History Springs Back to Level Cross

The King, Richard Petty, is unarguably the most successful individual in NASCAR history. His record in totality is unmatched: 200 wins, seven titles, 127 poles, over 500 top five finishes in nearly 1,200 starts, and a first-year inductee to the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

That success, however, included some tough accidents and injuries as well including:

• 1961 Daytona: Sailing over the wall during his 100-mile qualifying race for the Daytona 500.
• 1970 Darlington: Pounding the turn four wall and then nailing the pit wall during the 1970 Rebel 400.
• 1978 Daytona: Walloping the earthen berm in the 1978 IROC race followed by a savage lick a few days later in the Daytona 500.
• 1988 Daytona: Flipping against the catchfence during the Daytona 500.
• 1991 Sonoma: A head-on hit with the concrete wall and tire barrier during the Banquet Frozen Foods 300. 

Another accident that really took the wind out of the King's cape occurred during Pocono's Coca-Cola 500 on July 27, 1980. 

As Petty sailed into turn two, his right front wheel broke sending  him on a direct trajectory to the wall. After the first lick, the STP Monte Carlo ricocheted into the air for a moment before landing hard. Chuck Bown spun to avoid him, but Darrell Waltrip had nowhere to go and centerpunched the driver's side door.

The King exited the car in obvious pain.Interestingly, rescue crews didn't bother putting a neck brace on him or lay him on a backboard. He simply limped to the ambulance with his head tossed back and agony on his face.

Petty returned one week later to start the Talladega 500. Little clinical information was released beyond his having a sore neck. The truth, however, was King had fractured his neck in the crash. Though it was common in that era - and perhaps for another 25 years or so - for drivers to race hurt, King's willingness and ability to belt into the car with a broken neck was remarkable.

Back to Pocono though. The hit destroyed the right front of the car - and Petty's opportunity to notch his eighth Cup championship. 

Long-time Petty fan and licensed paramedic, Brian Hauck, attended the race that day. He occasionally assisted the medical response team for Pocono's Indy Car races; however, he chose not to do so for Cup races so he could watch as a fan.

Hauck, therefore, had no choice but to watch the track's medical crew work on his favorite driver from a distance and ask around about his condition later.

When he returned to work Monday, he was still uncertain about King's condition - and bent about the casual way the medical staff handled his neck. Meanwhile, a co-worker began holding court with stories about his weekend trip to the Pocono race. Hauck's ears perked up when he heard the co-worker mention having a piece from Petty's car.

As medical crews attended to Petty and safety crews cleaned the track, Hauck's co-worker foolishly (?) sprinted from his infield position onto the track and retreated hastily with the 43's right front coil spring. 

Hauck apparently all but demanded the guy turn over the spring - but got a hell no in return. Some time later, the guy left the company. Hauck fumed he didn't get the spring, and he lost contact with the guy to boot.

In 2018, a mutual friend reconnected the former co-workers. Hauck knew the first question he had to ask - Do you still have that spring? Sure enough, the guy still had it. With the passage of time, he was also willing to part with it for the right reason and to the right person. After nearly 40 years, the coil spring changed hands.

Once Hauck got the spring last October, I received a series of texts and photos from him about it along with a single request: Don't mention this to anyone for now. 

On January 24, 2019 - Hauck's birthday - he celebrated a bit differently. Instead of receiving a gift, he gave one. After driving from his home in Trenton, New Jersey to North Carolina, he presented the spring to an unsuspecting Petty and Dale Inman. 

Both immediately recognized what Hauck had and couldn't believe he was willing to return it to Level Cross. Inman in particular was flabbergasted the spring still existed. He mentioned the team looked for it in the turn area after the race but never found it. He noted that particular spring had been a good one for set-ups in 1979-80 and joked "I was more concerned about finding that spring than I was Richard's neck."

Initially, King thought Hauck may want his umpteenth autograph to tie to the spring. Once he realized the spring was again his, he held onto it during the remainder of their conversation.

As Hauck wrapped up his visit, King placed the spring atop the Monte Carlo on display in the Petty Museum until a more permanent exhibit spot can be arranged for it.

TMC

2012 Charlotte race trip: Cheese Dogs and History

Having negotiated turns one and two, I now barrel down the backstretch and into turn three of my four-part blog series about the great times enjoyed during four days in Charlotte for the Coca-Cola 600, the 20th anniversary of the founding of the Schaefer racing experience, and all related trappings.

