January 19, 1972 - Andy Granatelli announces STP's sponsorship of Richard's 43 team. (The sponsorship also extended to a limited schedule 2nd Petty Enterprises Dodge for Buddy Baker for 1972.) Note the erroneous phrasing of STP's 'purchase' of Petty Enterprises. If worded that way today, we'd all be going crazy on messages boards, Twitter, Facebook, e-mail, and Racers Reunion.
Thanks for sharing this. So long ago and so many memories. I note the One Million Dollar figure mentioned. Would that even buy the tires for the full season now? This is a great trip back in time.
Tim
Mr. Mudd, the actual facts of the meeting between Andy and Richard are that Andy insisted the cars be dayglo red for STP. Richard said "Petty Blue". When Andy wouldn't bend, Richard got up to leave the meeting. That's when the compromise was reached which resulted in those years of those awesome looking STP Plymouths and Dodges. So, I don't it was "dictated" I think it was compromised.
Tim
The Pettys didn't want to bend on losing Petty blue. And Granatelli didn't want to bend on day-glo red. They compromised as you said Tim. For years, I thought the day-glo red may have been introduced about the time of STP's sponsorship of Petty Enterprises. But I recently found this photo of Jim Hurtubise from way back in 1963 at Indy with a full day-glo STP roadster. I bet this car glowed all around the track kind of like FOX's 'glowing' hockey puck about a decade or so ago.
Also, I understand Maurice had some heartburn about hitching their wagon to STP. I've read comments supposedly attributed to them that he wasn't going to wear any sort of clownish looking pit uniforms. Turns out they never did - just for the most part blue pants and shirts with STP on their back. But this picture I also found recently at Randy Ayers board convinced me of why Maurice was so concerned.
Most of the photgraphs I have seen of the dayglo do not capture the actual hue of but Chase's 63 Hurtubize pic comes close.
Fred Lorenzen hadan all red STP Plymouth in 1971. I can assume it was also dayglo.
Seeing Richard's STP Dodge at Doverin 1975 was a stunner for me. Will never forget it.
Photo of the STP decals being applied to the 43 at Riverside on January 19, 1972 - shortly after the sponsorship announcement at the Sheraton West hotel in Los Angeles the same day.
And though I came along as a Petty fan well after STP and The King were joined at the hip, I always enjoy reading about the passionate fans who felt it was blasphemous for the 43 to be painted anything other than 100% Petty blue.
