Making of a Champion, Part I

For many years people of this small town in North Carolina went about their business working farms, raising families and keeping the home fires burning . Sixty years ago the quite solitude of this beautiful countryside would become a little faster paced and a little more noisy. A twelve year old boy was there to experience this change of scenery drinking it all in like a cold Coca a Cola on a hot day.

The sound of an engine at full song was music to his ears and feeling the steering wheel was as comfortable as wearing his Cowboy boots. Many years of winning and defeat, crashing, hard hits and many broken bones have taken a toll on his body but the spirit is still there. In this arena his legend will never be equaled. In this mans realm we have learned what his legacy is.

Richard Lee Petty was born July, 2nd 1937 in Randleman North Carolina. No one knew what was to come but if stars do align creating magic, Richard Petty surely is a magician. So very rare is it to have the torch passed from a blood line to make it burn even brighter and cary the torch through. Richard carried this flame to become a King.

Achieving royal status for Richard was not really about taking checkered flags but about him as a person. Being humble and good natured would soon pay huge dividends. Richard's father Lee also reached the heights of stardom but Lee's way of doing things was not just to give away the throne to his son as an heir. Richard had to earn the mantle with hard work and experience. Richard asked his father to let him drive before the age of 21 but Lee flatly refused telling his son that he needed to mature before driving a race car. Lee Petty's lessons to his son would prove to be unbelievably successful.Soon enough we would see a Royal Flush.

Early in Petty's career he thought to have won a short track race but the finish was protested by of all people, his father. The finish was overturned giving the win to Lee. When Richard questioned his father about this turn of events Lee stated, "We made more money by me winning this race".Lee Petty finally turned the reigns over to Richard shortly after being seriously injured at Daytona in 1960. At Daytona for Speedweek this year it looked as if the Petty's were more into acrobatics than driving on the track as both Lee and Richard flew over the third and fourth turn gaurd rails during seperate qualifying races. Lee was nearly killed and was bed ridden for several months. Richard was much more fortunate suffering only a sprained ankle. Neither competed in the 1961 Daytona 500

Richard learned his lessons well and became a regular winner in the Grand National circuit finishing 2nd to Joe Weatherly for the title during the 1962 and 1963 seasons while racking up 27 victories. 1964 would be a historical and tragic year for racing as Richard began his methodical climb to the top of the mountain.

This year was significant for many reasons. The automobile manufactures had a keen eye on what was happening at Daytona knowing that a win here would result in brand new cars flying out of show rooms across the country. Bigger and stronger engines were needed to accomplish this goal and Chrysler broke through with the introduction of the HEMI engine. Richard Petty was more than happy to bolt in this beast of an engine and let it rip.

Chrysler worked hard to build the HEMI into race trim while not letting the cat out of the bag. The engines arrived at Daytona in a cloud of secrecy as the Plymouth and Dodge race teams installed these monster engines. Once on the race track the Hemi powered cars sand bagged for fear of Ford or Chevy crying foul. Even with the Dodge and Plymouth powered cars not using all of their butterflies they still started up front with the other camps pointing fingers knowing that the jig was up.

For Richard Petty it was time to be a part of history.

Once Richard put his Plymouth on the race track two things happened. The HEMI developed a coolant leak and the car would not turn through Daytona's steep banks. Petty and his crew discovered that the HEMI had a defect in one of the block decks. Petty welded up the deck himself and they were in business. The car not turning would be a difficult nut to crack as his crew chief Dale Inman threw everything at the car to fix it. They finally realised that Richard was sliding out of his seat driving through Daytona's steep banks at speeds never seen before ! Inman took a 2X4 wrapped in a towell and bolted it to the right side of Richard's seat.

When the race started it the rules could not be changed as Nascar was powerless to reign in the HEMI engine. Richard could now drive the car and pour all the gas into his high powered Plymouth. Petty obliterated the competition winning by over one lap. At one point late in the race coming into the pits just to ask his father how he was doing or rather decrease his huge lead.

