The Untold Version: Richard Petty’s 200th win – 40th Anniversary

Richard how could this how could it be 40 years I don't know how it could be 40 years just the idea that the king would be in a car that I own was almost beyond anything that that I could think what does the president do on the 4th of July Florida is a very important swing state what if the president comes to Florida on July no matter what we do nothing comes close to the 20000 Victory that's because of Richard Petty Richard Petty never done anything by himself they took all the people around him to put him in the situation without all those other people Richard pity would never want a race yeah Richard I've said many times I should have just quit after that it's the 40th anniversary of Richard Patty's 200th win at Daytona and we wanted to bring in a special guest and talk to him a little bit about that so Mike cerb is with us today owner of the team for the 200th win uh huge day Daytona we're going to get into a little bit that later um but Mike thank you for coming thank you for being a part of this I really really appreciate it man oh thank you it's very very very exciting you you know my dad's coming and and he's getting ready to sit down but he's got a special surprise for you so I want him to come on in come on in and stay down this is this is a special this is our Mike Curb Edition right here I've been wearing this thing for 40 years that's the uh that's the uniform that's the uniform he had on that day when he won the 200th you were there when he met President Reagan was there all this stuff this is the this is the uniform he brought it out of mothballs just for you man just for you wow that is amazing Richard how could this how could it be 40 years I don't know how it could be 40 years I I really don't it seemed seemed like you know two or three years ago basically he and let's let's go back to that because I want to I want to get into a little bit of that that the 40 years ago you started a race team and and that just fascinated me because you had been around racing uh obviously you love the sport you have a passion for the sport um but you started a race team and ended up with this guy driving how just walk me through that real quick how that all came about well it was very unique what had happened was back in U Back when I was uh when I was serving as the lieutenant governor of California back then the governor had left the state it was Governor Jerry Brown he had left the state to run for president and he left for for over 200 days so the Supreme Court had ruled that I was governor of California and I Ser I served like 240 days as acting Governor well while that was happening in 1979 in 1980 U there were all kinds of things going on with the economy the Savings and Loans were crashing you remember that it was just a terrible time um and Dale nhart um was was driving the two-car and he was driving it for a California team owned by Rod osland yes and and Rod could only run a limited schedule so in 79 he ran a limited schedule and then Dale got hurt and then Pearson filled in for him and won the southern 500 in in the two car actually won um filling in but then Dale healed you know of course Dale didn't take him long to to want to come back but Dale wanted to run a full schedule um and Bill France Jr wanted him to run a full schedule well we so now 1980 started and we and so um Les RoR asked my wife and me to be the Grand Marshal for Riverside because Riverside was the first race back then Riverside as you know preceded Daytona so I came out three days early because they had the parade and then we I served as my wife and I served as the grand Marshals and then right after that bill France Jr and Les RoR took me into a one of the rooms and one of the Suites there and said look we've got a problem Dale wants to run the full year from and and the team is only going to run limited would you put up a a a a money right now and I said well wait a minute I'm just you know I'm I'm acting Governor this could be awkward and they said no a lot of politicians in the South put their name on the side of cars uh if you can't put your record company's name just put Mike CB Anyway by the time the meeting ended I was so excited to see Bill France Jr and and Les RoR was also the chairman co-chairman of my campaign and you know he was well he was very he was revered there you know he's in the NFL Hall of Fame and his accomplishments with the ram back to the days of Norm Ben Brock and all but having Les RoR as chairman um I pretty much had to do what he said we all called him the coach But but so he he told me how much money to put up and I did and then they said and at the end of the and and during the year you have an option to buy the cars all right so that's why it said Mike Curb on the side of Dale Earnhardt's car in 1980 all right so that was fine we went we went back to Daytona and then he won the bush Clash at Daytona and and he finished top five well then he won five R he won Martinsville you know he won Charlotte he he won he won um let's see well he also he won Bristol and he won he won the nation nville 4 it was called the 420 it was called the Music City 420 but he won Nashville