After spending Friday morning at Petty's Garage, our quartet was ready for a bite of lunch before heading to the Richard Petty Museum in Randleman, NC. With no objections from the other three, I made my offer based on some pre-trip reconnaissance. I proposed we head to a dive diner called Frank and Larry's about 2 miles or so from Petty's Garage. We needed to go there for a reason.

My desired post-lunch tour stop was to be a complete wild card. Through research I've done the last several months for my Richard Petty 200 Wins blog series, I learned Randleman was once home to Tar Heel Speedway. The paved, quarter-mile track hosted three NASCAR Grand National races - all in 1963. The hometown Petty Enterprises team won all three of them - the first two by Jim Paschal and the last by Richard.

Through some web research and a chapter in Perry Allen Wood's book Silent Speedways of the Carolinas (PDF excerpt), I learned the remains of the track were on the property of Frank Millikan -  the father of Joe Millikan who worked for Petty Enterprises in the 1960s and 70s.

After working a few years in the shop, Joe then raced and won in Petty-built Dodge Chargers in several ARCA and late model sportsman events in the mid to late 1970s. He landed a Cup ride with L.G. DeWitt in 1979 and finished second to Dale Earnhardt for Winston Cup Rookie of the Year.

Courtesy of Ray Lamm

Joe lost his ride in early 1980 when DeWitt's team folded. Petty Enterprises drew on his availability when Richard broke his neck at Pocono around mid-season. Millikan relief-drove for Richard in a couple of races including Talladega and Bristol. (Incredibly, the King raced without relief for all 400 miles at Michigan sandwiched between 'Dega and Bristol.)

With the Petty-Millikan connection, I simply HAD to meet Frank and get to his property to see what was left of Tar Heel Speedway. My objective was to stand on the broken pavement - smiling - wearing a 43 hat - and holding a Schaefer beer.

Based on a local source, I was told Frank was in his 80s and co-owner of the diner. We found the place easily. After studying the menu, all of us ordered our hot dogs and Pepsi Colas - at least I thought so. I ordered two 'cheese dogs' with mustard and onions. Everyone got a good laugh when the waitress brought precisely what I'd ordered: two buns layered with Kraft Singles and toppings. Perplexed for a moment, I asked "Um, I seem to be missing my dawgs." She politely but curtly reminded me I'd ordered cheese dogs - not hot dogs (vs. a hot dog with cheese on it as I'd thought). "You want weenies on 'em? I can make 'em for you?"

Once I got the minor menu miscue behind me, it was time to move to the next step. After our waitress added the hot dogs to my cheese dogs, I felt a bond between us was beginning to develop. I innocently asked if Frank was working that day. She winced and said "Naw hon, I'm 'fraid not. Frank passed away." Slightly embarrassed and clearly under-informed, I replied "Holy cow! I'm really sorry. Was it recent?" to which she replied "Naw, twas prob'ly 'bout 2 year ago. But Larry is still here if ya wanna talk to him!" We smothered a snicker and said no thank you.

But we'd made it this far, and I wasn't prepared to concede my mission. I told her I was looking for an old race track that was on his property. She said Frank's widow was still alive and may be able to help us. As we left the parking lot, I told SHOFer Philly "turn left" (as true stock car drivers do). We drove 2 clicks of a mile away and there we found a long gravel driveway. We drove it slowly and found a nice, modest log house - but it didn't look as if anyone was home. So we drove deeper into the property. And there it was - a building that was once likely a ticket booth and/or a payoff booth for the drivers, remains of what may have been some grandstands, and a bunch of trees and ivy followed clearly by a row of "clear" which likely meant the track surface was still there. As we drove by a trailer with a pick-up truck parked outside it, we found a gate to what once an entrance to turn 4.

I got my camera and a can of Schaefer and was about ready to exit our vehicle. But then I glanced back and saw a man standing by the pick-up with hands on his hips and his face void of a smile. Sensing an uh-oh moment, I suggested we double-back to him, laugh him up with our search idea, pass him a Schaefer as thanks, and get permission to look around. Instead, we got just the opposite. The convo went something like this:

TMC: Hey sir, how are ya? We're in the area for the race this weekend. Over in Charlotte? And we're big Petty fans and racing historians of sorts.
Trailer Dude: Yeah?
TMC: Yes sir. And I learned recently Tar Heel Speedway was right over here where Richard won way back in the 60s.
TD: Dar ain't nuttin' back there.
TMC: Yeah, but I think I saw...
TD: Huh?
TMC: Well, I understood Frank Millikan once owned the area. But I understood from over at Frank and Larry's that he'd passed away, and I was sorry to hear that. (tried to name drop and get a little empathy working)
TD: Yeah, and his boys own the place. They put that gate up thar so ain't nobody gonna get hurt back thar.
TMC: Well, we were hoping we could...
TD: Yain't gonna need to go back thar.
[Pause - look at the truck - look at Philly - make a visual go/no go decision - annnnd, realize this could turn for the worse]
TMC: OK, well look. We appreciate it. Great talking with you.

