Former HRM Tech Editor Ray Brock snapped these images moments after a horrific 140-mph accident involving John Beauchamp's 409 Chevy and Lee Petty's 413 Plymouth. Beauchamp walked away with a mild concussion. Petty wasn't so lucky. It was the final lap of a 100-lap qualifying race held the Friday afternoon before Sunday's Daytona 500. Beauchamp and Petty tried to pass a slower car, Beauchamp tapped Petty, and the law of unintended consequences took over. Though Petty survived, his left kneecap was torn off, ribs were broken, and it was six months before he got out of the hospital. His knee was never the same. Lee-three times champion, twice runner-up, and three times third- retired from driving.
Lee was one of NASCAR's winningest drivers, earning the title "Mr. Consistency" in the '50s as well as over $100,000 in prize money. In his father's long shadow, a 21-year-old Richard Petty first took the wheel in 1958 and before long was showing signs of greatness. By the fateful 1961 Daytona race, Richard's number 43 Plymouth was hot on dad's heels, and many observers wondered how long it would be before father and son would face off in a battle for the checkered flag.
The answer came a year later as Richard took Second Place to Fireball Roberts' 421 Pontiac. Though "Papa" Lee had prepared a 413-powered Plymouth for the 500-mile race, his triumphant comeback was not to be. At the last minute, Lee changed his mind and Bunkie Blackburn got the nod to wheel Lee's trademark number 42 Plymouth. From then on, Lee coached his son and over the next 30 years the Richard Petty dynasty grew to immense proportions. It may not have been obvious at the time, but Ray Brock captured a major turning point in both Pettys' racing careers.-Steve Magnante