Petty wins 200th race at Firecracker 400
It was a finish fit for a King. Racing icon Richard Petty’s career was winding down, but he was knocking on the door of his 200th win when everything aligned in his favor.
Petty, the all-time wins leader at Daytona International Speedway, was in the Firecracker 400 field when President Ronald Reagan decided to attend the big race.
The presidential visit was a big moment for NASCAR, which was still fighting for national attention.
On this day in 1984, Petty delivered his 200th and final NASCAR victory during an iconic race day in Daytona Beach.
Petty, who happened to be a Republican county commissioner and had met Reagan, was immediately everyone’s favorite to win the race in front of a celebrity guest. While some drivers joked there was no way NASCAR could let Petty lose, he had to fight for his victory.
Petty triumphed in a thrilling battle with Cale Yarborough and went to the VIP box, where he was congratulated by Reagan during a TV broadcast.
Later that day, drivers and crew members reunited in the garage area for a picnic with the president that featured Kentucky Fried Chicken and Tammy Wynette singing “Stand by Your Man.”
“We got the president of the United States on the sports page and the president of the United States got us on front page,” Petty told the Roanoke Times while recalling the race. “So it was a pretty good tradeoff.”
Petty kept driving, but he never recaptured the magic of that day.
As he neared retirement, the
scheduled to host a two-hour, 40-minute IMSA race next month.
But each week still serves as a fresh start as auto racing navigates a pandemic. Given the spikes of positive COVID-19 cases in Florida, the sport continues to proceed with extreme caution as the IMSA Weathertech 240 becomes the first event in the state to welcome paid spectators.
The June 14 race at Homestead-Miami Speedway invited a select group of military members and their families to the track. Eight days later, Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama had 5,000 fans in the stands for the GEICO 500.
“[Race organizers] did it really well,” Wile said. “I feel like everybody followed the rules. We had a really good plan in place. But every week we do it we get better and we make adjustments to our protocols.”
NASCAR had arguably the smoothest start among all American sports, but star Jimmie Johnson tested positive for coronavirus Friday and withdrew from racing until he’s cleared of the virus. Johnson is asymptomatic and was tested after his wife suffered from allergy symptoms and tested positive.
Racing will continue, but the driver nicknamed the King had long since earned the admiration of his peers.
“I think he’s done more for the sport than any other driver, period,” Ned Jarrett, one of NASCAR’s early stars, told the Orlando Sentinel. “He always took the time to sign autographs, and I remember many, many times that he and I would be sitting at a dirt track somewhere, long after the other drivers had left, signing autographs well past midnight.”
The King recently came through again for NASCAR.
Petty, 83, is now a team owner and broke his personal quarantine
challenge will be keeping everyone safe while adding more fans.
Saturday at Daytona International Speedway, fans will be required to wear masks entering the property while an enforcement team will be present to remind those who do not comply. Following some screening questions and a temperature check, each patron will be handed a 2-ounce bottle of hand sanitizer.
Inside the facility, no more than four people can sit together while spaced from others 6 feet in all four directions. A similar plan will be put in place in late August during the 400-mile NASCAR event.
Wile said up to 25,000 fans potentially could be accommodated, but much will depend on how tickets are purchased. A single-ticket buyer, for example, would require the same amount of space as a group of four.
Wile said he and his staff have an ideal attendance figure in mind, but he declined to share it.
“It’s a very fluid situation,” Wile said. “Every day something changes, so it’s hard for us to publicly say we want to have X number of people here. But we have an internal number we’re working toward. We hope we get there.”
For now, Wile is happy to be during the coronavirus pandemic to go support Black driver Bubba Wallace after a noose was found in his stall. While the FBI determined Wallace was not targeted, NASCAR considered it a credible threat and Petty’s support of Wallace while the issue was still under investigation was powerful. where he is.
The Independence Day weekend has long been a big deal for racing at Daytona International Speedway. For 60 years, NASCAR’s summer 400-mile race was a staple of the schedule but was moved until the end of the regular-season schedule in 2020 — a year full of unprecedented changes and challenges.
“Listen, I’m a traditionalist. I love the history of our sport,” Wile said. “I love all the things that have helped get us where we are today. But we have to continue to evolve and change.”
At the same time, Wile hopes this weekend’s IMSA race is the beginning of a return to normalcy at a place known for excitement, energy and enjoyment.
“Truly the most exciting thing for me this weekend is seeing the race fans,” Wile said. “That’s what we live for.
“We’re in the entertainment business. To be able to provide a platform for people to come enjoy themselves is what we work every day for.
“For us to see families and friends come back to the racetrack and enjoy a race is something we’ll all be high-fiving about.”