When we talk about the Daytona 500, the crown jewel of the NASCAR Winston-Cup series, one name stands head and shoulders above the rest: Richard Petty. The veteran was in a league of his own. And when it comes to the Daytona 500, Richard Petty is the king, with seven wins under his belt. These feats are just a few gems in his treasure trove of records.

The Daytona 500 has always been his playground. Richard Petty clinched his first victory there in 1964 and then again in 1966, setting the stage for a series of triumphs in 1971, 1973, 1974, 1979, and 1981. Speaking of 1981, there’s more to that story than meets the eye. Recently, the Petty brothers, who were the wizards behind the winning car, spilling their guts into it day and night, decided to lift the curtain on what went down that year. They shared some juicy behind-the-scenes details that shed new light on that iconic win.

The Petty Brothers spill the beans on Richard Petty’s thrilling 1981 Daytona win

The Petty brothers, Timmy, Mart, and Richi, recently gave everyone a peek under the hood of Richard Petty’s dramatic Daytona victory in 1981. They highlighted that the groundwork in their garage kicked off way back in November, with the race scheduled for February. They tested a bunch of engines before settling on the one that Richard Petty had a soft spot for. It was a beast, with a pair of cylinder heads from Level Cross.

The trio even gave a seat to their father’s famed jacket which he wore during the race as an homage to the late great, vividly recalling how Petty’s crew chief, Maurice Petty played a significant role in sizing up the car for the marathon. Richi said, “That whole week was a trying week for the whole Petty crew Everybody worked their b**ts off and worked together to get to that moment, this jacket and hat is what our dad wore during that race.”

Back then, NASCAR was on a downsizing spree, shortening wheelbase and, echoing Detroit’s shift to smaller cars instead of the old gas guzzlers. Richard Petty, a Chrysler loyalist who had switched to Chevrolet in 1978, flirted with a comeback to Chrysler. He even tested a Dodge Mirada at Daytona, drawing a whopping 15k fans. But the car was off the pace, lagging by about eight miles per hour. So, Petty made a pivot to Buick, the car he’d drive in the big race.

Meanwhile, Bobby Allison was cooking up something sneaky. While doing most of his testing in Talladega, he kept things hush-hush. He and his team had stumbled upon the aerodynamic edge of the Pontiac LeMans. When Allison rolled into Daytona, he was as quick as lightning. Despite the grumbles from his rivals, NASCAR gave his car the green light. He was simply one step ahead.

Allison looked set to dominate the Daytona 500, leading a whopping 117 of 200 laps. But as the race neared its end, he wasn’t in the clear yet. On lap 173, he, Baker, and Earnhardt all pitted for tires and fuel, but Richard Petty threw everyone a shocker. He zoomed down the pit lane and only stopped for fuel, taking just 7.8 seconds. The move was so unexpected that it left the TV pit reporter, Ned Jarrett, almost speechless.

Petty’s gamble paid off. He crossed the finish line 3.5 seconds ahead of Allison, with Rudd, Baker, and Earnhardt trailing. Onlookers were scratching their heads, wondering how Richard Petty could last that long on the same set of tires. But according to Richard Petty’s nephews, Maurice Petty had it all figured out, calculating the tire conditions and fuel mileage in his head like the wizard he was despite overworking for his crew, putting in the grind without second thoughts. 

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While the win didn’t tug at Richard Petty’s heartstrings as much as some other victories, it was a special moment for his crew. The 1981 Daytona 500 wasn’t just a race.

A win that was all driven by the crew

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Richard Petty, the king of the track, shared that his seventh Daytona 500 win, marking the 193rd victory of his stellar career, wasn’t the most tear-jerking for him, especially compared to the plethora of emotions he experienced in his 1979 triumph. However, for his team, it was a whole different ball game. You could see the flood of emotions in the way his crew celebrated, hitching a ride on the hood and trunk of his Buick as he cruised into victory lane.

Petty opened up, saying, “We had blown an engine earlier in the week and had maybe 30-35 laps of track time on this car. The engine we started with today had never been on the track. We just didn’t know what to expect.”

He went on, “As we raced, we discovered we could handle just about as well as everyone else under the circumstances, but no one was faster than Bobby down the straights. So it was the crew that delivered this win. I leave the strategy to them. I’m too busy out there racing.”

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