In the late sixties, Ford was all but done with its personal feuds over the racetracks against other big names. Having expedited Ferrari’s demise at Le Mans with a four-year streak of overall wins, the Blue Oval turned its attention to the domestic bouts. Back home, a fierce war was waging between FoMoCo and ChryCo on the speedways and brickyards of NASCAR.
Between 1963 and 1969, Ford imposed an absolute dominance in stock car racing, taking the manufacturer’s title year after year. However, over in the drivers’ championship standings, things weren’t all cut and dry for Ford. Richard Petty was absolutely acing it, scoring a massive 101 wins in 450 races (his total triumphs is a neat round 200) throughout the entire 1960s decade – including the 1969 season when the King blasted the tracks in a Ford.
The story is well-known: when the 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona came out, and Chrysler turned a cold shoulder on Petty’s request for a similar Plymouth racer, the driver jumped ships and landed a contract with FoMoCo. In 1970, Mother Mopar admitted its mistake and gifted The King the requested car. The Superbird spread its wings and took off into history.
While the NASCAR season wasn’t a success – the Superbird didn’t win the title – the car became an icon of American motoring. The famous No 43 Petty Blue example is probably the best-known NASCAR machine of all time (in great part thanks to the Disney animation Cars). Although it didn’t significantly impact Richard Petty’s record-setting racing career, the car is the one thing people think of when they say the legend’s name.
Photo: YouTube/Petty Family Racing
A decade ago, the car owned by The King himself made its first public appearance since 1970 at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. This year, the same car will once again treat the audience of the English car gathering with its thunderous presence and aero looks. But getting a race car up and running is not a simple turnkey proposition—particularly for a 54-year-old Race Hemi.
The Petty Museum ensured that the Plymouth Superbird racecar, currently in the possession of its famous NASCAR Hall-of-Famer, was ready for its showcase next week on the east side of the Atlantic. The crew meticulously checked and dusted off the car, and Kyle Petty took it for a test drive around Randleman, North Carolina.
It’s the car’s first time in three years that it’s coming out of the showroom, so the crew’s attention to detail is understandable. So is Kyle Petty’s eagerness to ‘see if the brakes work’ – but it’s a good excuse to drive his father’s car for the first time.
A moment he’s been dreaming about since he was a ten-year-old boy growing up in his legend-in-the-making father’s shadow in 1970. Play the videos below and hear the 550-horsepower Race Hemi thunder like it’s going on a rampage against every single quiet EV out there.
After nearly two decades in news television, Răzvan turned to a different medium. He’s been a field journalist, a TV producer, and a seafarer but found that he feels right at home among petrolheads. Full profile
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