As the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and Richard Petty Motorsports (RPM) crossed the country to the Sonoma Raceway this week, RPM Co-Owner Richard Petty crossed “The Pond” to participate in his third Goodwood Festival of Speed in West Sussex, England. “The King” Richard Petty was invited back by Lord March to participate again at the annual Festival that attracts over 100,000 motorsports enthusiasts. When Petty arrived, he had awaiting one of his most iconic drives, his Petty Blue #43 1970 Plymouth Superbird. “This is a car that helped bring NASCAR into a new era of racing,” said Petty. “This was the first “race car’ and not a “stock car’. It looked like a rocket ship and had this big wing”¦”¦that was my reaction when I first saw it from Plymouth. It introduced aerodynamics to the sport and just advanced the sport at that time. It was really ahead of its time back in the early 70’s.” Petty climbed behind the wheel of this famous #43 on Friday morning in England and drove the car during the Festival’s Hill Climb. Petty then greeted legions of fans as he continues to prove to be one of the world’s most popular figures in sports. “It was a lot of fun to get back behind the wheel, but I wasn’t looking to win any race,” commented Petty after the climb. “I wanted people to see the car and appreciate it. We had a lot of people waving and smiling, so I think they had as much fun as I did.”
“You know, they asked us to bring this car over,” continued Petty when asked why the Superbird. “We came last year and had the ’67 Belvedere, the car we won a bunch of races with. In 2000, our first year we came, we had the ’72 Dodge Charger, but the Superbird was what they wanted. It’s just “iconic’ and probably what a lot of people recognize. The younger generation come up to me and say, “Hey, that’s the car that was in the movie, Cars.’ So, it’s a pretty popular car for us and it’s neat to see all the excitement around it.” Petty will stay in England throughout the weekend, but is unsure if he will be back behind the wheel. “I really want to give the chance for some of these other guys here to drive it if they want,” said Petty. “We will see, but we’re going to have fun and take it all in. I really enjoy it.” Petty will return home early next week before heading to Daytona for his 78th birthday on July 2 and to attend the race where the #43 team and Aric Almirola will defend their win from last year.(RPM, and see the video)(6-27-2015)
