Petty Enterprises Race Shop History Tour with Dale Inman! (Richard Petty's Glory Days)

This is where it all began, right here. A shed for agricultural machinery. That's what it was. Yes. They used to ask questions in the eyes. I chose my team of mechanics. I said that if they weren't on crutches and could stand up , they had to go. How loud was the noise for you there? Huh? How loud was the noise for you guys there? I ca n't hear right now. That answers that. I now use hearing aids. Right now , we're standing at the origin of Petty Enterprises, just behind the museum, next to the house where Richard grew up. And we're here with Dale Inman , who knows everything about everything here. So, what are we facing at this moment? Well, this is where it all started, I guess in early '49, around that time, about 10 or 15 years before Richard drove. But I used to go to the races with him when his father competed from this building, right here . So this is it. And of course, Lee didn't start running until he was 35. And they didn't let Richard race until he was 21. And now they can race at 18 or maybe even younger, I suppose. But this was just an old shed that barely protected from the rain and nothing more than that. And then it expanded to what you see around you now. So Lee poured this concrete in 1949, and it probably wasn't concrete when we first started working here , you know. And when I say "we," I mean the Pettys. Excuse me for that. It's not me. It's the Pettys when I say "us". Understand that. When did you start working for the racing team? I guess I've always worked on it. You know, I know I was at Darlington in 1951 and they wouldn't even let us into the pits, me, Richard and Maurice, Richard's brother, but Lee would sneak us in because that was all the help he had. And finally we were old enough to enter. And when Richard turned 21, on July 2nd, on July 12th, we went to Columbia, South Carolina, and he ran his first race. And I was with him then. Oh. And we grew up together. His mother and my mother were first cousins. So that makes us cousins ​​sometimes. I don't blame him all the time, but that's how we talk about each other, but it's been a long road for me. And of course, the Pettys were there at the beginning of NASCAR, and were one of the most famous families in NASCAR. You already know that. So, what do you know about some of the artifacts here? Like, what, what are we seeing in this? Well, the old grain scales and all that, you know, we didn't use them so soon. The car simply ended up on top of them. But the tank we had to inflate the tires and the toolboxes and things here, is simply incredible. But the toolbox used to be the tool we could fit in a wooden bread box that they delivered bread to stores in, you know, and uh, but there wasn't much you could do to the car. There wasn't much to do, of course. Now they don't let them do much with the car on the track ; everything is done by computer and all of that in the workshop. And uh, but we worked really hard on the track with them, and the conditions weren't very good. If we talk to racing fans, you know, everyone knows what Martinsville is. I remember when Martinsville was just dirt, you know, and it's only ever been a Wow. all. Of course, you say you're from Pittsburgh. I'm sure you've seen changes to the stadium, the football stadium and things like that , you know, but it's just incredible what I saw then and what it is now. There's an old blowtorch there. I can't imagine what we had it for, but it was here in the workshop and I'm not even sure if we took it to the races. But every time I take a walk, I still see things I don't remember. And of course, when we go into the museum later, every time I walk by I see something different, you know? And, um, I guess right behind us, that was probably one of the first ads ever done in a magazine or something , you know? And no, what is it for? Not even the spark plug. Champion spark plugs. Alright. And that's from 1954. Wow. That's crazy. This is it, this is the place where it all began, right here . And this was, this used to be for agricultural equipment. It was a farm equipment shed. That's what it was. They called it the reaper's shed . And I don't even know how to describe a lawnmower anymore. We can put some photos there. Alright . Wow. So when did Petty Racing's operations evolve? So, was this the original structure right here? Yes. And then, it went this way and it went that way. Which? It started this way . So that was the first edition. Yes. Lee was fortunate enough to be noticed by the Michigan factories and got a factory deal with Oldsmobile in 1957. I don't know what the sponsorship was for, but I know we got—I mean, got again—he got race cars, you know, he had three hardtops and two convertibles, and we raced them for a long time. And then, we ran the last race at Daytona Beach in 1958, I guess, and then we had an Oldsmobile when they opened the track in 1959, and he would have been 45 years old and he won the race. So that's it, his speed was 140 mph in qualifying and everything. So that's crazy in a car like that. Did they even have seat belts back then, or just harnesses? They had...no, they had seat belts and roll bars. Of course, we'll see the car, the replica of the car with which he won the race down here in the museum when we get there. Let's go inside. We want to ask you some questions. Exactly. Yes, just before we start filming here because we have a little bit of distribution, but not much. We have many questions about what's here . It 's very dark. Do we need to turn on a light? I don't even know how to download it. Oh, no, it's... I'll take off my sunglasses. It's not so bad. So, what do you remember happening here when this was a working workshop? Well, this was, you know, I don't remember, but this wasn't here at first. I was in this area here, more or less. And then this was added. And at one point, the buildings down there weren't a building. It was just a shed that connected the two. And then they closed it and did that part. So, was this almost like a sloping roof, and were those the actual doors right there? Uh, yeah, more or less. Uh-huh . But of course, Lee was smart enough to get us air conditioning as soon as we could afford it and all, because he knows you can get more work done if you're cool and all, you know. Well, uh, but all the