With that last exchange, we were gone. Sensing he may have a high-caliber enforcer in his truck, we made the decision not to push matters. After a slow ride in, Philly kicked up a good rooster tail of gravel dust as he sped back to the main road - with Trailer Dude's dogs running and barking in hot pursuit. They matched our speed stride-for-stride for about 300 yards until finally breaking off.

The trip wasn't a total loss. I didn't get to walk the grounds or get my photo op. But we...were...there. About the only localized photo I got was the mailbox that still bears the name of the late Frank Millikan.

And ... I did find Richard's winning trophy from Tar Heel on display later in the afternoon at the Richard Petty Museum.

We were soooo close. I'm not sure the year or season of the aerial photo below. But it gives some idea of how close we were. The van marks the area near the 4th turn gate. The arrow marks where Trailer Dude stood staring us down.

In the end though, it was the right - and safest - thing to do to just move on. Saturday and Sunday race days would have sucked if the two of us had landed in the hospital loaded with buckshot. Lt. Philly, iiice creeeam. Schaefer-flavored ice cream Lt. Philly.

Once back on Randleman Road, we drove the few short miles to the Richard Petty Museum on West Academy Street. We arrived to see the Smithfield Foods / Farmland #43 Ford show car having just been unloaded in the parking lot. This Petty-blue rich scheme will run in four 2012 races: Kansas City, Texas, Chicagoland, and Phoenix.

Upon entering, I had a reunion of sorts with [name withheld] who helped me find and then hold the Schaefer 300 trophy last year. (I agreed she and I would keep her name a secret in case the King got wind of it and disapproved!) She remembered me, laughed at the Schaefer links I'd sent her over the past year, and was surprised to learn I'd brought more Schaefer devotees with me - including 200WINZ who is the only person I know who actually got to see the King win the Schaefer 300 at Trenton.

I took a lot more photos of trophies I missed during my previous visit or that had been added to the cases since then. Many will be incorporated into future blog posts about the King's 200 wins. I did spot a few other interesting items such as...

The checkered flag from Marcos Ambrose's win at Watkins Glen last August.

The winner's trophy for the King's second and final career win at Bristol in 1975 as I blogged about back in March.

Richard's 123rd career and final Winston Cup pole win also came at Bristol. He landed the top spot for the 1979 Volunteer 500 summer night race.

Petty's trophy from his 199th career win in the Budweiser 500 at Dover while driving for Curb Motorsports.

Credit to and courtesy of Brian Hauck

Amongst the hundreds of guns in the museum's collection is supposedly Richard's first BB gun, a Red Ryder Daisy. As a fan of the iconic movie, A Christmas Story, I couldn't help but wonder if Richard once pleaded with Lee to get him a Red Ryder carbine-action, two hundred shot, Range Model air rifle with a compass in the stock and this thing which tells time.

I've thoroughly enjoyed my two trips to the museum. Obvious misses with some of the displays, however, are also a minor irritant to me. For example, the 1984 Pontiac Grand Prix on display is alleged to be the one the King raced to his 200th win. Except it isn't. And the impressive 1970 Petty blue Plymouth Superbird greeting visitors upon their entrance? Nope. Its neither a 'Bird nor a Petty built chassis. The two cars are gorgeous, and I certainly know what they represent. However, I think the museum would be better served to let folks know both are replicas.

On this year's trip, I noted two more facepalm mistakes:

• A Petty Enterprises sign tagged as the "original" one. Original?? Its not even the original logo of Petty Enterprises - never mind the company was originally known as Petty Engineering. The sign may well have been the last one hanging when PE merged with Gillett Evernham Motorsports and ceased operations. But it certainly isn't the original sign.

• The other clear miss was the inclusion of a Winston Cup Series decal on the side of the restored 1969 Ford Torino. Winston didn't become NASCAR's top series title sponsor until 1971, and the red-white-checkered flag logo wasn't even used until a couple of years afterwards.

