Racing icon Richard Petty’s career was winding down, but he was knocking on the door of his 200th win when everything aligned in his favor.
Petty, the all-time win leader at Daytona International Speedway, was in the Firecracker 400 field when President Ronald Reagan decided to attend the big race.
On this day in 1984, Petty delivered for his 200th and final NASCAR victory during an iconic race day in Daytona Beach.
Petty, who happened to be a Republican county commissioner and had met Reagan, was immediately everyone’s favorite to win the race in front of a celebrity guest.