DAYTONA BEACH, FL. (February 14, 2024) – At the track where the Petty family legacy began, Richard and Kyle Petty, along with LEGACY MOTOR CLUB and Daytona International Speedway kicked off the Petty Family’s 75th year in racing with a literal tip of the hat.
This evening at Daytona’s Camperfest in the Hard Rock Bet Fanzone, track president Frank Kelleher had the honor of unveiling the first of 28 one-of-a-kind life-size art installations that feature the likeness of Richard Petty’s famous cowboy hat indubitably titled “The King’s Hat”.
“The King’s Hat” is a six-foot tall, 1,000-pound, fiberglass and concrete statue that will become a permanent display this season at all NASCAR and Speedway Motorsports-owned tracks, as well as Indianapolis Motor Speedway, World Wide Technology Raceway, Pocono Raceway, the NASCAR Hall of Fame, LEGACY MOTOR CLUB and the Petty Museum. Each installation will have a uniquely personalized tribute to the Petty family.
“It’s always special to be recognized and this does take it to the very top,” said “The King” Richard Petty. “This is really for the fans to enjoy something unique to our family, our history, and our contributions to the tracks and NASCAR. It took a lot of people, time, and effort to make this happen and our family is honored by that.”
The hats are meticulously hand-crafted by TivoliToo, Inc., the same company that designed and built the Charles Schulz Peanuts® character tribute in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minn. Brother and sister duo, Randi and Hart Johnson have personally worked with each track to bring the creative vision to life. All one of a kind and thoughtfully designed, the hope is that these special statues will become landmarks for fans to visit and pay tribute to the Petty’s for many years to come.
“My dad’s cowboy hat is iconic and is a part of who Richard Petty is,” said Kyle Petty. “If you see that hat, you know it’s Richard Petty. It’s been his signature look for as long as any race fan can remember. This is a great way to celebrate our family’s heritage and a fun way for fans to honor and learn about our history within the sport. We can’t thank LEGACY M.C., and all the tracks enough for working together to bring this to life.”
Fans are encouraged to use #PETTY75 when they find this one-of-a-kind piece of history and post photos socially, as “The King’s Hat” is set to become a permanent fixture of each city the NASCAR Cup Series visits in 2024. Fans can go to www.LEGACYMOTORCLUB.com/Petty-75 for the locations of each hat.
The year-long celebration will also include exclusive digital and social media content never seen before from the Petty family photo and video archives. This unique content will be featured on the @therichardpetty, @pettybrothersracing, @kylepetty, @pettymuseum and @pettysgarage social media accounts as well as @PettyFamilyRacing on YouTube.
Media Release: Legacy Motor Club
