Lee Petty (1914-2000)...[PIC]

The Pettys were about as poor as you can get early on. They lived in a one room house with no water or electricity in Randleman, North Carolina. From that humble abode, Lee prepared and raced cars in the early NASCAR days beginning with this 1949 Plymouth business coupe at Charlotte Raceway. He used that Plymouth after wrecking a borrowed Buick which would have been the fastest car at the time. For 1949, the only engine available in a Plymouth was a 97 HP 217.8 flathead 6, so I was curious why that car. In an interview with Richard Petty, he claimed it ran with a straight 8 so it it obviously wasn't a stock car as required. So was his first win accomplished by cheating? I have no idea. By 1957, both father and son were driving sponsored Oldsmobile 88s with Lee in this 88 coupe and Richard in an 88 convertible. Lee went on to win the first Daytona 500 and the first driver to win 3 championships in what is now the NASCAR Cup series. He ended his racing career in 1964 and was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2007. The '49 Plymouth was scrapped but this #42 Olds 88 resides in the Petty Museum.

These aren't the greatest models, but the images are an important part of a Petty collection