Richard Petty is hailed as the ‘King’ for many reasons. The NASCAR legend is the record-holder in many categories. These include the most Cup Series race trophies (200), the most wins in a season (27), the most poles (123), and so many more. Among these is the category for the most Daytona 500 wins (seven). Winning the Great American Race, a hallowed event for all things NASCAR, is no mean feat. However, Petty’s former driver recently divulged a secret behind that glory.

Mostly known for his Supercars career, Marcos Ambrose led a short but stellar career in NASCAR. He drove for Richard Petty Motorsports between 2011 and 2014, picking up two Cup Series trophies. But even while honing his stock car racing skills, Ambrose also dug up a Petty post-race formula.

Richard Petty’s hushed-up victories

The Petty enterprise is very old, so a treasure trove of assets is not surprising. And among those assets are some of Richard Petty’s Daytona 500-winning cars, as Marcos Ambrose revealed in an Apex Hunters United video. “They just put them in a landfill and then built a shop on it, ’cause like they just kept growing and growing and growing. Back then, there was no value in the cars, mate…They’re gone now. They’re all rusted away, going back to Mother Earth.” But the reason for their burial is jaw-dropping: “They won a race and they buried them pretty quick, ’cause they didn’t want people to see what they’ done.”

In 2025, Richard Petty‘s post-race formula would not have worked out. NASCAR now has elaborate methods of dissecting cars in post-race technical inspections. And it is only after those inspections that a race victor’s trophy is considered valid. Many times, the sanctioning body has stripped wins from drivers due to failed post-race inspections. For instance, Jesse Love lost his thrilling Rockingham Xfinity win this year, letting Sammy Smith have the trophy. Then, Parker Kligerman’s race-winning car failed inspection at the Craftsman Truck race in Daytona.

And Richard Petty safely dodged such a possibility back in his era. Nevertheless, Marcos Ambrose counts himself lucky to have driven for the legend. “Richard, he’s just an amazing person. The family’s just amazing,” he said. “They decided they needed to move down towards Charlotte in a modern shop to get the right staff, ’cause obviously racing is tough. But you go up there and you look at the Petty shops. You go hang out, and they’ll still do some car restores and things in there, and some of the old boys are still in there working away.” 

Richard Petty Motorsports is no longer a Cup Series team. In 2021, it became Petty GMS Motorsports, and in 2023, the team rebranded as Legacy Motor Club. Owned by Jimmie Johnson, a fellow 7-time Cup Series champion like Petty, LMC tries to uphold RPM’s legacy as much as it can.

And that past legacy still lingers in fan memory, as was evident in an auction event.

Remembering Petty’s Supercars association

Although Marcos Ambrose exposed Richard Petty’s victory secret, he himself has been an integral part of the same enterprise. On August 1st, 2012, Ambrose created history when he won back-to-back NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Watkins Glen. He was able to add to his resume of two Supercars titles in a Pirtek Ford in 2003 and 2004. What’s more, the No. 9 Ford’s NASCAR wins also expanded Petty’s fame in the Supercars world. That was what Lloyds Auctions banked upon in an auction event at the Repco Bathurst 1000 at Mount Panorama on October 24th.

A genuine wheel and tire from one of Ambrose’s victories were put up for auction. They came with a letter of authenticity from Richard Petty Motorsports. Ambrose said last month, “It is pretty cool that items like this pop up every now and again out of nowhere. I think it is great that it can be auctioned like this and raise some valuable funds for Motorsport Ministries, who do such an amazing job in this country at all levels of our sport.” He added, “I can confirm that the wheel is from my winning car that day – you can be certain ‘the King’ (Richard Petty) would not have signed it otherwise.”

Clearly, Marcos Ambrose is proud to be part of Richard Petty’s legendary operation. It expanded the legendary – although wild – legacy of the Cup Series champion.