ALL HAIL THE KING

Richard Petty began the 1975 NASCAR racing season defending his 1974 Winston Cup championship. Richard Petty also started the 1975 season by hitting the wall at Riverside during the Winston Western 500.

- DREW HARDIN

That's an incident he'd likely rather forget, but through an accident of timing, that brief brush with an immovable object was recorded and published in HOT ROD, where it lives forever in our photo archives and countless magazine collections.

The cover of the April 1975 issue of HOT ROD featured Petty, his brother Maurice, and cousin Dale Inman with Petty's STP-liveried Dodge Charger, all posing in front of a Carolina tobacco barn with a dog and some chickens. Inside was a seven-page tribute to The King, his family, and his cars.