April 5 - Two Lee Petty memories

April 5th is the anniversary of two significant events in the life of Lee Petty and his family.

On April 5th, 2000, Lee passed away at the age of 86. The legacy of his racing career was cemented in NASCAR's record books - even if his relationships with people within the sport weren't always necessarily viewed the same way. R.I.P. Lee.

April 5th is also the anniversary of one of Lee's latter wins. He won the 1959 Gwyn Staley 160 at North Wilkesboro Speedway driving car number ... 43. It was his only victory in a car numbered other than 42, and it was the first NASCAR GN win by a car numbered 43.

Read more at my blog post about the race and Ol' Man Lee's victory:

http://bench-racing.blogspot.com/2013/04/april-5-1959-lee-petty-wins-wilkesboro.html

I continue to be interested in hearing feedback from folks who may have seen Lee race or info to share from any other Petty Enterprises win - especially by drivers other than Richard. Feel free to contact me here, on my blog or my e-mail at toomuchcountry (at) gmail (dot) com.

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Schaefer: It's not just for racing anymore.
updated by @tmc-chase: 04/04/17 11:20:08PM

Chase... an excerpt from a Wally Bell post on the "Where is John Jackson J&J Racing?" thread:

Dave.. growing up in NY state, and being from Owego (Shangri La speedway, where I at 9 years old saw Lee Petty race), I became an oval track fan while being a Drag Racer.....

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"Any Day is Good for Stock Car Racing"

The 1959 Wilkesboro race was originally scheduled for Sunday, March 15. It was rained out and rescheduled for April 5.

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Schaefer: It's not just for racing anymore.

Bump

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Schaefer: It's not just for racing anymore.