Some of the facts from Petty's 1984 win
Thursday, Jun. 25, 2009
Ten nuggets from Richard Petty's victory in the 1984 Firecracker 400, one of the landmark moments in NASCAR history:
1. After taking the checkered flag, Petty didn’t go to Victory Lane right away. Instead, he went to the press box first to meet President Ronald Reagan.
2. Once Richard Petty made it to Victory Lane to celebrate his 200th win, the skies opened up and rain began to fall.
3. Doug Heveron brought out the final caution that set up the one-lap dash to the finish between Cale Yarborough and Petty.
4. Reagan stayed after the race and attended a picnic with many of the drivers and teams. He had given the starting command from Air Force One en route to Florida.
5. Harry Gant finished second to Petty. Many fans assumed it was Yarborough, but he pulled onto pit road a lap early, wrongly assuming the race was over and finished third.
6. The No. 43 Pontiac that Petty drove to his 200th win now belongs to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington.
7. Owner of Petty's winning car was record producer Mike Curb and his crew chief was Buddy Parrott.
8. The engine Petty used that day was a from DiGard Racing, built by the legendary Robert Yates.
9. Petty earned just over $43,000 for the win.
10. The driver who finished last in the 1984 400-miler was Lake Speed.
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