My nitpicking aside, the visit was great. I'd return tomorrow if given the opportunity to continue exploring the various trophies and items collected by the King over the years. Perhaps in my later years, I could be the curator or a tour guide for the museum rather than riding out my days as a Wal-Mart greeter feller. (caution on that last link - Rodney Carrington humor isn't for everyone)

TMC

Visit to Richard Petty Museum: The other stuff

Where was I? Oh yeah! After composing a couple of entries about the trophies I found in the Richard Petty Museum, I wanted to wrap-up the series with some thoughts and photos of other 'stuff' I saw.

I just knew this was going to be a magical trip as I pulled into the parking lot. As I got out of my rental car, I realized for the first time I had been driving a Chrysler 200. Chrysler: owner of Plymouth and Dodge brands raced by Petty Enterprises for so many years. 200: Richard's total number of Cup wins. Ah yes, this was indeed a great trip.

The museum is packed with all sorts of stuff collected by Richard and Lynda Petty. Guns, rifles, watches, dolls, belt buckles, knives, matchbox cars, etc. Most of it didn't interest me simply because I'm only a fan of the racing portion.

The museum didn't have as many cars as I had expected. The replicas of Lee's 1959 Oldsmobile and Richard's 1967 Plymouth have been moved to the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte. So I know why those weren't there. None of Adam's cars were on display - nor was the Ford Richard raced in 1969 that I recall seeing at the old museum in 1997.

A Pontiac Grand Prix from 1984 and a 1970 Plymouth Superbird were on display. Both are beautiful race cars. Both, however, are replica restorations. Neither represent true Petty cars

I never tire of looking at a Petty car. When cars are displayed in a museum, however, I wish better signage could be displayed. I think visitors would enjoy knowing (1) the cars are replicas and (2) the historical racing significance why the car is on display - key wins, championship years, bad wrecks, number built by Petty Enterprises, etc.

It was easier viewing the cars in the new museum vs. how I remember them almost 15 years ago. However, I hope some day there will be an even larger area to view them with a better angle to take pictures. Being right up on top of the cars and trying to work with vinyl, white picket fencing in the foreground makes it tough to capture the length of a car in one shot. For instance, here is Richard's 1981 Buick Regal. He raced one similar to this one to his seventh Daytona 500 win. Yet, it was tough getting a great shot because of the fencing barrier.

Also, the Chevy Monte Carlo from 1979-80 is among the best looking cars Richard ever raced. His seventh Cup championship was won driving a Monte in the majority of the events.

The rear quarter-panel of this car, however, never had this many random contingency decals. In what is becoming a drum-beat theme now, I really wish more careful attention could be paid to these types of details. I'm guessing most visitors won't notice the variance. But as someone who tries to have an idea for detail on stuff like this, I wish that extra bit of effort could be made to display the car as closely as possible to the look when it raced.

As displayed...

A look at the rear quarter during a win at Dover in 1979...

A neat trophy I found was for Richard's pole-winning efforts in the 1978 NAPA 250 Winston West race at Phoenix. Petty had gone through a 1-1/2 year losing streak and was facing stomach ulcer surgery in the off-season. But when the Cup season ended at Ontario, a few drivers such as Richard and Kyle, Bobby Allison, and Neil Bonnet stuck around and raced a week later in this Winston West race. (For newer fans, the scenario is analogous to Kyle Busch dropping back to race in the truck or Nationwide series on a Cup weekend.)

What I found interesting about this trophy though was the spelling. I guess I've always thought the fastest qualifier was the pole sitter vs. the pole setter. Any grammar experts out there? Snicker...snort...haha...grammar experts reading a NASCAR blog. Riiiiiggghhhttt.

A tradition throughout much of the 1970s and 1980s was to have all drivers autograph one or more checkered flags. The signed flags were given to various folks - winning drivers, grand marshals, etc. Even President Reagan received one at the 1984 Firecracker 400.

Source: Bobbyallison.com

Two such flags were on display at the museum. One from that '84 Firecracker 400 where the King notched his 200th win...

...and the other was from Richard's final race at Daytona - the 1992 Pepsi 400.

Maxwell House coffee is "good to the last drop" because they say it is. Years ago, a commercial claimed "when E.F. Hutton speaks, people listen". So when the Petty museum says this is the first souvenir t-shirt, then hey I reckon I've got to believe them. Right? I actually have no earthly idea if its the first one or not, but it makes for a great claim anyway.

