In NASCAR, numbers often lot more than car's identity (cont'd)

Number 42, driven by Lee Petty from 1949 into the early 1960s, started a chain of numbers 42 through 45 that will forever mark the legacy of Petty Enterprises.

When Lee Petty ran his first race, the drivers raced the cars they drove to the racetrack, a Plymouth at the time. They were stock, right down to the license plate; the catalyst for Petty's number.

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His license plate number began with a No. 4 and ended with a No. 2. That's how the No. 42 was born, a number that would win 54 races.

And the No. 43 more than doubled that number by his son, Richard Petty.

In 1959, Petty piloted the No. 43 for the first time in Daytona and went on to win 192 races in the No. 43, six races in the No. 41 and two races in the No. 42, according to team representative David Hovis.

The No. 43, now piloted by Bobby Labonte at Petty Enterprises, will always be a part of Richard Petty, just like the cowboy hat and sunglasses.

"It's the winningest number in the history of the sport and it will always be a Petty Enterprises number," Richard Petty said. "We've had the numbers 42 through 45, but more than anything, that represents the fact that racing is a family business for the Pettys. We've had four generations of NASCAR drivers in our family. From father to son we continued that progression of numbers."

So why didn't son Kyle Petty take his father's famous No. 43?

When Richard Petty got out of the car in 1992, Kyle Petty was racing for another team. Petty Enterprises didn't even race the No. 43 in 1993. Then the team picked the number back up in 1994 with John Andretti and Wally Dallenbach. Then Bobby Hamilton drove it to a couple of wins in '96 and '97. When Kyle came back to Petty Enterprises he jumped in the No. 44 and continued the progression, a progression that has continued to include the current No. 45, Hovis said.

Fellow competitors alongside Richard Petty acquired their numbers in a more colorful manner. In 1966, Buddy Baker drove a No. 00 Dodge, sponsored by a politician named Hooker who was running for governor of Tennessee. The "00" was part of the name "Hooker" emblazoned down the side of the car.

The fuel companies made their mark in numbers, as well.

Sunoco sponsored Billy Hagan's No. 94, an octane of Sunoco gasoline, Cup team from 1989-92 with Sterling Marlin and Terry Labonte behind the wheel and Phillips 66 Petroleum Co. sponsored Cale Yarborough's team from 1990-92 using the No. 66.

The manufacturers of the popular card game "UNO" sponsored Hoss Ellington's team in the early 1980s for several seasons, using the No. 1.

The No. 3 will forever be linked to Dale Earnhardt.

When 7-11 convenience stores sponsored Kyle Petty and his Wood Brothers ride from 1983-86, they broke tradition and used the No. 7 instead of the No. 21.

Often times, the original car number was tied to the car's primary sponsor.

Not the case for the No. 3, the sport's most famed number.

Some report car owner Richard Childress, who pays NASCAR annually to keep rights to the number, chose the No. 3 because it was easy to paint on the car. In the late 1970s, the cars didn't have sticker-like, wrapped paint schemes.

However, McKim said Childress admired legendary driver Junior Johnson who ran the number in the early 1960s.

"He told NASCAR that if that number ever came available, he wanted it," McKim added.

Childress raced the No. 3 from 1976-81, Earnhardt ran it the last 10 races in 1981, Ricky Rudd raced it for RCR in 1982-83. Earnhardt got back into the car in 1984 until 2001. He was killed in a crash in that year's Daytona 500.

That was the last time the infamous No. 3 raced on the track and it will likely remain that way. Earnhardt won six of his seven titles while driving the No. 3 Chevrolet for RCR, immortalizing his number in the hearts of devoted fans forever.

Still today, fans put three fingers in the air at the Daytona 500 in tribute further demonstrating the importance of numbers in NASCAR.

Some more origins of NASCAR car numbers:

Source: NASCAR PR