Like many race fans who remember the '70s, I loved the famed winged Superbirds that Richard Petty and other drivers raced. And then I got to see them up close.
In the mid-90s, I was covering NASCAR Winston Cup racing for a newspaper. I was driving from Interstate 20 to Talladega Superspeedway when I saw two blue Superbirds in front of me. They were in the slow lane, and I was in the left lane. I was doing 55, the speed limit, and the 'Birds were running about 50.
So I passed them slowly and looked them over. The two cars didn't have race engines — no rumble — but it was a momentary thrill to pass them.
I assume they went to the race track, but I never saw them there. It's also possible — maybe even more likely — that they went to the International Motorsports Hall of Fame, which is near the track.
It never came up, and I never thought to ask.
FROM YOUTUBE: Richard Petty's 200mph Plymouth Superbird On The Road
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