fortune to see it on display in the early 1990s. My memories of seeing the car there are far greater than my pathetic camera at the time could capture.
Fellow Petty fan and Schaefer Ring of Honor member, Brian Hauck, also had the chance to view the car in the museum. Fortunately, he got a better photo of it than I did.
Courtesy of Brian '200WINZ' Hauck
The King's uniform, helmet and checkered flag used by chief starter Harold Kinder are all on display at the Richard Petty Museum in Randleman, NC.
The King won his 200th race with Buddy Parrott as the crew chief of his Curb Motorsports Pontiac - not NASCAR Hall of Fame crew chief Dale Inman. Early in the 1981 season, Inman made the difficult decision to leave his cousin Richard and Petty Enterprises. He went to work for Osterlund Racing and defending Cup champion Dale Earnhardt.
After J.D. Stacy bought Osterlund's team later in 1981, Earnhardt left. Several drivers turnstile'd through the car with Inman as the crew chief. But in 1984, Inman accomplished something Richard couldn't. As crew chief for Terry Labonte and the Billy Hagan-owned team, Inman helped Terry to his first of two Cup championships and earned an 8th one for himself as crew chief - one more than the King has as a driver.
As noted in the closing paragraph of the above article, the race following Daytona was the Nashville 420. Geoff Bodine won what turned out to be the final Cup race in Nashville driving for Rick Hendrick's relatively new operation. One of the tradeoffs of being in Florida for the summer meant I couldn't go to the race. As a result, I missed the final Cup race at my home track.
Because of funding and personality issues, Mike Curb and DiGard had a significant falling out. After Petty's 200th win, the Curb team ceased getting engines from DiGard. The 43 was rarely competitive the remainder of the season. Petty notched only 2 more top 5's while driving for Curb through the rest of 1984 and the 1985 season. Even after returning to Petty Enterprises, the King scored only 14 top 5s, no poles, no wins, through the end of his driving career in 1992.
Allison's relationship with DiGard didn't improve either. He was bitter about the Robert Yates-built, DiGard-provided engine to the Petty car in 1984. One year later under the direction of creative crew chief Gary Nelson, DiGard fielded a second car in the 1985 Firecracker 400 with driver Greg Sacks. Incredibly, Sacks won in the unsponsored #10 Chevy. While I haven't researched it, I think the race was the last win by a car without a significant sponsor. Allison had seen enough and within a couple of weeks quit DiGard, fielded his own cars for the rest of the year, and joined forces with Stavola Brothers Racing beginning in 1986.
In 2011, Speed Channel and NASCAR Media Group aired a great documentary titled The Day: Richard Petty's 200th Win.
1977 - Starting on the inside of the third row, Richard Petty leads a little over half the laps (95 of 160) and wins the Firecracker 400 at Daytona for second time in three years for his 185th career NASCAR Winston Cup victory.
Richard's father, retired driver, and Petty Enterprises founder/co-owner Lee Petty was the race's grand marshal. Generally known as a curmudgeonly, tough ol' bird, Lee was apparently quite the socialite a couple of nights before the race.
The Pole Winner
Neil Bonnett won the pole in his Harry Hyde-prepared Dodge Charger. The duo were making their debut start under the team's new ownership flag of Jim Stacy Racing. The team had previously been owned by Nord Krauskopf and fielded red #71 Dodges with sponsorship by K&K Insurance for such notable drivers as Bobby Isaac, Buddy Baker, Dave Marcis, and Bonnett. By the mid-70s, however, Krauskopf began throttling back his support of the team. Hyde and Bonnett welcomed the change in ownership, and the newly renumbered 5 team had a good bit of success the rest of 1977.
Photo courtesy of Ray Lamm
The forward momentum stalled, however, once the calendar turned to 1978. Stacy turned out to be an egocentric flake. Bonnett left the team in 1978 and then joined the Wood Brothers in 1979. Hyde got crossways with Stacy for reasons that have never been made real clear - other than a bunch of money was involved.
