Even if you're not familiar with auto racing or NASCAR, you've probably heard the name Richard Petty. The man nicknamed "The King" is a legend in motorsports, with 7 NASCAR championship wins and a record-breaking 200 career race wins.

Aside from his many personal achievements, Petty is known for something else: Petty blue paint. Rumors state that this iconic bright blue color was created when Petty didn't have enough white or dark blue paint to cover his #43 1970 Plymouth Superbird—so he mixed the two paints, resulting in light blue.

In the early 1970s, the American muscle car had entered a dark time. The Clean Air Act of 1970 caused manufacturers to add smog controls to their vehicles, leading to reduced horsepower and a move toward smaller-displacement engines. Then, in 1973, the OPEC oil embargo caused fuel prices to skyrocket, and made supplying thirsty big-blocks a difficult task.

One of our favorite aspects of classic car restoration is the impact it has on families across generations. Vehicles are often passed down from father to son to grandson, developing a significance that far transcends the metal, rubber, fabric, and glass they're constructed from.

The following poem comes courtesy of Hemmings Daily reader Vance Mehlenbacher in Camrose, Alberta, Canada. We liked it so much, we wanted to share it with all of you. We hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

At the SEMA show in Las Vegas, we were lucky enough to have Jeffery, Meggan, and Eric of The Car Chasers and Skidmarks Show stop by our booth. In this video, they explain how the Classic Industries parts catalogs have been essential to getting their project vehicles back on the road, especially in the rush before SEMA 2015.

The following Mopar lighting restoration article comes from our friend Kevin Shaw at Directly Connected, the internet's only daily Mopar magazine. For more excellent Mopar how-tos, photo galleries, and car features, be sure to check out DirectlyConnectedMagazine.com.

There are a lot of steps we’ve taken with our current street/strip ’69 Dodge Charger that we would’ve avoided had we had the chance to do it all over again. Key among them would be removing the dashboard for a full restoration when we had the windshield out over a decade ago. Why? Because nobody in their right mind likes crawling underneath their dashboard to try chase broken wires, missing plugs and replace lightbulbs.

The Dodge Dart is the definition of a car that punches above its weight class. Introduced in 1960 as an entry-level full-size model, the Dart quickly garnered a reputation for being both affordable and reliable. In 1967, thanks to a substantial redesign and more powerful engine options, the Dart became even more popular as an inexpensive platform for hot-rodding. It might not have had the raw power of a top-of-the-line Charger or Coronet, but it was significantly more affordable and had what all hot-rodders truly crave: potential.

If you've visited our Huntington Beach, California, Retail Showroom in the last few months, you'll no doubt recognize this week's featured car. That's because this 1970 Challenger R/T is currently on display in the center of the room! The Classic Industries Retail Showroom serves not only as a restoration parts storefront for local customers, but also as a showcase for timeless cars like this one. After all, what better way to demonstrate our ever-growing Mopar parts line than with a real car?

At Classic Industries, we love a good resto-mod build, and this mean 1968 Dodge Dart certainly ticks all the boxes. Owner David Fritz, of Irvine, California, knew from day one that he wanted to build an aggressive machine that could do double-duty on the street and drag strip, and he executed his plan over the course of 7 years. When he bought the Dart, it was a humble inline-6 in rough shape, and he tore it all apart to rebuild it with a different purpose entirely. This A-body Mopar car is made to turn heads and win races.

R/T--two letters that will instantly put a smile on the face of any classic Mopar enthusiast. Representing "Road/Track", the R/T package bridged the gap between an ordinary street car and a hardcore track machine. In the case of the 1970 Charger seen here, the R/T badges mean it came standard with a 440ci Magnum V8 that produced 375hp and a whopping 480lb-ft of torque. The R/T model also included heavy-duty suspension components, simulated scoops on the doors, sleek one-piece tail lamp trim, and a longitudinal rear "bumblebee" stripe. In 1970, the Charger R/T replaced the Charger 500 at the top of the model's three-level performance hierarchy (aside from the race-ready Daytona model).