buildings are quite old, you know , but they've survived the weather and everything. But yes, they have. They are in very good condition. This is crazy. This is all so crazy. These templates here, I didn't even know they had templates back in the '70s. Yes. And now it's amazing how they inspect cars. How did they deliver that? Did NASCAR give you this giant piece of wood or what? You know, no, I think we had to make them, we probably had to make them with what we had. You know, that doesn't even ring a bell. And I know I was here when they started doing it . You already know. It's interesting how low it goes. How it leans downwards and they built that wood. Ah, yes. What is this old Magnaflux machine? We were among the first to have it. This is crazy. And that's where you could, uh...sand, you know, we had a sandblaster and you'd sand the hubs, the axles and all that, you'd put them in there, magnetize them and look for cracks, you know what I mean? And...do you remember working in here? What did you do in here ? Oh, yes. What part of the process was it? Because I see that there are anchors in the ground . Did they straighten bent chassis here or something like that? Yeah, you know, I guess we had to chain them together and... maybe use a... Wow, I don't even remember some of those things. And I was here through all of that. But I was drafted into the army in 1959 and left for two years, and when I came back, it was a different world to me. Do you know what I mean? And, uh, it's simply incredible. But there used to be a place here. It used to show up right where we had the chassis dynamometer. Oh, really? And that was back in 1957. You had a chassis dynamometer where you'd spin the wheels, you know, spin the rear wheels, you know, and... they still do that. But I remember we had to ...chain him up so he wouldn't turn the wheels. and he could stay in that small room. Well, we had to do it and my God, we couldn't stay there because of the fumes and he kept, you know, he was holding it in and getting angry because we couldn't go in to help him with the car because of the fumes. But he was, my God. What a man Lee Petty was. And I had no idea that chassis dynamometers existed back then. Yes, he got it when he got the factory deal in 1957. Yes. Wow. It had a cooling system in the back and it was, I mean, it was a big deal for the time. They still use all these buildings for things. They're still building engines in there and all that. That's it, that's great. And I continue to refer to this path for what it is. It's, it's incredible, but you know, getting back to cars. We had , the cars appeared. They were factory-made. 1964. In '63 we had a wedge engine and a not-so-good Plymouth body. It went well for him. We ran quite well on the short track. I keep saying "we," it's Richard. And then in '64, we got a good Plymouth body and the Hemi engine. And we went to Daytona and we stood out quite a bit. But that car, if you ever see a picture of it or can look it up, they have small scale models that you can assemble. I have a picture of the car. The window label. The price is on the rear window on the left side. Oh really? We took the whole car apart and painted it and everything, but we left the price tag on the car when we went there and won the race. We just did it for fun. Just to be different or show off like children, I guess. And at some point we were all children, you know. Oh. That's great. How is construction progressing from here? Like when you talk about the mid- 60s and 70s. I think I was heading that way from the mower shed and it looked like this, and I think that was added after this. The left side was added. First. Yes. And then there was like the office and all that stuff over there. Are we going to go there and see? But it extended, I suppose to begin with it extended up to a straight ceiling at the back and then went to the left. Ah. So what was behind that roof in A? If you live paycheck to paycheck and struggle to make ends meet, it can be really stressful when unexpected expenses arise. Now, Dave can get you out of a tight spot when you really need him. 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I apologize for that, but many times I should say "Richard" when I say " we," and I don't mean it that way. It's all about Richard now. Do you know when you became a team leader? Uh, probably in 1963. Because Maurice, there were times when Maurice, Lee, and Richard were all three there on the track, you know, almost at the same time. Of course, Lee was badly injured at Daytona in '61, I suppose. Was it in '60 or '61? One of the two, you should know better. Yes ok. But then it was difficult for him to get in the car and everything else. Of course, he did, but he enjoyed driving, although he didn't like speed. Even when he won Daytona , he didn't like racing at 140 mph, you know , but he did it and won the race; You know, they declared Johnny Beauchamp the winner for two or three days, and finally they had enough photographs to prove that Lee won the race, you know. So that car came out of this building, it would have come out of one of those buildings heading over there. Wow. Good. Yes. I'm trying to visualize which cars and people, you know, would have come from which place based on the progression of all these buildings here. There are so many, and for example, this roof was here but there were no walls, and they put walls on it. It's like, but you know, I can remember a lot of these things better than...better than tying my shoes this morning. You know, it 's really impressive how big the buildings are. Yes. Back then, racing workshops were never very big. They are not yet up to the standard of the buildings we are in today. You know, our race shop is now in Statesville, and they assemble the cars now, and you buy the parts and put them on exactly as they tell you, or you know, some of the disqualifications and penalties that happened this year. Hey Stephen, don't add a piece of tape to your car. And many cars were washed at that place, but you know, they still use the washing parts. And so this was a washing area. This was a washing area. Yes. We had a pressure washer, you know, at that time. And God, we ran a lot of races on dirt and you can imagine cleaning them well enough to come back. Oh, yes. Did you have that elevator on the concrete outside at that time? I