By mid-1978, Stacy all but disappeared. Unexpectedly, he returned in 1981 to buy Rod Osterlund's championship team driven by Dale Earnhardt - a good friend of Bonnett. Shortly after the ownership change, Earnhardt joined the struggling team of Richard Childress - and I think we can agree the two of them tasted a bit of success. Stacy's ego raged in 1982 and 1983 by sponsoring upwards of 5 to 6 cars per race with not much more than his last name (or his generic-sounding company names) on the rear quarter panels. But as 1983 ended, once again Stacy disappeared - never to resurface in the sport again. He was truly an odd chapter in NASCAR's history book.
The Ladies
Three women emerged as the dominant storyline of the race. Not since the formative years of NASCAR had three women started a race in NASCAR's premier series. Janet Guthrie had already made headlines with her ground-breaking starts in the Indianapolis 500, Daytona 500, and World 600.
She was joined in the race by Christine Beckers from Belgium and Lella Lombardi from Italy - each of whom were "one-and-done" Cup racers. Beckers drove for legendary car owner Junie Donlavey.
Papa Lee Petty - winner of the first Daytona - 500 met with the three drivers before the race.
The Race
The first 50 laps were very competitive with a lot of lead changes. The longest consecutive laps-led streak during the first third of the race was 7 laps. Then around lap 50, Petty found his groove and stayed on point for the next third of the race.
The 400 then unfolded almost as if it were two 200-mile events. Not quite half the race was completed before typical Florida showers interrupted the action for two hours.
The rain finally moved out, the track's crew (with how-favorable help from Mother Nature) dried the surface, and the drivers belted in to complete the rest of the race.
Two years earlier in the 1975 Firecracker 400, the King worked with his crew all day to adjust the car. With less than 20 laps to go, Petty was able to catch Buddy Baker and pull away for the win. In the 1977 race, the #43 Dodge was again able to catch and pass the leader - Darrell Waltrip - with 19 laps to go. The big difference between 1975 and 1977, however, was the #43 STP Charger was the dominant car the final two-thirds of the race - before and after the rain.
The Victory
Once Petty cleared Waltrip, he cruised to the win by a comfortable margin over Waltrip's #88 Gatorade Chevy.
In victory lane, the King was able to celebrate the win with daughter Rebecca.
TMC Archives
A photo of Petty in victory lane was featured on the cover of the following year's 1978 race program.
The King qualified in the unlucky 13th spot, and he only led about 10% of the race - 16 of 160 laps. Buddy Baker ruled much of the hot Florida afternoon by leading 118 laps. But Petty in his STP Dodge Charger passed Baker with yep ... 13 ... laps to go, and he motored on to capture his 172nd career NASCAR Winston Cup victory.
Even after winning the pole and finishing 5th in the Firecracker, Donnie Allison was fired after the race - the mid-point of the 1975 season - by DiGard team owner Bill Gardner. Third-year Cup driver, Darrell Waltrip, finished 4th in the race in his own car and was immediately hired to replace Allison.
Throughout Petty's career as a driver - and continuing in recent years in his role as a car-owner - the King has celebrated his birthday (July 2nd) at Daytona.
Despite the good wishes from friends, competitors, and hot trophy girls, Petty wasn't happy with his car after practice and qualifying. Likely compounding the angst of readying the car was the continual oversight of all preparations by his father, retired driver Lee Petty.
As the race unfolded, however, the Petty Enterprises adjusted the Dodge, and the King let former Petty Enterprises driver Baker set the pace for the afternoon. Then when it became 'go time', the 43 dropped the hammer and took the victory.
Among those greeting Richard in victory lane was his teenage son, Kyle. He can be seen in the photo below - over Richard's right shoulder.
Also greeting the victorious driver was Linda Vaughn - Miss Hurst Shifter - which seemed to have increased the smiles on the faces of both Richard and Kyle.
In the issue of Sports Illustrated released the week after the Daytona race, Petty's win was described in a feature article. The article was significant for NASCAR, Petty and STP because stock car racing wasn't generally featured in SI.
Even more remarkable in this case is that the race got any coverage. The top sports story of the 4th of July weekend was Arthur Ashe's win over Jimmy Connors at Wimbledon. With his win, Ashe became the first black player to win the coveted tennis championship.
Yet, Petty's Daytona win earned him the full-length story and this caricature on the table of contents of ... appropriately enough, Volume 43, number 2.
A digital version of the original SI magazine - including the coverage of Ashe's and Petty's wins can be read on-line here, and the feature just on Petty's win follows.
