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Volvo: Safety Beyond the Star RatingsThe King’s Garage: Richard Petty’s Cars
The King is one of the most successful motorsports legacies ever. Here’s a look at Richard Petty’s famous race cars!
The King & His Cars
Richard Lee Petty is widely regarded “The King” of NASCAR. He may have recently left the NASCAR ownership world, but Petty is a vital piece of NASCAR’s 75-year history and will likely be seen throughout the season to honor him. He holds the record for most NASCAR Cup Series Wins at 200, has most Daytona 500 victories at seven total, and he’s tied with Jimmie Johnson for the most Cup Series Championships ever at seven total. Richard Petty is celebrating the 65th anniversary of his first race this year, so what better time to look at some of the cars that led to the illustrious career of “The King”.
Richard Petty’s Famous NASCAR Stock Cars
Richard Petty’s father, Lee Petty, is where his rise to fame gained its roots. Lee Petty was one of the original stock car racers during NASCAR’s infancy and grew to be one of the motorsport’s first big names. Lee Petty was the first to secure three NASCAR Cup Series championships and was the inaugural winner of the Daytona 500, albeit after much contention and three days of reviewing footage of the close finish.
Lee Petty retired from racing after a crash in 1961 and shifted his focus to the ownership side of the business, building up the Petty Enterprises racing team that oversaw his sons Maurice and Richard. Petty Enterprises is now known as one of the winningest teams in NASCAR history, only recently being eclipsed by Hendrick Motorsports in 2021. A good number of the 268 Petty Enterprises wins can be chalked up to the number 43 that was worn by Richard Petty starting back in 1958.
1957 Oldsmobile 88 Convertible
Richard Petty was introduced as a NASCAR stock car driver back in 1958. His car of choice back then was a 1957 Oldsmobile 88 that featured a unique detachable roof. The interesting roof design allowed Petty to race in both the hardtop and convertible racing series that were available at the time for NASCAR competitors. Petty was able to achieve the Rookie of the Year award in 1959 after securing nine finishes in the top 10 with six of those being top five finishes.
This is also where we see the first instance of the iconic Petty Blue paint color. The unique light blue paint was found by accident while trying to prepare the number 43 for a race. Petty only had a quart of white and a quart of blue paint on hand the day before a race and were crunching for time. Rather than take the time to tape off sections of the car to make a two-tone paint scheme, they mixed the paint together and sprayed the entire car in the new color. Fans and Petty enjoyed the color so much that it became a staple of the number 43 car’s design.
1960 Plymouth Fury
Richard Petty’s first win nearly came in 1959, but his father protested that there was an error and the victory actually went to Lee Petty. Richard Petty’s official win would come the following year during his first full-time season. Petty finished first at Charolotte behind the wheel of a 1960 Plymouth Fury. He went on to win two more races that season and placed second overall in the Cup Series standings.
1964 Plymouth Belvedere 426 HEMI
Richard Petty started racing a Plymouth Belvedere for the 1962 season and was able to achieve second over for the Cup Series that year and the year after that. He had the experience behind the wheel and a great team built around him, so all that was left was a competitive edge. The new 426 HEMI engine gave Petty that edge. His HEMI powered Plymouth helped him secure his first Daytona 500 win and his first Grand National championship.
Unfortunately, NASCAR banned the HEMI engine from competition for the 1965 season. Petty joined in on the Chrysler boycott of NASCAR that year and instead shifted his efforts to drag racing. He saw immediate success at the dragstrip, but eventually returned to the oval track once the HEMI engine was reinstated for NASCAR use.
1966 Plymouth Belvedere GTX
Richard Petty’s most successful year came in 1967 behind the wheel of his 1966 Plymouth Belvedere GTX. Not only did Petty earn his second championship in this car, but it also went on to be a major record setter. Petty won 27 races setting the record for the most wins in a single season. Those wins included a consecutive 10-win streak which is still the record for most consecutive wins.
1969 Ford Torino Talladega
Richard Petty sat inside a Ford for one year to gain a competitive edge. Ford introduced the Ford Torino Talladega, a stock car that had better aerodynamics that made it excel at super speedways. Plymouth’s design at the time wasn’t very aerodynamic and Chrysler wouldn’t provide him with one of their competitive Dodge Daytona cars. So, Petty made the move to the Ford Torino Talladega in 1969 and was able to get 10 wins for a runner up season.
1970 Plymouth Superbird
Chrysler introduced a more aerodynamic Plymouth design to appease Petty and bring him back to their brand for NASCAR. The 1970 Plymouth Superbird is possibly the most iconic model from Petty’s career, and it even served as his onscreen persona in the Cars movie. The highly modified homologation Road Runner only raced for one season before NASCAR instituted strict guidelines for aero cars. Petty achieved eighteen wins that season with the Superbird but lost to Bobby Isaac in points.
1971 Plymouth Road Runner
1971 was the final year Petty would ride with Plymouth, this time behind the wheel of a non-Superbird version of the Road Runner. This Road Runner would race “The King” to his third Daytona 500 win and was followed by 20 more wins, securing his third NASCAR championship. This was also the last year that Chrysler would directly support the Petty Enterprises race team in full capacity and was the last car to feature the completely Petty Blue paintjob.
Dodge Charger
Petty struck a deal with STP starting in 1972 and introduced the updated Petty two-tone scheme featuring Petty Blue and Day-Glo Orange. Petty stuck with Chrysler models but moved away from Plymouth halfway through the season. Petty switched to a 1972 Dodge Charger since he believed its design provided better aerodynamics over the Plymouth Road Runner at the time. The year ended with Petty on top for his third championship win.
