– First of the Petty STP Dodge Chargers that Ruled NASCAR in the 1970s, including the 1972 NASCAR Cup Series championship- Rediscovered as Unidentified “Barn Find” in the 1980s for $1,500  DAYTONA BEACH, Florida – One of the 1972 NASCAR Cup Series championship-winning Dodge Chargers 1989 Motorsports Hall of Fame of America inducteeRichard Petty drove to the title is the subject of a Vintage Motorsport cover story in the magazine’s September/October issue.The cover story, available now on newsstands and at vintagemotorsport.com, was written by Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (MSHFA) President George Levy with support from researchers and photographers at the Hall of Fame. It tells the improbable story of how the car sat for decades unrecognized until Long Beach, California father and son Tom Kinnane and Darryl Kinnane discovered that the disheveled and rebodied racer they had purchased years before for $1,500 was in fact one of the most important mounts in NASCAR history. The car was later authenticated by Petty himself and members of the original build team, including his brother, the late Maurice Petty, crew chief Dale Inman and ace fabricator Richie Barsz. New owner John Kyle had the Petty team restore the car to its full championship-era glory.  “It is a thrill to be able to share this car with the 100,000-plus visitors to the Hall of Fame each year,” said MSHFA President Levy, “and an even greater honor to be able to share its incredible story with motorsports fans everywhere in one of the sport’s top publications.”The story describes how the car was built originally for Petty’s teammate, Buddy Baker (MSHFA Class of 2008). The year was 1971 and Chrysler Corp. had consolidated its efforts into a two-car team at Petty Enterprises, with Richard in his traditional Plymouth and Baker in a Dodge. During the following season, Petty started driving Dodges himself and this one helped him to the 1972 NASCAR Cup Series championship over Bobby Allison (MSHFA Class of 1992). “The ’71, ’72 Dodge was just a naturally good, balanced race car, that you could run on a short track, road course or superspeedway,” Petty told the author. “If you moved the (rear) spoiler up a quarter inch or down a quarter inch it’d go from dead loose to dead pushing.” In 1972 Petty and STP’s Andy Granatelli (MSHFA Class of 2001) sat down to discuss one of NASCAR’s first major national sponsorships. Granatelli insisted the car be STP DayGlo Red, Richard just as adamant it would remain Petty Blue. “Because that was Petty Enterprises,” he said. “That was the Petty brand.” The two sides struck an 11th hour compromise – and the team’s cars would remain 50/50 Petty Blue and STP Red for most of the next 45-plus years.  When the Kinnanes bought the car in the mid-1980s, it had been rebodied as a late ’70s Dodge Magnum and had seen better days. It sat in their garage until the early 2000s when they saw a documentary about early ’70s Petty cars and the distinctive peace-symbol frame underneath their headrest padding.“Me and my Dad said, ‘Let’s go back and look at that car again,'” Darryl Kinnane says in the Vintage Motorsport story. “It had a padded cover over the headrest. I popped it off, and there was the peace sign.” Later the car was brought to Petty’s Garage in Level Cross to pass or fail the acid test: Richard, Maurice, Dale and Barsz would inspect it with a fine-tooth comb to determine if it was really one of the cars they built or not. You can read about the several telltales that only the Pettys knew to look for that confirmed the car’s true heritage. “It’s one of those incredible stories about a car that seemed all but found in a potter’s field,” said Levy, “but was literally fit for a King. And now, thanks to John Kyle, everyone can enjoy it.” The Charger came to the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America Museum on the grounds of Daytona International Speedway straight from its bolt-and-rivet perfect restoration at Petty’s Garage, and it’s a sight to behold, right down to that peace symbol headrest. So perfect that Petty says if you put the Kyle car next to the sister car on display in the museum at Petty’s Garage, “you wouldn’t be able to tell a difference from one to the other.” Be sure to visit the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America Museum the next time you’re in the Daytona Beach area to see John Kyle’s amazing 1972 Charger and other jewels of motor racing history. Take a virtual tour here: https://www.mshf.com/video/mshfa-virtual-preview.html. About the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America: The MSHFA is the only hall of fame that honors all of American motorsports: cars, motorcycles, airplanes, off road and powerboats. It is also the most exclusive. Induction is decided by a straight vote in each category by 200 experts – about half of whom are inductees themselves. Its mission is to celebrate and instill the American values of leadership, creativity, originality, teamwork and spirit of competition found in motorsports. It was founded by Larry G. Ciancio and Ronald A. Watson and conducted its first induction in 1989. Watson spent the next 30 years tirelessly building it into the nation’s premier motorsports hall of fame until his sudden passing in 2019. The original museum in Novi, Mich., relocated to Daytona Beach, Fla., in 2016 and greets more than 100,000 visitors a year. The MSHFA is operated by the nonprofit Motorsports Museum and Hall of Fame of America Foundation, Inc. About Vintage Motorsport Magazine: As “The Journal of Motor Racing History,”Vintage Motorsport is the leading voice of vintage racing and motorsport history in the U.S. Using the best professional photographers, archives photos and motorsport historians from around the world, Vintage Motorsport’s award-winning content is unmatched in the field. Peace Symbol, MSHFA Museum and Daytona International Speedway photos byThomas R. MillerPhotos of Richard Petty and Dale Inman at Petty family home by Chris SullivanPhoto of car as found, with Tom Kinnane in background, by Darryl Kinnane Photo of car being inspected upon arrival for authentication at Petty’s by Petty’s Garage  |