as well and driving this Chevy Monte Carlo but anyway he won five races we got out to Ontario and he was leading the points uh over over walp I think by five points and then of course he won the championship so it was pretty wild but having said that at that point austurland really wanted out and he sold to a guy named JD Stacy I don't know if you remember that yes he came in and like bought five teams well my people you know the Reagan people were you know I was really working closely with Reagan at this point re I was serving as the co-chairman for Reagan's campaign for president you know with Jack Kim and Ray and they didn't want me getting into anything that could be controversial and nothing again I don't know anything about JD Stacy but they didn't feel that would be a good thing for me while I was serving as governor California they felt that there he was buying four or five teams and but I had the option to buy the specific cars so I went ahead and exercise the option and I bought four or five of the chassis you know the Monte Carlo the SES and I put them in in my one of my other chairman was David Murdoch who also owned at that time Canon Mills of all things and and so uh Canon Mills jumped in and they they were excited because they wanted Richard P to make to come down and talk to the employees so that they wouldn't want to unionize and do all kind and and you did that so so now I had David Murdoch who's my nextd door neighbor um who was one of my co-chairman and Les RoR so at that point in time uh it was it was exciting so what happened is we we went went ahead and took and built a and what we now have is a real nice shop there um we David verock gave us land there in Canapolis and we built a pretty large shop there um and we share it with the North Carolina music hall of fame um which is very important and a close friend of mine runs it um and we didn't run and after Stacy bought the team in 81 we didn't run um in 81 or or 82 or 83 and then in then Bill France called me in October of 1983 and he said there's been an issue here at Charlotte uh there was the issue of the engine you know at at the when Richard won his 198th race there there was a question about the engine that I know nothing about and Bill France told me that that they had decided uh not to ban Richard Betty which I said that's pretty smart is it basically Bill France said if you ban Richard Betty we won't have a sport yeah that's right but for some reason they banned your brother right so Bill France called me in October of 83 and he said Mike um are you sitting down and I said I I don't need to he said please sit down and I was by then I was working I was in Washington with Reagan it was in 1983 and he said Mike uh we do you still have all your equipment and I said well we have what we have I said you can go see it we have all the equipment but you know it's it's it's we haven't sold anything and we have a lot of Sha he said well can the Monte Carlos convert to Pontiacs I said you know that's above my pay grade that's above my he said can we see your shop I said of course he said can we see it tomorrow and I said what do you want to do he said we we have an idea we have an idea for to to put uh Richard penny in your car and I said what I said well well who's going to be the crew chief they said well buddy parrot likes you and he's a friend of yours he trusts you uh and he loves Richard but he will be the cring I saidwell who's going to build the engines he said Robert Yates I said how are you going to get digard to do that and he I he said we got it arrange Robert yat is gonna build the engine so and and then uh he he also told me what the a figure that I would need to invest which I agre agreed to do and that's the story of how it started and I I was in shock yeah for about because I I had already moved mov from California to Washington DC so I could go back and forth it's easy to go back and forth between Washington DC and Charlotte you know but it was probably one of the most incredible things I mean the idea I mean I love racing from the day I from the day I started reading speedport when I was five years old um but but I didn't have any talent I didn't have the talent to drive I didn't have the talent to be a crew chief I wanted to have it but I just didn't have that special thing and to see the and I had admired Richard Petty uh from the time time I started I just it was like it was you know Ronald Reagan was the president Richard Petty was the king you know and just the idea that the king would be in a car that I owned was almost beyond anything that that I could think of you know and and I didn't care what it set on the side of the car could say STP by then they let us put curb records like on the B panel and so so forth which was good because curb records then became the associate sponsor and then we had STP but I mean no one will ever know how much it really cost I mean you could you couldn't get you couldn't get the money from California toh Canapolis fast enough to do it we did we did do it though we did do it no one even buddy parrot when he got replaced at the end of the year we kept buddy on for the whole year then in addition to Mike beam you know just