April 1968, Richard Petty begins promoting Lowe's riding mowers.
This is possibly the very first Lowe's ad featuring Richard Petty:
June 1969, a little E.T. Rugg - built riding mower was chosen to be called:
"The Richard Petty Special"
(This was only a regular Rugg riding mower branded as a "Continental" and sold in various colors.)
1970, Lowe's decided to have The Richard Petty Special painted "Petty Blue".
(Added to the promotion was a give-away car....a PETTY BLUE Superbird!)
Late 1971, Rugg built a handful of 1971 Richard Petty Specials with the standard decals, and additional "Petty" decals that were void of any part numbers. These mowers were probably built and sent to Lowe's for approval and are considered to be prototypes.
April 1972, The Richard Petty Special looked different. It was now more than a Rugg mower painted Petty blue, as it also sported a big "43" decal in the grille, "BY Petty" decals on both sides of the hood, and a white racing stripe down the middle of the hood.
Here's the first ad for the '72:
Here's the first ad for the '72:
May 1972, Lowe's upped the ante. Not only did they sell a Richard Petty Special, but now a "Richard Petty SUPER Special".
(The "Super" was simply a Dynamark painted Petty Blue. There were no special decals or markings of any kind to distinguish it as a Richard Petty Super Special. The typical Dynamark at that time was painted a darker shade of blue, so it really didn't stand out and they've never had much of a following.)
(The "Super" was simply a Dynamark painted Petty Blue. There were no special decals or markings of any kind to distinguish it as a Richard Petty Super Special. The typical Dynamark at that time was painted a darker shade of blue, so it really didn't stand out and they've never had much of a following.)
1973, the E.T. Rugg Company closed their doors forever.
The season started out with the Dynamark still being referred to as the "Super Special"....
(And another Give-away car. This time you could chose between a Dodge, Chevrolet, or Mercury
The keys to the car of your choice would be handed to you by either Richard, Junior Johnson, or The Wood Brothers.)
.....but with the little Rugg no longer in the picture, the Petty Blue Dynamark was eventually called: "Richard Petty Special"
Richard continued to promote the entire Lowe's line up of riding mowers into the 1980's.
There was a FREE iron-on handed out to customers:
....and a FREE hand-out:
Here's a few color photo posters of the Dynamark:
To read more on the Richard Petty Special, click the link below:
http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2012/08/there-is-no-end-to-unusual-in-vehicle.html
http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2012/08/there-is-no-end-to-unusual-in-vehicle.html
