The King And Me

"SteveLehto" (stevelehto)
06/04/2015 at 08:45 • Filed to: None

I believe “The King and I” had already been used, so I went with “Me.” Anyway, I got to meet Richard Petty the other day so I thought I would tell you about it. That’s my hand in the bottom left corner of the pic above.

As I’ve mentioned many times before, I am a big fan of the Chrysler cars from the 1960s and 1970s. I’ve owned one and gotten to drive a few others. I don’t even mind if they !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! engines.

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And I recently got the chance to visit Richard Petty’s Museum and garage near Randleman, N.C. If you are into old school NASCAR it is well worth the visit. As you can imagine, there is a lot of Petty blue on the property.

And a lot of Hemis. In fact, they have so many Hemis that there are some just sitting around, looking for an engine bay to climb into.

And yes, that is the Pete Hamilton #40 Superbird behind it. Pete drove that car while Richard drove the #43 Superbird in 1970.

So much history, so little time. The King won 200 races - 27 in one season! And he’s a heck of a nice guy. We sat and talked for about an hour and if all goes well, you’ll be able to see the interview in a documentary somewhere down the road. Turns out documentaries take more time to make than books do.

And as always, I have to mention I have a new podcast up. In case you thought I may have forgotten to record one amidst all the excitement and travel.

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Follow me on Twitter: !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

Hear my podcast on iTunes: !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

Steve Lehto has been practicing law for 23 years, almost exclusively in consumer protection and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! He wrote !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .

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DISCUSSION (11)

Leon711 > SteveLehto
06/04/2015 at 09:02

I’ll be seeing him run up the hill at Goodwood in three weeks!

SteveLehto > Leon711
06/04/2015 at 09:16

Nice. That’s why we didn’t film in front of the #43. It’s headed to Goodwood right now.

Leon711 > SteveLehto
06/04/2015 at 09:26

One day Steve (assuming you haven’t already) you gotta go to the Festival of Speed. It’s just the most insane and amazing car event, cars and bikes from all corners, vintage and new, race and street, aerial displays chances to get up close to racers and industry leaders. A few years back Charles Morgan (then Chairman of Morgan Motor cars) and I had a chat and now he follows me on Twitter and is a connection of mine on LinkedIn.

SteveLehto > Leon711
06/04/2015 at 09:48

I’d love to but I know so little about it. I’d have to plan that way out in advance. Dumb question: How far from London is it?

Leon711 > SteveLehto
06/04/2015 at 10:14

From central London itself 60 miles, if you flew into Gatwick it’s 46 miles to Goodwood, Heathrow is an 52 miles, driving of course.

If London is too taxing to travel to Goodwood from (it will be very busy) there’s a few medium sized cities nearby Brighton is one, a Victorian seaside resort 30 miles est, Portsmouth is a Navy city, 20 miles west and Chichester a small city (roman history) is 4 miles south of the Estate.

https://grrc.goodwood.com/section/festiv…

if you were to make a vacation out of it there is Beaulieu National Motor Museum nearby (with a medieval Abbey), Arundel Castle, The South Downs National Park, Portsmouth historic dockyard with HMS Victory and the Mary Rose (amongst other ships) all within an hour of Goodwood and of course London too if you travel further afield.

I’m not far from Goodwood myself anyway, but I could go on forever about what’s nearby but I’d be waffling for ages.

SteveLehto > Leon711
06/04/2015 at 10:22

I’d really like to do that, maybe next year. I’ve seen a lot of photos and videos of it (and I always watch the runs on the live feed when it’s available) and know it would be worth the trip.

Leon711 > SteveLehto
06/04/2015 at 10:25

I’ll be there, I’ve vowed to never miss one. I only normally go for the one day (because until recently I was a broke student, I even marshaled there for a free ticket once, never again) but I might extend it out over a few days now I get real life money.

SteveLehto > Leon711
06/04/2015 at 10:28

When I go. I’ll look you up. Maybe we can hold a little Jalopnik get-together.

Leon711 > SteveLehto
06/04/2015 at 10:51

That’ll be great, there’s a couple guys on here who are local and often attend.

JimSlade > SteveLehto
06/10/2015 at 11:47

I have had the pleasure of working with The King on a few different occasions...and every time I am around the man, I turn into my 7 year old self watching him race.

He’s one of the celebrities I have met that really left an impression. He is as nice to the person with the smallest title as he is to a President or dignitary.

One of the best to ever race is still one of the best around. Cheers to The King!

MattJ > SteveLehto
06/10/2015 at 20:29

Petty was my favorite driver growing up and is still my favorite athlete/celebrity of all time. I got to visit the museum years ago when I was a kid. Being in a room full of all of those classic cars, trophies, and other racing memorabilia was absolute Heaven. I need to make it up there soon to see all the new stuff they’ve added. Over the years I’ve met politicians, presidents, and other dignitaries; but standing there as a 9 year old and getting his autograph is still the coolest encounter I’ve ever personally had with someone!