Richard Petty reveals his favorite era of NASCAR racing: ‘Best race car I ever had’

Richard Petty took a lot back at his legendary NASCAR career and revealed the era that stood out the most. When he appeared on the Dale Jr. Download podcast last month, Petty said driving in the early to mid-1970s is his favorite time.

“We won a bunch of races with the Charger,” Petty said. “We had a lot of experience with it and we got to run it like four or five years. Of all the race cars I’ve ever had, it was the most natural race car that was before all the wind tunnel testing and all this kind of stuff.

“That car was so sensitive, you could change a spoiler a quarter-inch and go from dead push to dead loose. But we had worked with it so much, we learned that. It was just a pleasure to drive it. It worked on short tracks, road courses, superspeedways, it was just a good all-around best race car I ever had.”

Petty appeared on the podcast to celebrate the family’s 75 years in racing. His father, Lee Petty, got all started when he began racing in 1949 and won the inaugural Daytona 500 10 years later. Richard Petty went on to become the winningest driver in NASCAR history. Petty’s son, Kyle, had a strong career on the track, and his grandson, Adam, was on his way to becoming a star before his passing in 2000.

Richard Petty on celebrating an ‘incredible milestone’

In December, Petty talked about celebrating 75 years in racing. “75 years in the sport is an incredible milestone for our family, especially when it all began as a family business,” he said in a press release. “Spending 2024, celebrating the success and contributions to the sport of racing that started with my mom and dad, then my brother Maurice, cousin Dale Inman, then to Kyle, Timmy, Ritchie, Mark, onto Adam and now Thad. We are all looking forward to sharing these stories with the fans.”

“My father is a walking encyclopedia of NASCAR,” Kyle Petty said. “He was there with my grandfather, grandmother and uncle Maurice at the first NASCAR race in Charlotte in 1949 and our family has been going ever since. There isn’t anything our family hasn’t seen in NASCAR.”

The celebration comes after NACAR celebrated its 75 years as an organization. Along with their success on the track, the Pettys helped other drivers, crew chiefs, mechanics and others involved in racing become leaders.