Richard Petty Has Funny Non-Family Moment In Final Nascar Race

When I think of the funniest moments in sports, images are pulled from my memory of figures doing things that we rarely witness happening. Seemingly spot on, near-perfect athletes having moments that make them seem like they don't always sit on the pedestal we place them on. That they are human. That they are one of us.

The date is November 15, 1992. I am in the chilly grandstands of Atlanta Motor Speedway. This is a sentimental and memorable day. It is the final race of the NASCAR Winston Cup, now Sprint Cup, season. There is a tremendous championship battle taking place with five drivers mathematically eligible to claim the title. A young man named Jeff Gordon is making his very first start in the series. And a man by the name of Richard Petty is making the final start of his career.

Petty has carried himself like a champion both on and off the track. He has a tremendous fan following and holds many records in the sport that likely will never be broken. Fans spanning several generations look up to him and can proudly wear a Petty hat, sweatshirt, or jacket.

On this day the fairly tale ending did not happen. Petty qualified near the rear of the field and did not advance his position much during the race. On a restart in the first half of the event Petty, already not on the lead lap, was involved in an accident with several other cars. Not of his making, the incident swept up the familiar red and blue machine wrecking the front end badly and starting a large oil fire as he slid towards turn one.

He steered the machine towards an area where safety and fire trucks were parked so they could have easy access to his smashed, burning machine. The flames billowed from the car for what seemed like a long time before Petty climbed from behind the smoke and flames, almost magician-like, and waved to the crowd of over 50,000 that he was alright.  

Bill Elliot won the race and Alan Kulwicki clinched the championship later that autumn afternoon. But where is the humor in this story?

I had taped the ESPN broadcast of the race and watched it a day later upon my return to my Connecticut home from the Georgia weekend. The network had an in car camera with Petty that offered some dramatic replays. What raised my eyebrows were the live audio and feed. As he rolled to a stop near the fire trucks, and the firemen gawked at the flaming pile of steel he was strapped into, I heard him yell very clearly "BRING THE F@#$ING FIRE EXTINGUISHER!" 

My childhood hero, christian, and role model, could have a moment just like the rest of us. I suppose anyone is entitled to that. Smashing a car at over 180 miles per hour in the final race of a thirty five year career, having it catch on fire, then having rescue personnel as Petty quoted "looking for autographs" when they could have been moving quicker. Yes I might throw out a curse word too in those circumstances, now matter who looked up to me.

The incident was a scary sight in person. I have seen hundreds of crashes in thirty three years of viewing motor sports. But when my all time favorite driver's car is on fire and there is no sign of him getting out, five seconds feels like half an hour.

Many years later, I can now chuckle at the moment that made it on air. Heroes are not always on the clock.

The funniest sports movie moments to me are: Bob Barker and Adam Sandler having a fistfight in "Happy Gilmore", and any scene in "Slapshot" that has the Hanson Brothers in it.