The 1981 NASCAR Cup Series® season was the season where Kyle Petty earned the full-time opportunity to continue the Petty family’s iconic legacy - and he took full advantage of just that. After making limited starts in the premier NASCAR® season over the course of the previous two seasons, Petty raced the entire 1981 schedule with a familiar – yet different – paint scheme to the one wheeled by his legendary father, Richard. For years before Kyle’s first full-time season, his dad – “The King” – had a sponsorship from STP on board his legendary No. 43 cars. When Kyle made the leap to compete in all 31 of the series’ races on the 1981 schedule, that Petty family partnership with STP extended to Kyle’s No. 42 car. The younger Petty’s car would sport the same colors, but in an inverse pattern from the Petty blue and dayglow red livery of his dad’s. Kyle Petty went on to a solid 1981 season, earning one top-five finish and a 12th-place result inthe season’s final standings. It was the catalyst to what became his iconic on-track career that lasted 30 years and spawned numerous victories and accolades.As part of the 75th Anniversary celebration of the Petty family’s participation in NASCAR®, Lionel Racing is proud to offer Kyle Petty’s 1981 STP Buick die-cast.