Petty stuck with the third generation Charger platform for the next five years. Over the course of those years Petty would win two more Daytona 500s and win the NASCAR Cup Series championship back-to-back for ‘74 and ‘75. Richard Petty was in the height of reign, but his switch to the Dodge Magnum for 1978 proved to be a hindrance as he couldn’t take it to the winner’s circle at all that season.
Chevrolet Monte Carlo & Oldsmobile 442
Richard Petty made the move to General Motors near the end of the 1978 season after feeling that the Dodge Magnum was under performing. Petty picked up a used Chevrolet Monte Carlo stock car and finished out the season. 1979 saw Richard Petty once again behind the wheel of a Chevrolet Monte Carlo, but he also brought out an Oldsmobile 442 stock car at the super speedways throughout the season. The Oldsmobile 442 brought Petty his sixth Daytona 500 victory and both GM models pushed him to win his seventh – and final – Cup Series championship.
1981 Buick Regal
“The King” stuck with GM but would switch to a Buick Regal for the 1981 season. This was the only time Petty drove a Buick in NASCAR and it was able to push him into the winner’s circle of the Daytona 500 that year. His final win at the historic race, setting the record for most wins at seven. The Buick was dropped the following season, kicking off the Pontiac years.
Pontiac Grand Prix
Richard Petty never saw another Cup Series championship, but his five wins while driving a Pontiac Grand Prix in the 1980s led to another major milestone. In 1984, Petty won the Firecracker 400 at Daytona marking his 200th career win, the most wins ever in the history of NASCAR. It’s a record that will likely never be broken.
“The King” continued to race in the NASCAR Cup Series with the Pontiac Grand Prix stock car design up until his final season in 1992. He qualified for every race that year and was paraded out front at the beginning of each race, met with the congratulatory roar of NASCAR fans. His final race took place at Atlanta Motor Speedway, the same race that Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon made his Cup Series debut.
Other Richard Petty Race Cars
“The King” ventured outside of NASCAR a couple of times throughout his racing career. Petty participated in drag racing, SCCA, and IROC during his prime. Petty was also a revered team owner, fielding a number of different cars in NASCAR, plus a unique racer for a short while. Check out some of Richard Petty’s other race cars!
1965 Plymouth Barracuda
During the NASCAR boycott in 1965, Richard Petty decided he’d continue to race with the HEMI engine under different circumstances. Petty and his team installed the HEMI into a Plymouth Barracuda, modified it for straight-line speed, painted it Petty Blue, and put 43 Jr. on the side. Petty also added the word “Outlawed” to the drag cars design to lean into the circumstances of him boycotting NASCAR that year. Petty saw decent success against some of drag racing’s best drivers, but his time at the dragstrip is unfortunately shadowed by a horrific crash that he still doesn’t like brought up to this day.
1966 Plymouth Barracuda
The Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) held its first Trans Am Series race back on March 25, 1966, at Sebring International Raceway. Richard Petty was in attendance for this inaugural race as a part of Team Star-Fish. Petty can be seen in full race gear alongside the Petty Blue number 14 1966 Plymouth Barracuda in historical photos, although there isn’t much coverage of “The King” having actually raced during the event.
1974 IROC Porsche 911 Carrera RSR
Petty was invited to participate in the first ever International Race of Champions (IROC) event in 1974. The IROC I featured twelve drivers coming from NASCAR, SCCA Can-AM, USAC Championship Cars, or Formula One. All of the competitors were given the same Porsche 911 Carrera RSR to race over two weekends of racing. Petty ended up coming tenth for the first ever IROC in his white number 14 Porsche.
IROC Chevrolet Camaro
Petty returned for the next four IROC events, but the events transitioned from a Porsche to the Chevrolet Camaro. Petty’s best finish occurred at IROC V where he placed fifth overall. Petty wouldn’t return to the IROC event until 1989 for IROC XIII where he finished last.
IndyCar
Petty sat in an IndyCar only once. Racing legend A.J. Foyt convinced Petty to take a seat in his IndyCar, but Petty found that he was too big to comfortably ever race in one. While “The King” never transitioned to IndyCar, he did end up fielding a race car for the motorsport. In 2009, Richard Petty helped get John Andretti into an IndyCar for the Indianapolis 500. The open-wheel racer took on the Petty Blue and Day-Glo Orange paint scheme, showing us an alternate timeline of what could have been had Petty made the swap.
NASCAR Cup Series Stock Cars
Richard Petty transitioned to team ownership following his retirement in the same manner his father had all those years ago. Petty continued to field a team in the NASCAR Cup Series, although Petty Enterprises underwent multiple ownership changes and mergers after 2009. Richard Petty only recently left the ownership business after 2022, leaving Jimmie Johnson to take his spot as part team owner and rebrand the team to Legacy Motor Club. The 43 and 42 are still being represented under the new race team.
Richard Petty’s Museum & Garage
Petty also still has his hands in a number of other automotive entities that will continue keeping the Petty name relevant. The Petty Museum holds nearly all of Richard Petty’s race cars, his family’s race cars, some of his personal car collection, trophies, and a wide range of his other memorabilia. There’s also Petty’s Garage, an aftermarket performance shop that makes some awesome cars.
Petty’s Garage created multiple special editions of the Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Camaro, Dodge Charger, Dodge Challenger, and they’ve produced a limited run of 25 Richard Petty Edition Superbirds that are built off modern Dodge Challengers. The garage isn’t just about high-horsepower limited run models, the team there is also great at restoration and faithful recreations. If a fan comes in with an old car that Petty used to race, they’ll work with them to get it looking as close as possible to the original racer.
