News & Advice

27th Aug 2010

ESPN : Petty, STP changed sport forever

Excerpt:

As Richard Petty steps to the podium on Sunday afternoon to formally accept his induction into the NASCAR Hall of Fame, we will be flooded with numbers. Seven championships, seven Daytona 500 victories, 200 wins, 27 wins in one season, 10 wins in a row, most poles, top-5s, top-10s, laps led …

If this was Cooperstown they'd need to engrave three or four of those tiny plaques to make room for all the lists.

But looking back, now 18 seasons after The King's final laps behind the wheel, his greatest lasting impact on motorsports may have had nothing to do with stat sheets. Instead, his legacy may lie not with numbers, but rather three letters.

 STP.

 "When Richard did the STP sponsorship deal it forever changed the business model in American motorsports," said Jack Roush, founder and owner of four-car NASCAR powerhouse Roush Fenway Racing. "At a time when a lot of people were panicking about money, not unlike today, he and that company presented a solution that changed the face of racing."

Not to mention one of the most iconic images in American sports history.

For full article visit: ESPN Website