"I started running as fast as I could": When Lynda Petty recalled terrifying Darlington crash involving Richard Petty

In 2012 Richard Petty's wife, Lynda Petty, had talked about the gut-wrenching crash of the NASCAR legend at the Darlington Raceway in 1970. The Randolph County native married Lynda in 1959 and the couple have four children, including former NASCAR driver Kyle Petty.

Richard 'The King' Petty competed in NASCAR Cup Series for almost 35 years and has been one of the most successful drivers in the sport's history. In more than 1,100 races, the 87-year-old has a record 200 wins, seven of which were at the esteemed Daytona 500.

In a 2012 interview, Lynda recalled one of several infamous Petty's wrecks on the front stretch of the Darlington Raceway. The seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion had slammed into the wall of the pit road that separates the track, flipping several times before coming to a halt. Petty, who had a flat tire was reportedly spotted unconscious in his upside-down #43 Plymouth Superbird. Revisiting the terrifying crash, Lynda said (0:45):

"I jumped off the score stand and started running as fast as I could,"

At that time, Petty was immediately taken to the infield car center in the station wagon. However, after the first reading of the situation, the track doctor sent him to a hospital in Florence, South Carolina.

"They wanted to take him own over to McLeod hospital which is in Florence and so I got in with them and I went on to the hospital...they admitted him they wanted to keep him overnight. He had dislocated his shoulder that was the worst thing that happened to him." Lynda said (2:40).

NASCAR was inspired by this devastating accident to implement a window net on the driver's side as a safety feature.

Many in the NASCAR community believed it to be a miracle: Petty missed a couple of races after the crash, but ended the season on a high note. It is also worth mentioning that the Hall of Famer went on to win his third Cup Series championship the following season.

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"It was the most natural racecar" - Richard Petty on his favorite car in his legendary career

Richard Petty was famously known for driving the #43 Plymouth and Pontiac for a better part of his professional racing career. However, the favorite car isn't the iconic fan favorite Superbird.

In an episode of the Dale Jr. Download, Petty talked about his favorite out of all the generations of cars. He said:

"Probably, early-mid 70s. We won a bunch of races with a (Dodge) Charger and we had a lot of experience with it. We got to run it like four or five years. Of all the racecars I've ever had, it was the most natural racecar. That was before all the wind tunnel testing and all these kind of stuff."

Petty believed that the Dodge Charger was "so sensitive" and if you would even change the spoiler an inch it would create an impact. He admitted that the team had worked with it so much that they had learned the car well.