to show that we were going to honor our word and of course Richard Petty is is considered the most honorable person in the sport as well as the greatest driver in the history of the sport so then you have this miracle going and then we go out and and Richard wins do you know and and which was the 199th win um and then then Along Comes Daytona well this time it was a different situation I was sitting in a room with about seven people uh and I was already in Washington I was already chair and rean made me chairman of the rnsc and the Uso and all the different things that he uh trade negotiation he had put me on several of those things and and I was no longer in California I was now in Washington where I had been Reagan's co-chairman and I was sitting in a meeting with seven people and they were deciding what the president was running for reelection what does the president do on the 4th of July well I checked it out because sometimes the fir it was called the firecracker 400 sometimes the firecracker 400 doesn't fall on the 4th of July sometimes it falls on the fifth so I I call my wife real quick I said let him check and see if the fourth falls on on you know on a on a on a Sunday you know and it did so I I went back in and said what if you know Florida's a very important swing state what if the president comes to Florida on July and the president said no I don't want to speak because I want to lay a wreath at Arlington for our great servicemen the people who make all this possible for us I I said well we certainly don't want to interfere with that um but maybe you could still fly down you don't have to be there at the start of the race well everybody in the room looked around like we were crazy and so I kind of uh moved away from it for about 20 minutes and then 20 minutes later uh President Reagan said you know I used to call Sprint car races when I lived in De Mo Iowa I used to announce him when I was because you know he had been an actor he said but I saw that that that wreck and that wreck where those two guys were rubbing up against each other and hit the wall well he was obviously talking about kale and Donnie from 1979 he was obviously and and and Bobby got into it too that's exciting he said there's a lot of people there I said it could be a 100,000 you wouldn't have to speak you could come you could sit in the booth and I said and we have a car in the race and it's driven by Richard Petty he says you know I like Richard Petty Richard Petty's one of ours he said that he said you know Richard has been very supportive of he knew that you had supported him and and obviously uh I can't speak for you Richard but you were a big Reagan fan right I'm definitely definitely still still a big Reagan fan yes yeah and so so then the idea that Richard Petty was going to be there you know and I told him that we could arrange if you want to have pictures with Richard if you want Richard if you want to come into the pits uh and and if you want to tell people that you're pulling for the team he actually did he Ned Jarrett was interviewing him and they said who do you want he says well and we have it on video he says well I have a conflict of interest because Mike Curb is the car owner he said so he he was pulling for you and when his plane landed uh it landed right over the top of the of the 43 leading the race on the backstretch yeah but so here's what happened so all of a sudden the same people who were saying oh this is not a good idea the minute the president said he liked it they all turned around and said oh what a great idea for the president to go to Daytona right all right so then how do you do it well Bill France Jr was a genius so I called Bill France JR this time and this time I said Bill are you sitting down and he I said you made me sit down last year when you told me we were going to have Richard Petty in the car are you sitting down and Bill France said Mike I'm really busy I I just tell me if you want to bring someone I said I do I do want to bring someone but you need to sit down and then what he said am I allowed to use four-letter words on this use whatever you want to man well what Bill France said was oh s okay and and maybe a couple other choice words and the next day Bill France Jr was in Washington DC and he was brilliant I mean I I know that bill Senor started all this and was incredible but Bill Jr the way he took it to television the way he promoted he was brilliant and the way he set it up so I can't take any credit other than getting it started and having the idea Bill Bill France Jr did all the logistics the Secret Service he met with the Secret Service um and of course the idea that Richard Petty was there and and the idea that Richard Petty had supported him now the thing that we didn't know is what I call the god factor and that was that Richard was gonna win the race and that uh all to me all glory to God on that you know I I'm I I say uh you have the best driver in the history of the sport you and the motivation that Richard when Richard Petty's motivated the there's no one like him and I think the difference in you know what is the success is when opportunity meets preparation when Richard Penny knows the president's there