Richard Petty Recollects His Father’s Gut-Wrenching Daytona Crash That Left Him Bed-Ridden for Months

NASCAR and Daytona wrecks are known to all! In the 1961 Daytona 500’s second Twin Qualifying Event, Johnny Beauchamp’s loss of control resulted in his car colliding with Lee Petty’s bumper. This collision propelled both cars through the guardrail and off the track. A spectator, A.B. Kelley, despite sustaining multiple cuts, played a crucial role in helping Lee Petty out of the wrecked vehicle.

Recently, King Richard Petty went down memory lane to extract memories regarding this incident. What did his family do during his father’s wreck?

A wreck so fatal that Richard Petty’s father had a rod in his neck and leg

Richard Petty and his son Kyle Petty opened up on an episode of the Dale Jr. Download. During the interview, Dale Jr asked how Lee Petty and their family overcame that injury during their Daytona stint in 1961.

Richard Petty exclaimed, “He had a rod in his neck, a rod in a leg. Whatever’s up here, tore kneecap up, punctured the lung, broke a couple of ribs. And we went over there, I think it was Monday after the accident. In fact he and mother stayed the day, she didn’t even come home. So she walked in and said, ‘Okay, I talked to D and he was kind. Out of there, she said ‘Y’all go home, go to Greensboro and get a car. Back then, there was pretty stock cars. We had two cars, I crashed one in one of the races and Daddy crashed the other one. So I had to go home, get another car.”

Lee Petty, on the other hand, did not initially realize the seriousness of his injury. He even asked Richard Petty to buy a new car and mentioned that they would be back on Friday. However, it took four months for his father to finally return home. During that period, Lee Petty was in charge of the entire racing operation, while his mother managed the financial records.

The father-son duo got injured at the same time

The history between Petty and Beauchamp dates back to their involvement in the inaugural Daytona 500’s finish in 1959. The accident inflicted life-threatening injuries on Lee Petty, including multiple fractures, internal injuries, and a punctured lung, necessitating a four-month stay at Daytona Hospital. This incident marked the end of Petty’s regular driving career, although he made occasional appearances in races, with his last being in 1964 at The Glen.

During the same race, Richard Petty, too, was involved in a multi-car crash. As his car went up the track, Richard used the guardrail as a ramp to flip out of the track and miraculously escaped with little injury. Later, while leaving the infield care center, he got to know that his father, Lee, it was then that he was informed that his father had suffered injuries much worse than his. Despite these horrific incidents, it just scratches the surface of the carnage at the 1961 NASCAR Daytona Speedweeks.

It’s fortunate that modern races no longer use guardrails. However, this change hasn’t eliminated the occurrence of accidents on the track.