The 1964 Daytona 500 to this day is considered the greatest field ever for this race having six current or future Nascar champions, nine current or future Daytona 500 winners, three Indianapolis 500 winners and two drivers with Formula One experience. Sadly five drivers who competed in this event would lose their lives before the year was over. Richard Petty would go on to power his way to the championship in 1964 but his title was tempered by the loss two very good friends in Joe Weatherly and Glen "Fireball" Roberts.

Richard Petty's climb was about to get very steep.

to be continued

Legend of the Beach

What really gets race fans and drivers going are the cars. It is all about the automobile. These fourwheeled gasoline driven machines changed this country and the world. Going to the store for supplies went from an all day trip to just a few minutes thanks to the car. For the first time people could quickly travel hundreds of miles to visit family and friends or just to take a drive.




A new world was at our finger tips and with it came a new addiction, Speed. Not long after automobiles became available to the masses we wanted to go fast. Speed became king, the thrill and excitement of going fast is part of our deep seeded desire to feel good.




Daniel Boone blazed the Wilderness Trail from the Cumberland Gap to Kentucky during the 1800's by walking slowly. What would Boone think if he were here today standing beside the backstretch at Talladega with a freightrain of cars blasting by at 200 miles per hour. He would be amazed and in awe as we are of him being a legendary frontiersman.




The love affair with cars is part of the fabric of our society and our desire for speed will never go away. From Indianapolis to the sandy Florida beaches a young William France's desire for going fast started a dream and a vision to create a world of speed never before seen. His idea to build a curved ribbon of ashpalt would surely come true as France knew the legend of Indianapolis very well and had an idea on how improve it. Race tracks were very popular at the beginning of the 20th century from the famed speedway in Indiana to the much smaller high banked wooden speed bowls and dirt tracks that dotted the country at the time. This knowledge gave France the motivation to create something that would change the face of motorsports forever.




Bill France decided to do something completely different. Why not build a track as big as Indianapolis but with steeply banked turns similar to the wooden tracks that were prevalent early in the century. The same cars that were in everyones driveway would be running on the high banked Super Speedway. Daytona truly is the birthplace of speed as Big Bill France accomplished the smooth transition from having automobiles race on the same beach where the first land speed records were established to the opening of Daytona International Speedway in 1959. The age of the Super Speedway was about to take center stage.




The American Muscle car was born on Daytona's sprawling two and a half mile tri oval and our love affair with the car had now reached a fever pitch. The sparkling new Daytona Speedway grabbed everyone's attention from the best Indianapolis racing drivers to auto manufactures that wanted their cars and engines to be showcased and of the homegrown drivers that were cutting their teeth on the bull rings. Daytona was it. The inception of Darlington Raceway gave a little taste of speed but Daytona was different. With it's long straight aways and steeply banked turns a car could negotiate the entire circuit at close to full throttle. For a driver to run on Daytona's high banks meant that he was one of the fastest men on wheels.




Daytona singlehandedly changed the way that racing cars and engines were built due to it's unique layout. The big track changed everything. No one had ever gone this fast before on a closed circuit in something very close to a production car. It would take several years for the stock cars to reach Daytona's potential. Within ten years of the first Daytona 500 qualifying speeds increased by almost 50 mph as men and their machines continued the search for speed. The high banked super track enticed engine manufactures and builders to produce more power but the introduction of the HEMI engine in 1964 forced the competitors to rethink every aspect of navigating this track. The cars could not handle the powerful engines requiring better wheels and tires, and stronger chassis to handle loads created by the steep banks.




The Muscle car and the Superspeedway were in their renaissance during the late 60's with beefed up factory production models ripping around Daytona at over 180mph. For the real speed junkies the love affair with Daytona and the addiction to speed was in full force with some of the greatest racing drivers in history gracing Daytona's hallowed banks. Where else could you see the same car that you drove or could buy hammer Daytona's Superspeedway at blinding speeds. The sweetest of addictions is to go fast and Daytona filled that desire perfectly.




Big Bill France Sr. also had the addiction and his dream coming true gave us something we may never see again but we will always have our love affair with speed and with the real Hot Rod.