King Richard and me

Last December I heard that the king himself, Richard Petty, would be at a local Food City supermarket for photos. Thinking this would be a great opportunity to get some models signed, I pulled out a couple of Petty blue NASCAR stockers. So I went there on December 8, finding Food City's giant grocery cart hot rod and a table set up with pre-signed photos, Miss Food City (at least I think that's who she was) and the King himself. I've wondered if the photos were auto-penned, because there was a large stack of them on the table. Oddly, there weren't that many people there and I was maybe behind a dozen folks in line. 

But he wasn't signing anything, and someone there was assigned to take pictures with your own phone, against a low-hanging morning sun, since COVID restrictions prevented close contact with Mr. Petty. He was also very quiet and I don't recall him saying much. I wasn't the only one refused a signature. I was informed that I could send an item for signature to Petty Enterprises but with the slight risk of loss through the mail, I don't wish to take a chance with now-rare Spark 1/43s. So several of us left disappointed.

So I got home and at least I have the signature card to display. But my suspicious mind wonders - was it really him? Sun from the back, not speaking, not signing, small crowd - could it have been a double? Maybe not, but I'll always wonder. 

Here's more shots of my Petty models, including the Torino Talledega (1st,1969 Motor Trend 500 at Riverside) and Superbird (1st 1970 Falstaff 400 at Riverside).