Greetings all,
I had the opportunity to visit the new "Richard Petty Museum" yesterday afternoon, and see the restored 1957 Oldsmobile convertible that he ran his first race in, at Columbia, SC, finishing in 6th place. The last time I'd seen it was in the woods out behind his shops, rotting away with most of the other cars his family had owned throughout the years.
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Also resurrected from that graveyard, was one of the 1967 Plymouth Belvedere GTX's that he drove to
27 victories that year... 10 of those wins being back to back! (thanks to the new "HEMI" engine)
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In addition to Richard's restorations, was the car his Father, Lee, won the inaugural Daytona 500 in, Feb. 22, 1959.
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The place is chock full of Petty racing and personal memorabilia, including Richard's legendary Gun collection that is AWESOME!! If ever you're in the Piedmont Triad area of North Carolina, you owe it to yourself to come see this VERY intriguing piece of history.
Thanks for your time, and take care,
Frank