This season all 28 tracks on the NASCAR Cup Series circuit are paying tribute to the King, Richard Petty, and his legendary family in their milestone 75th anniversary season in the sport by erecting special Petty hat monuments positioned prominently in their fan zone areas.
Bristol Motor Speedway’s Petty hat is black with Petty blue, just like the ones he wore during so many visits to the northeast Tennessee track over the years. The hat statue is made of concrete and fiberglass and is approximately six-foot tall and weighs 1,000 pounds. The design on the hat pays homage to his affinity for Petty blue and also is adorned with the three stars of Tennessee, which has a double-meaning for Petty at Bristol, since he earned three of his record 200 Cup Series victories at the challenging high-banked short track.
“It’s always special to be recognized and this does take it to the very top,” Petty said about the creative honor. “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 legacy 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 post photos socially. Fans can go to www.LEGACYMOTORCLUB.com to find the locations for each hat.
During the Food City 500 weekend, March 16-17, The King’s Hat will be on display in the Bristol Motor Speedway Fan FUNZONE throughout the weekend.
“There is only one King in the sport of NASCAR Cup Series racing and this tribute is perfect to honor Richard Petty and his family for all they have done and meant to this community over the years,” said Jerry Caldwell, president and general manager of Bristol Motor Speedway. “We decided on black because it seems he always has a black hat on when he visits with us here in Tennessee and also because Bristol is the home to the famed Night Race. The Tennessee Tri-Star is also a nice addition to the design as it aligns perfectly with the three Cup victories Petty earned at Bristol. We look forward to our guests enjoying their time with the monument and of course taking a lot of social media photos with it.”
The Bristol race weekend will feature action in the NASCAR Cup Series with the tradition-rich Food City 500 on Sunday afternoon, March 17 (3:30 p.m., FOX and PRN Radio) with current champ Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, Daytona 500 winner William Byron, Joey Logano, Atlanta winner Daniel Suarez, Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin leading the way.
Saturday afternoon’s (March 16) Bush’s Beans Practice and Bush’s Beans Qualifying for both the NASCAR Cup Series and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series will set the starting lineups for each race and precede Saturday night’s WEATHER GUARD® Truck Race. NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series stars Ben Rhodes, Grant Enfinger, Nick Sanchez, Las Vegas winner Rajah Caruth, Corey Heim, Ty Dillon and Christian Eckes, among others, are scheduled to take the green flag at 8 p.m. ET for the 250-lap thriller (FS1, MRN Radio).
To purchase tickets for the Food City 500 or the WEATHER GUARD® Truck Race, please visit the BMS website, or call the BMS Ticket Sales Center at (866) 415-4158.
