NASCAR’s King Richard Petty shows off his royal #43 Superbird in latest video

Perhaps one of the most iconic racecars to grace NASCAR was Richard Petty's Plymouth Superbird from 1970. So to have the car up and running is a joy to watch, even for the King himself as shown in his latest video posted on social media.

Richard Petty is an 87-year-old former NASCAR driver who won seven Cup Series championships. He drove the Superbird in the 1970 season, which helped him win 18 races that year before it was disqualified due to a new set of rules introduced in 1971.

In an X (formerly Twitter) post, Petty shared a 15-second video of the No. 43 Plymouth Superbird driving out on the street.

"It’s always great seeing the Superbird out and about!" Petty wrote.

Based on the Plymouth Road Runner, the Superbird is a modified racecar which was designed to lure Petty back to the Plymouth camp. The driver switched to Ford in 1969 before returning to Plymouth one year later, behind the wheel of the Superbird.

Petty's Petty Enterprises teammate Pete Hamilton also drove the Superbird (No. 40), winning three races including the 1970 Daytona 500.

In 1971, NASCAR implemented a new rule that limited engine displacement of winged cars like the Superbird, effectively marking the end of the modified Road Runner. Regardless, Petty continued to win races with different manufacturers.

Richard Petty drove the No. 43 Plymouth Superbird tribute car at Dover in 2017 - Source: Imagn

The King concluded his NASCAR career with 200 wins, including races from the pre-modern era. The closest driver to his win record is David Pearson (105 wins) followed by Jeff Gordon (93), Bobby Allison (85), and Darrell Waltrip (84), respectively.

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Richard Petty revealed his favorite NASCAR racecar

While the No. 43 Plymouth Superbird is an iconic car associated with Richard Petty, it isn't the driver's favorite car in NASCAR. In an interview with Dale Earnhardt Jr., Petty revealed that the Dodge Charger from the 70s was his favorite.

Richard Petty said (via Dale Jr. Download):

"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."

Aside from the driveability, Petty said making changes to the Charger was a fun experience for the team.

"That car was so sensitive, you could change the spoiler a quarter inch and go from dead pushing to dead loose. We had worked with it so much, we had learned that. It was just a pleasure to drive," Petty added.

After competing with Plymouth in the early 70s, Richard Petty partnered with Dodge and drove cars like the Charger and Magnum. He later switched to Chevrolet mid-season in 1978, following underwhelming performances on the track.

The move allowed Petty to run cars from brands under General Motors, including Pontiac, for the final seasons of his career.