I maintain a spreadsheet of as much daily Petty trivia as I've been able to find. I post it from time to time on various message boards and have occasionally blogged some of it here. I'm also trying to collect as many photos and articles as I can for each of Richard's 200 wins. I found this picture from Richard's first career win in Charlotte, NC. I didn't have it...but I do now.

Another neat photo I spotted was of driver Bill Lutz. I consider myself pretty well versed in the names of drivers who drove for Petty Enterprises over the years. But Lutz' came came as a surprise. In researching his stats, I learned he raced 26 times in the old NASCAR convertible series. Four of his last five starts were in Petty Engineering's #88 Oldsmobile in 1957. He also raced a Petty Oldsmobile in the NASCAR Grand National Daytona Beach and Road course race in February 1957. His car number? 43. Now, that's a picture I'd like to find.

Lee Petty was never particularly known for being media-accessible like his son. He could be rough and gruff - to the media, his sons and fans. But this photo I found on a wall of him and his wife Elizabeth shows a different side.

In May 1975, Richard's brother-in-law, Randy Owens, was killed during a pit stop during the Winston 500 at Talladega. I vaguely remember reading about it in the next morning's newspaper. In recent years, I saw some grainy video footage during an episode of Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s show, Back in the Day. But I've never known a whole lot about Randy - including what he looked like. The museum had a nice tribute wall to memorialize many folks tied to the Petty organization who are deceased. Among the pictures was this one of Randy. It may be one of the worst Photoshop jobs I've ever seen - but I think someone's heart was in the right place to remember him.

Another neat piece of trivia was a case for Richard's 200th win. Included in it was his helmet, driver's uniform and race's checkered flag autographed by long-time NASCAR flagman Harold Kinder.

I've seen the following photo more than once. Its a victory lane from Richard's first Daytona 500 win in 1964. What I have never understood, however, is the presence of the Japanese woman in victory lane with him. She was hardly the typical trophy queen.

In visiting the museum, however, I got my answer. It looks like the nation of Japan may have provided a winner's trophy. Who knew! I'm still not exactly sure why they did it. So in this case, an answer to one question leads to ... another question.

To wrap this up, this may have been the craziest trophy I saw. How Petty managed to win the pole for the Nashville TN race at ... Greenville-Pickens speedway in South Carolina is beyond me. Clearly someone got too dizzy drinking Falstaff as the plaques were glued to this one.

I left the museum to head for my flight in Raleigh. Along the way, I glanced at the odometer and grabbed my Blackberry to snap a picture. As predicted at the beginning of my visit, I knew it was going to be a magical trip. This odometer cemented that prediction.

TMC

Richard Petty Museum visit: the trophies part 2

Having about three to four hours and a butt-load of trophies to view was a bit of a sensory overload when it came to taking pictures. As noted in my previous entry, I chose to hone in on trophies from lost tracks and on wins for which I had some other memory connection.

As I started wrapping up my last entry, I strayed off topic a bit. I wanted to focus on lost tracks in that one and save current tracks for this one. But I threw in Darlington and Pocono. Oh well, sue me.

But in an effort to make up a bit for that blogging blunder, how about I let a lost track invade this current track blog. Fair and balanced, right?

North Wilkesboro - Richard won five races and the championship in 1979. The 1980 season look promising. He won two short-track races early in the season: Nashville and the Northwestern Bank 400 at North Wilkesboro. Unfortunately, he had a terrible wreck at Pocono mid-year which derailed his chances for an 8th title.

A couple of observations about the victory lane photo above:

• Richard's daughter, Rebecca, now heads up the Petty Family Foundation.
• I had the same t-shirt she is wearing, and a photo of my sporting it was even included in my high school annual!

Winston Cup trophies - Richard won seven NASCAR Grand National / Winston Cup championships. I found the 1971, 1974 and 1979 Winston Cup trophies. I did not spot the 1964, , 1967, 1972 or 1975 championship trophies - though its possible they were there and overlooked by me.

Richard earned his fourth championship in 1971 - but it was his first (and the first overall) labeled as the Winston Cup Series Champion.

Richard's fifth Cup trophy from 1974.

And Richard's seventh and final Cup trophy from 1979.