remember the elevator, but I don't know exactly what year it arrived. Do you know what I mean? Yes. Where was the engine dynamometer back then? Um, well, he, okay, he's been in this spot about the whole time. I don't think it's moved much, really. But, you know, I pointed out the chassis dynamometer and all that. So, the chassis dynamometer was on the floor right over there. Right over there. Yes. Okay. Until they painted it a hundred times, you know, you could see where they filled in the concrete. I was, no, I was around here somewhere. I'm sure there's a patch right here, too. Uh, you can see a little bit of bulge right here. I think I was, I think I was right in this area around here somewhere . But the rollers were on the ground , you know, and it had normal rollers and, you know, with the race car, it spun the wheels a lot and they welded strips on, you know, to have better grip when they were on the rollers. Is this the door the cars entered through? Did the car end up halfway outside when they were running on the dynamometer, or did it face the other way and this wall was...? No, they came in this way. OK. Yes, they were heading that way. And Lee had the controls up here when he was driving , you know, and we were standing there, there was a window. We could look in there and see it, and then he'd signal us to come in and check the timing or the spark plugs or something like that . My God. And the gasoline fumes, oh my God. But he was more used to it than we were, you know. How strong was it for you there? Huh? How strong was it for you there? I can no longer hear. That answers that. I wear headphones now. Yes. You know, but we didn't pay attention to it, and we finally got radios in 1972. So, up until that time, when we were young, everything was just noise to us. So, but at this age, you're probably not supposed to hear it either, you know? So, where does evolution go from here? Well, just keep going, and of course, these buildings in the background too. Oh, of course, in 1969 we were with Ford for a year and in '67 Richard had a great year. Uh-huh . There were 48 races. Hey Fred, come in. You're not going to break anything. Ah, that's great. You could break the camera. Don't know. Just don't break anything. In '67 they had 48 races. Richard won 27 of them. So that's a pretty good year. We did well in '68. And then, in '69, Dodge was going to build the Daytona with the spoiler and the nose. And Richard said, "What are they going to do with the Plymouth?" And they said, "You are good enough." "You don't need it." But he knew better. So , he went with Ford, and I do n't think the factories and dealerships liked it. Then Plymouth came and said, "What do we have to do to get you back?" And he said, "Put a spoiler and a nose on the car." And they did . So we had a good year in '70 with the Superbird. And, as good as that car was, we probably only took advantage of a third of what it actually offered. Because everything we learned back then was through trial and error. Now everything is done by computers. Did the cars with spoilers also come from this group of buildings, or was there another addition to that? This was probably before cars with spoilers. We probably had the cars with spoilers in this building or where the museum was. Don't know . Okay, let's take a look at them. Then we can move on to that newer part . Do you want to go this way? Uh , no. I'll go there first. Regarding the chronology. That part over there is later in the story. But, you know, believe me, when I came through here, I thought I'd know all about it , but some things confuse me. You know, it 's very easy to get confused in here. It's just, uh, some of these things, you know, our washing and parts that are obsolete that we had back then, but it was a big part of the time, you know, 11,119. I think it's 99. Maybe that's a new piece of concrete. But at one time, this was just a sort of shed here, even before that building, I think. And then, darn it, I don't know. I think we built that. They built that building, then they filled this in, and now this is a large part of it. Have you been in here ? Yes. Yes. We just saw that. Alright . Where do you want to go now ? Uh, anywhere. Like it's 1970. What's here? If this wasn't here in 1970, we want to go to where the next place was. I think we had the Super Birds down here , in this building. Okay, let's go there then. Oh, with the red floor because that came before this, I think. Yes. I don't think we built any cars in there. In fact, that's where we would back the trucks in , load them up, and put everything we were going to take with us that week in that area. So, when we loaded the trucks, we had everything sort of together, you know. So, this used to be the sandblasting room. Yes. Separated from everything else to keep everything clean. I think we did most of the work here for a long time. And then it was right here where you spent most of your best time working on things. I spent a lot of time in each of these buildings, actually, you know, the ones we've been in. But, uh, yeah, we spent a lot of time here, you know, and then a lot of memories here, of course. What was that room in the corner over there? I think that has a bathroom. I think it still is or was, you know, and of course you, this is, of course, closed to Adam, you know, Richard's grandson. Yes, we'll cover all of this from the museum side. So, good. Yes, for now we're going to pretend this is an old racing workshop and cover the details of the cars here separately. But this, um, do you see the beam in the ceiling ? Is that where they take out engines or load them ? the beam in the ceiling. Did they have a small crane there to remove engines or put them on trucks and things like that? No, I don't think so. I think it's just support. We had a lift, you know, that rolled, and that Hemi was so heavy that it took two or three people standing on top of it to keep it from lifting up when we put it in the car. And then, of course, we extended the wheels so that it would have leverage. Was there any kind of flow here? As if a car started as a chassis down here, and as they became more precise with the cars and the measurements were tightened , we had to put this surface here that was truly level. In fact, we once had a surface plate from Detroit, really a used one that had so many holes drilled in it…