and and and when all the preparation's there uh we had the right motor that day you remember you remember Al Allison people wanted uh the dard people wanted to take the motor out you remember that and you had you had and you had Big Jake Big Jake sitting on the all night on the Hood um but they they because you in qualifying they realized that your motor was good and they wanted to switch it out with Bobby yeah and Bill France said no too Bill France Bill France didn't want any controversy period you know and so um the um so he he he wanted to make sure it was perfect everything was perfect um so it was you know and after the race was over period you know no everything was perfect and and so but basically the god factor is the fact that the fact that Richard Penny could do that and I think with the president being there and knowing it was your 200 I think when when the greatest driver decides that he's going to do something I think there's some I think you proved what everybody knows by being able to do that and even even though winning it by a bumper I think that's that's Richard peny that's the greatness of Richard Petty then you put Richard Petty and Ronald Reagan together and that two you you have the two two of the greatest men in the history of the world together winning the 200th Victory I don't know there's um Richard I've said many times I should have just quit after that yeah so what what do you so that's that's the owner's side of the story that's where he come from what do you what do you remember about do what do you remember about driving for Mike okay first and then we'll go to do and then we'll go to to to Daytona yeah you know when we drove for Mike he had one of his Sidekicks I guess that came to the shop and really yeah kind of kept everything going okay and uh so the deal was that me and me and the crew chief Betty got along real good we understood each other buddy was good at setting the car up and uh you know I know we went down and we done some stuff on the car maybe wasn't exactly way way it was supposed to be done but somehow another buddy and me and buddy got it through inspection and uh so you know we we was a pretty good car we felt like that kale was probably quicker than we was and so as the race went on it wound up that me and kale got a lap ofe of everybody else and uh we run together a whole lot and at the end of the race then I was leading the race and kale was right on my bumper and I I knew the last lap he was waiting for the last lap so over a period of eight or 10 laps I kept slowing up a little slowing up a little not enough that because kale was having to stay out of the gas a lot anyway to keep from running over told me and uh so the first thing you know you know we get ready for I don't know two laps to go or something we come across start Finish Line there are guys spinning out in in the number one corner so killing myself both said okay whoever gets back to start Finish Line is the winner so we go down and go in the first Corner go up the backstretch and kale catches me right at the end of the backstretch and when he goes in the corner he's going in the corner maybe 10 mph quicker than what he'd been going and the car drifted up a little and when he did I was able then to cut back and get back beside of him and then we touched a little bit coming down the front stretch and stuff and the big deal was that I was on the inside and he was out on the outside and as we got to the corner I had that much shorter way to go because the inside Groove was not as long as outside so was able to beat him by two or three foot and uh you know he he got so excited that um when we come back around he come down Pit Road he thought the race was over they was still a lap to go and uh you know I think he wound up third because somebody slipped in Harry G I think wound up second in that race yeah and uh so that's a big trivial you see me and kill Racing for the lead but who runs second it wouldn't K wouldn't K you know yeah so anyhow and then when that was over did you draft off of heon there no no it was just the basic deal was there was a car that we come up to getting ready to lap but so I kept kale High okay and instead of coming down and running a regular Groove because there was a car going to be in that group I moved up and so he had to go a lot longer around the corner than and what I did but then when we got through then I stopped on the start Finish Line and then we went up to the the broadcast booth and the president was up there and I shook hands with him and told him welcome cuz he was the first president uh second president that ever come to a cup race so that was a big deal for for us for the president to come and then uh you know we done some interviews and stuff and after that um they had taken the the garage area and put a fence around everything and all the drivers and their wives and kids crew chiefs and stuff were able to sit down with the president of the United States and eat Kentucky Fried Chicken and uh so that that wasn't only a big deal for me but it was a big deal for all of NASCAR and all of cup steel because you know these guys you know they can tell their grandkids I I eat lunch with the president