When the legendary Richard Petty forced NASCAR to blackflag him at Darlington

NASCAR is just over a day away from hosting its regular season finale at Darlington Raceway. Meanwhile, NASCAR on NBC took a trip down memory lane reminiscing about the time Richard Petty got black-flagged for staying out on the track 'Too Tough to Tame' for too long.

Richard Petty is considered a stalwart in the arena of NASCAR. The 85-year-old veteran drove the No. 43 Petty Enterprises Plymouth/Pontiac from 1958 to 1992 in the NASCAR Cup Series, then known as the Grand National Series and the NASCAR Winston Cup Series. The iconic blue car got Petty 192 of his record-winning 200 wins.

Although his last race was at Atlanta Motor Speedway in 1992, the retired speedster returned as the pace car driver for the 2017 playoff race at Darlington. That was when things took a hilarious turn.

Usually, the pace car drivers commit to the pit road a lap before the field goes green. However, Petty loved his ride so much that he would not come out of his car. Ultimately, NASCAR had to black-flag Petty to urge him to pit.

"It don't look like he really wants to go to the pit road," Richard Childress Racing driver Austin Dillon exclaimed.

Kevin Harvick radioed, "I don't blame him. I'd drive that thing around all day!"

Petty won the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway in 1967 as the wheelman of the same #43 machine. That was his 26th win of the 1967 season. The same year, Petty won the second of his seven NASCAR Cup Series championships.

NASCAR set to return to Rockingham Speedway in 2025

NASCAR will host Xfinity (April 19) and Truck Series (April 18) events at the Rockingham Speedway, also known as "The Rock", next year on Easter weekend. It has been a decade since NASCAR hosted its last National Touring Series race at the one-mile flat track in Rockingham, Northamptonshire, England.

18-year-old ARCA RE/MAX Series driver Joey Logano celebrates after winning the Carolina 500 at the Rockingham Speedway in 2008 (Source: Imagn)

The last Xfinity Series race at the track was hosted in 2004, while the last NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at the venue was run in 2013, with Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson delivering the win.

"We've been talking about 'The Rock' for a few years now," Ben Kennedy, NASCAR's executive vice president, and chief venue and racing innovation officer, said recently via WCNC.com. "This one came through our partners at Track Enterprises, who have put on a number of our Craftsman Truck Series races over the past few years."

"With the continued improvements the owners have been putting into the facility, and frankly, looking at the success of some of these new events, it felt like a good opportunity to go back. Fans have been asking for a long time," he added.

NASCAR is also expected to visit Mexico for the first time in the current era for a regular season point-paying Cup Series race next year. Amazon Prime will cover the event.