Richard Petty & Dale Inman compare the '79 NASCAR Championship car with the General Tire Monte Carlo

Richard Petty, Dale Inman, and fabricator Brian Witcher compare the 1979 NASCAR Championship winning race car with the fully street legal 1976 Monte Carlo we built for General Tire!
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[@mikewhite6288]

This was when nascar was real and worth watching.

[@lisachaney7504]

Man is this exciting listening to Richard and Dale talk about the car and just the conversation between the three of them about everything

[@Spacejunk63]

Coolest looking cars in Nascar history! #43.

[@user-wh8ek7fu4n]

There is a Guardian Angel for everyone you Know!!! Richard has had a GOOD ONE through the years !!!!

[@murdiesel]

I asked BP one time why no one raced my beloved 78 Monte Carlo and they laughed and said it was an aero brickwall! I have loved the STP/Petty Blue color scheme on the Monte Carlo! Beautiful car. King I called you one time on the Dave Dispain show when you were live from the museum. You actually answered and said "Hi" I was so shocked and thankful! Thank you all for this video!

[@josephn.schneiderman8512]

Richard Petty actually drove three cars to the 1979 Winston Cup Championship. Beyond the Monte Carlo (which he originally bought from Cecil Gordon for the 1978 August Michigan Race and the rest of the '78 season after the Dodge Magnum turned out to be a flop) and the Caprice (glad to hear him discussing that car!), he drove an Oldsmobile 442 (mainly at Daytona and Talladega), including to victory in the 1979 Daytona 500! But he otherwise won in the Monte Carlo alone in '79-4 times-at Martinsville (April) Michigan (June), Dover (September) and Rockingham (October). That '79 Championship was a sweet one-Richard Petty erased a 200 point deficit to catch Darrell Waltrip, passed Darrell Waltrip with the win at Rockingham, and won the title by 11 points! Richard Petty's first win in the Monte Carlo was actually in November of '78 at the Winston West event in Phoenix (which he would also win again in 1980, if memory serves!) Richard Petty would go on to win twice more in the Monte Carlo in the spring of 1980 at North Wilkesboro and Nashville and was very much a contender against Earnhardt and Yarborough for the championship, even despite an accident at Pocono that summer. (Still finished 4th in points.) One of those wins was the 100th for Chevrolet in NASCAR racing. The Monte Carlo's last race was at Riverside in 1981 before downsizing became mandatory. I did not realize the Caprice was also a flop-he won a pole and ran second to ole' DW at Bristol driving that car. (It looked sleek!) Thank you Mr. Petty and Mr. Inman for telling us all about that! Great to see this replica car! Lots of luck touring it-hope it comes to New England.

[@andyhamilton8940]

Believe it was a Dodge Mirada not a Magnum the King started with that year.

[@josephn.schneiderman8512]

@@andyhamilton8940, actually no, it was a Magnum because the Mirada came along in 1980. In 1975, Dodge revamped the Charger into a luxury coupe and the Magnum was the successor to that on the B Body. The Wikipedia entry on the Dodge Magnum actually details The King's history and criticisms of the car in 1978. Kyle Petty also drove a repainted Valvoline sponsored Dodge Magnum Number 44 to victory in the 1979 ARCA 200. The King tried bringing a Mirada to Daytona in 1981. But it didn't drive, as detailed on the Petty Brothers Racing Podcast. So, no, in '78, the King started with a Magnum. (Well actually, he still got one more race out of the Charger at Riverside in January of '78, like how he got one more race out of the Monte Carlo at Riverside in January of '81. But for 17 races in '78 before he bought a Monte Carlo from Cecil Gordon, he was driving a Magnum.)

[@alkelenson648]

Anything Petty blue and STP red gets me a faster pulse!

[@ronniewatkins]

Very beautiful cars! STP & 43 Long live the King! Dale too

[@rlh4331]

My first race was the 76 Daytona 500 - the charger and the famous Petty-Pearson finish. I saw the first GM #43 in the Oldsmobile in the 79 Daytona 500 win also in person. Love the version you guys built of the monte carlo - honors the original very well !! You should be proud.

[@supercuda1950]

Two of racing's greatest, with their racing done when the driver was the key to success, not the sponsorship the driver brought along. Having Inman there was the icing on the cake!

[@LEGACYMOTORCLUB]

Really good stuff!!

[@PuckerActual]

Not a fan of the body style on late monte carlos, but you guys did an amazing job on this build! Man I wish "stock car" racing still used stock homologated chassis, should have to be based off a production body with a production block.

[@edbeck8925]

Have you seen new cars lately? They all look the same

[@ralphmoore7812]

Petty blue and STP rocket red a beautiful winning combination.

[@3.2Carrera]

Fascinating. These are the cars I used to watch when I was young.

[@bennettcom]

First race that I went to, that Monte Carlo was racing. Same white wheels, and all. You've done an amazing job creating that replica!

[@jebediahgentry7029]

Omg this is my dream car ♥️♥️♥️

[@cb750k1974]

Great video! Enjoyed every moment. Richard Petty is a treasure.

[@alensley1368]

Beautiful cars.

[@scooterdoughmas3012]

that car is sweet bought a 76 monte brand new 350/350 trans a real snake in the grass 😁🤩ps building a 1/24 of this car as well as several other Petty cars😎

[@flyingfortressrc1794]

That is so cool. My favorite Monte Carlo body style for sure.

[@RatherBeRacing]

Man I would kill to have a job at petty enterprises

[@shanew.williams]

The answer to the mans question about wheel openings being "radiused" is that the Petty Monte Carlo's from 1979 season had front wheel openings flat across the top (like the street version). In 1980 Petty's Monte's changed the front wheel openings to follow the curve of the tire at top or the "radius" like other teams were doing then.

[@craigpennington1251]

Great stuff. Love to have one of streetable clones. Very nice build. Too bad they didn't start them up.

[@mdotto8707]

I remember my Dad and I watching Richard run the Monte Carlo at Michigan back in the day!! That was a Bad@ss Racecar!!

[@Dd13200]

The King

[@matposton87]

Im not a fan of the square rear wheel openings of the fender flares that they added to the rear quarters. I think it would've looked alot better if it was round and more closely matched the shape of the front wheel openings. The rest of the car is awesome. But the round i the front, square in the back wheel openings are just not for me.

[@johnwilburn]

Agreed... sticks out like a sore thumb.

[@darrellkidd5177]

Totally agree. The first time I saw it, I thought, "What is the deal with those rear wheel openings? Why are they flat on top?" Still don't understand it, but otherwise it's a beautiful car.

[@norlinblack5017]

The replica looks meaner.

[@stevodakine1]

Come on man, fire that thing up! What’s the point of having a rolling paper weight? Dang!

[@effend446]

I thought Petty drove an Olds 442 (carryover from '77) in '79? Or was that just for the '79 Daytona 500?

[@joshimhof6426]

Are all the guages crooked on the petty car?

[@jomomma8291]

Couldn't you find 5 hole slot wheels for your tribute car???

[@JasPlun]

Awesome, but not a Super Bird!

[@TheBigDawgSL]

Can we please get that title car in iracing?

[@eddierascalhaskell4954]

Used to have a Hot Wheels version of this...

[@martind701]

Enough with the Fords,Chevys and Pontiacs! Let's get back to Plymouths and Dodges.

[@-joe-davidson]

Those old Monte Carlos are ugly, but it sure does look good in those Petty colors and covered up with sponsorship decals.

[@Chief6067]

Still the King