the United States very few people can say that so that was a big big deal that and that's what I remember that U more than any anything else that happened I want to so and and sitting here listening the the 40th or the 40th anniversary of 200 wins right it's so obviously it's a it's it's a huge moment in the sports huge yeah I know you dressed up that's why you dressed up for the interview but I find it fascinating that that to fill in the blanks of this conversation um is so Mike gets on a car curb Mike Curb on the side of a car owned by Californian yeah Rod ostrin um Les RoR co-chairman Speedway connects you makes you Grand Marshall of a of a speedway in California um yeah they they they made you grant Marsh so they could get your money I see that I heard that from the story right there so they could get you but but my point is everything for for Mike started in California evolved around the racing Community which was a strong community in California Les RoR Les RoR done tons for the NFL but Les RoR did tons for NASCAR yeah especially on the West Riverside Riverside yeah and then to come to close that first Loop to close your his first Loop you come back and win a championship with nhart on the side of the car at Ontario yeah you know what I mean so everything and your initial years started there but all this stuff leading up to me and Mike getting together he just explained how that all came about how that all came about yeah I would I never knew I wasn't I wasn't in the political part of that it was just a deal that that me and him somehow got got to talking about it uh he called me or I call him yeah and we said okay this is what we're going to do I didn't know that he'd been through that all that process with NASCAR and with FRS and that's right with with all the other politicians to make it work also Andy granelli yeah with STP and Andy Granatelli was one of my co-chairman also so he he he let Ralph salino know that they could trust me you know and in fact Andy wanted to get in on it Andy wanted you know well Andy Andy donated Andy owned the Mario and Drey indie car where Mario and Mario had won the 1969 n500 and it was an STP car uh which is also um in the Smithsonian yes yes Andy and Andy and my wife share the same birthday so we always got we always got together um at that time and so and and but Andy wanted to get in on it but car said no I let's keep it real simple just keep it this way and and you know with the nhar thing it had worked out beautifully because during the year we were able to acquire the cars before he sold it to Stacy so we still have the we still have the winning cars of Earnhart in our shop in Canapolis yeah yeah and then we have and then we have Richards I think the do I think we have the Dober car right in our shop and then the 200th car is in the Smithsonian yeah yes yeah so I mean it it doesn't get better than that does it yeah when y'all give it to the Smith son we went took the family up there and that was that was a big deal president come out we took a picture with a car and then we put it in smithon that was a that was a big deal for the paty family the White House to have the president come out I mean it was I mean you you know you have I have to pinch myself to even believe that I was blessed enough to be part of that my wife and I talked about it all the time you know how God blesses us at different times and but you know when you're in those positions so where opportunity meets preparation when you see the opportunity you also have to be prepared and we we did have a shop and of course you all had a shop you all had a shop in rman and had a a shop in Canapolis and I think it we between us we we had What it Took and and you were used to doing the independent thing you've done it all your life and you know I'd like to salute the 75 years of of the petty family um what what Lee Petty did you know and I think he had like 54 Cup wins and and with your 200 wins Kyle I was just talking to Kyle Kyle had eight wins but when you look at it one was at all different tracks Pocono Dober Watkins Glenn Rockingham he W on every H Charlotte won and so a lot of drivers today to get eight wins would give anything to have that's for sure and and you know it's an interesting thing uh and then you know I don't even know how to even mention Adam other to say I saw him the weekend before and that young man was the future of Motorsports and in his life In His short life he has he did something that carried the family reputation on forever he was so responsible and had such a beautiful image um and I know how proud you are but it'd be impossible to think about the 75th of the petty family without about Adam and what an incredible Ambassador he was for the family and what what he could have accomplished and if we can ever figure this out we'll fig uh those are the hardest things and so we are all so blessed just to have known him and so I want to say say something for him because he was so positive every time we saw him and thank you so much man God bless you for that thank you so you know I'm sitting here listening um and and I have learned a ton here thank you for being a part of this thank you for for coming and doing it