1967 ~ Richard Petty Becomes "The King"

50 Years of NASCAR Racing ~ Post 5

By Matt McLaughlin

Editor's note: This article is part of a special reprise of Matt McLaughlin's "50 Years of NASCAR Racing", written and published  in 1998 in commemoration of NASCAR 's 50th Anniversary celebration that year. In keeping with the RacersReunion mission of passing the history of our sport down to younger fans, Matt has kindly granted us permission to run the entire series. Please, sit back and enjoy as you take a journey back through the pages of history and perhaps relive a memory or two. Many thanks to Matt for his generosity in sharing. God bless you, my friend.

Mr. Peabody, set the Wayback Machine for 1967. America was a very different place 30 years ago. There was an intense war going in, in Southeast Asia and 18 and 19 year old boys were being shipped off to die in record numbers. The war had become so unpopular, President of the United States, Lyndon Johnson had announced he would not run for re-election. It was the Summer of Love in San Francisco, and the world was introduced to a local band by the name of the Grateful Dead at the Monterey Pop Festival. The Beatles were still recording albums together and The Magical Mystery Tour seemed inspired by LSD , which Jerry Garcia had introduced to Lennon and McCartney. There was turmoil in the deep south as well, as the civil rights movement picked up steam. But by and large the Southeast of the United States was not as radicalized as the rest of the country. And the myriad of NASCAR and car fans were in their glory following the exploits of Lee Petty's son. The muscle car era was going full swing and those so inclined could order up one of the new Chevy Camaros with a 396 or a 428 Shelby Mustang. Those of the Mopar persuasion could head down to the local agency and order a big unassuming looking car with the 426 Hemi under the hood and become street heroes. Lee's boy Richard had a bunch of those, and that unbelievable season he became not only a hero, but The King.