The Posh English Countryside has been invaded by the sound of American Thunder as vintage V-8 powered NASCARs have made their way to the Goodwood Festival of Speed. Held on the grounds of the Goodwood House in West Sussex, England, the Goodwood Festival of Speed is the largest private festival dedicated to all disciplines of motorsports – ranging from Formula 1 to Le Mans, to even Baja and NASCAR. The King himself, Richard Petty, has shown up in the flesh with his iconic cowboy hat (the only one wearing one), big sun glasses and blue fire suit. He had the pleasure of taking his beloved Petty blue 1966/67 Plymouth Belvedere GTX Winston Cup car around the manor grounds.

The Belvedere began life as a ’66 powered by legendary 426 Hemi engine mated to a A833 four-speed manual. In 1966 it won the Daytona 500, and since there where minimal changes between the production ’66 and ’67 Belvederes Petty’s team kept the car for the ’67 racing season.

During its racing career, it won 27 races out of 48 that Petty competed in. “That’s probably the winningest car in NASCAR history,” said Petty with a wide grin. The last time the Belvedere ran was in ’67 and it has been sitting in the Richard Petty Museum in North Carolina for the last several years. Before bringing the car across the pond, Petty and crew spent a few weeks performing a minor tune up, changing the fluids, making the sure the brakes work, adding a new battery and new tires, of course.

After not driving the car for 47 years, Petty describes the experience, “It’s sort of like riding a bicycle, you never forget, sometimes you have to get refurbished… and this was me once I went a little bit in it, all that stuff came back.” After seeing Petty break out the ’66 Plymouth perhaps he will take the ol’ Superbird out for a spin someday. Who else would love to see that happen?