because it is so many times in in in sports today and in in the world today um it's it's we forget that what you see is one thing but the everything is built on relationships oh yeah and it's it was Mike's relationship with les RoR and then it rolled into Bill France and Bill France's relationship with Richard Petty and Buddy parrot and how things kind of come together um and and the hand that Bill had in in a lot of this and yeah a lot of times you think you controlling yeah your destiny but like it Mike says the destiny around you is that other people give you the opportunity that that you thought you'd come up with yourself yeah so circumstances Beyond anybody's control but here here's here's the one thing that I've learned today um as as when Mike cerb put his name on the side of NH hars car and they won those first few races with with australand okay and went on to win Earhart's first championship with Mike's name on the side of the car mike won Mike was on the car and a future seven time Champion's first win and in a future seven time Champions first championship Mike was on the car and own the car of the last win of the original Seven time champion and that that's a that's a Full Circle you know what I mean both ends but when you look at it when you look at it and in between all of that as as all that plays out instrumental in bringing Ronald Reagan the president of the United States to the firecracker 400 and opening up the sport to a much broader audience than had ever paid attention to the sport and and and they've said it before um you know my dad said it it's been said a million times you know that day you know Richard Petty put Ronald Reagan on on the front of the sports page but Ronald Reagan put Richard Petty and NASCAR on the front page on the front page of every every newspaper in the country which was a huge deal and and you were instrumental in that so thank you for for all you did for this sport I've been working for years you know doing this in sport you know we're we're involved in the World of Outlaws you know we've done shots we've been through years in I we were Tony Stewart's partner there and we've been involved in usack for years at the Series where we had Kyle Larson uh we formed we had the curb Elite that Carri AA Jane and I formed several years ago and the first five drivers were Kyle Larson Christopher Bell Uh Kevin Swindell and Brad sweet you know and we so we've been doing we've been doing those kinds of things but no matter what we do and and I've been involved in racing now for what 50 years no matter what we do nothing comes close to the 200th Victory it people call it the number one event in sports U Speedway magazine just this year at had their front cover calling it The Greatest moment um and and that's that's because of Richard Petty um and that's um you know just just you know when you when you're involved with the greatest people like Richard Petty when you're involved with the greatest people like Ronald Reagan uh you know my father was an FBI agent and and he he he always Saidi Know You by The Company You Keep and he you know of course obviously he didn't tolerate drugs alcohol anything you he was an FBI agent a very uh son of a Baptist Minister but he my father always said you know F work with the very best work with the very best and you know when you build and in and you you know this better than anyone Kyle when you work to build someone else's Legacy in a way you build your own yes I mean you always cared about Richard's Legacy but look at the Legacy you built and winning races on every in fact you even won the Arca Daytona right in 79 yes I was there for that I was there for all the ties I told him should have come to more races no that's another surface so now now you want on a super speedway won on a mile and a half you won on whatever Pocono is with the three corners you won Watkins Glenn on the road course right you obviously rocking him multiple times short track Richmond you you won Richmond one you I was there I think that might have even was that back back in the 21 car was it yeah that was the yeah yeah that's Wood Brothers Wood Brothers yeah that was in the 21 yeah and then but then the sabatus was the 42 and then the so the bulk of the the first two wins would have been in the 21 right and then the next six wins would have all been in the in the 42 with sabatus he's good on History yeah that's what I said I've learned he's a fan he knows the sport and that that is that is that is that is fascinating so listen thank you for thank you for doing this today man we really appreciate it we really it it gives a a big a broader picture a good picture of what the 40th was or this 40th anniversary of this race because it was you fed so many blanks that I never thought about yeah and I found out even more so if I realized this a long long time ago Richard Petty never done anything by himself it took all the people around him to put him in the situation he was kind of the lead dog but all without all those other people Richard pity would never won a race yeah yeah and that and that's you and Ronald Reagan said that you know Ronald Reagan always said same thing you know we do this as a team [Music]