The 1979 championship win by Petty was truly remarkable. Richard went winless from mid-1977 through the end of 1978. STP had begun to doubt him, and sponsorship re-negotiations began. Because it was unresolved, the 43 car ran minimal STP decals and colors the first three races of 1979. Petty had stomach ulcer surgery after the 1978 season concluded, and his doctors recommended he not start the 1979 season. He ignored his doctors' advice, started the season and even won the Daytona 500 for the sixth time as Donnie Allison and Cale Yarborough crashed on the last lap. Also, Darrell Waltrip had come into his own, won seven races, and jelled with his DiGard team to grab the championship. But a funny thing happened on the way to the final race at Ontario. DiGard and DW stumbled down the stretch, and the steady-as-you-go, experienced Petty team rose to the occasion. When the checkers flew, it was the King who locked up his 7th title.

Martinsville - A key win for Richard in 1979 was the spring Virginia 500. Darrell Waltrip was on a bit of a roll. But in a rare display of humility, he even conceded before the race began that the 43 was likely the car to beat. And it was as Richard won and DW finished 3rd.

Atlanta - As a driver, Petty had plenty of success with wins at Atlanta. Interestingly, I don't think I saw any trophies from his multiple wins there. However, I did find this one - the provisional pole winner for The Atlanta Invitational in 1986. The race was the preliminary event to The Winston and was open to non-winning drivers who weren't eligible for the main event. For those newer to NASCAR, 1986 was the second year of The Winston and the only year it hasn't been raced in Charlotte.

I really enjoyed seeing the trophies from the wins in the 1960s and early 1970s - way before my time as a fan. But it was also cool seeing the trophy from the most recent win involving Richard Petty. Here is the big iron from Kasey Kahne's win in the 2009 Pep Boys 500 driving for Richard Petty Motorsports.

Source: Motorsport.com

Sonoma - Sticking with the current events theme, the museum also had the unique trophy from Kahne's win at Sonoma in June 2009. It was Petty's first win as a car owner since 1999 when John Andretti won at Martinsville.

Charlotte - Over the years, some questioned why Petty didn't win many races at Darlington. However, he did run well consistently and tallied three wins. If any criticism could be leveled about his performance on a track, perhaps it should have been Charlotte instead. Jim Paschal, Marvin Panch and Buddy Baker - drivers who raced for Petty Enterprises - won at Charlotte in Petty cars. However, Richard himself couldn't close the sale individually until the 1975 World 600. He then won again in the fall race to sweep the year. In 1977, he once again won the 600.

Interestingly, actress Elizabeth Taylor, who recently died, attended the race with her then-husband Sen. John Warner of Virginia. One or both of them was the race's grand marshal, and they joined the King in victory lane.

Hardware for Kyle's career was in short supply at the museum. Likely, it was for one of three reasons.

• One, its the RICHARD PETTY museum - not necessarily the Lee, Maurice, Kyle or Adam Petty Museum.
  
• Two, a lot of Kyle's trophies were stored at his beach home near Charleston SC. Sadly, a fire consumed the house several years ago and much of its contents.
• Three, let's face it - Kyle didn't exactly need an expanded museum to display his winnings. With only eight career wins and a few poles, he didn't have a lot to display even if it was still available. I'm a fan of all-things Petty - including Kyle's career. But that's just the honest truth.

Richmond - One of Kyle's trophies I did find at the museum was from his first Cup win in the 1986 Miller 400 at Richmond. Earnhardt wiped out DW, and the third and fourth place cars managed to get caught up in the melee too. Kyle came from 5th to 1st in the final two turns of the last lap on what was then Richmond's half-mile track.

Update 2011-04-06: As a reader rightfully pointed out to me, the Earnhardt/DW wreck and Kyle's pass for the win was NOT on the last lap. It all took place with three laps to go. Back then, races could finish under caution. So all Kyle had to do was ride around the final couple of laps to seal the win. Thanks Cam for the correction.

Daytona - The Petty family and Daytona are linked closely together. Petty Enterprises has enjoyed unbelievable success at the track since its opening in 1959. I found a couple of items that merited a picture.

Here is another trophy collected by Kyle for his winning the pole for the 1993 Daytona 500 - the first without Richard Petty in it since 1961.

Richard won the 1964 Daytona 500, and he added additional wins in the 500 in the late 60s and early 70s. However, he could never quite win the summer Firecracker 400. Finally, he won it in 1975 and did so again in 1977.

I definitely wanted a shot of this trophy. As soon as I spotted it, I laughed a bit knowing I had this victory lane photo from the race at home.

Trophies are only part of the items on display at the museum. I'll post some of the rest of what I thought in the entries to follow.

TMC