RELATED: Darlington’s throwback paint schemes
Some people might call it sky blue or even Carolina blue, but in racing it’s Petty Blue, and with Day-Glo Red and white it creates the iconic No. 43 paint scheme that will dress up Aric Almirola‘s No. 43 STP Ford for the Sept. 6 Bojangles’ Southern 500 (7 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Almirola’s throwback paint scheme honors Richard Petty’s 1972 Plymouth Roadrunner, the first time The King’s car featured sponsor STP with the Petty Blue and Day-Glo Red on the quarter panels.
“STP has been a proud partner of Richard Petty for nearly 44 years now, and all of that started with this 1972 paint scheme,” said Jamie Kistner, vice president of marketing for STP. “To be able to bring that first year back to the track through this paint scheme and with Aric Almirola has been a lot of fun and has brought back some great memories of STP’s storied history in NASCAR for our fans. Darlington Raceway is hosting a great throwback event that’s produced a lot of excitement and we’re honored to be a part of it.”
STP Racing announced the throwback paint scheme on Twitter with a video honoring the No. 43’s history and showing the painting of the Darlington car.
Petty, a seven-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion, raced with the STP logo on the hood of his No. 43 car for 21 years. The King has 200 career wins, and 60 of them came with STP aboard.
“It will be neat to see the car that started our partnership with STP 43 years ago back on track at Darlington,” said Petty. “It will be fun to see all the throwback schemes racing at Darlington and on Labor Day Weekend. It just feels right to have the Southern 500 back to Labor Day Weekend and is fitting that we celebrate tradition there with throwback paint schemes.”
Several members of the 1972 championship-winning team will be with Richard Petty Motorsports at Darlington: crew chief Dale Inman, as well as crew members Richie Barsz, fabricator; Tex Powell, mechanic and jackman; Les Barsz, mechanic and transporter driver; Billy Biscoe, mechanic and gas man; Jimmy “Zoomer” Kovalchik, fabricator and tire carrier; and Barry Dodson, painter.
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