At some point during the race, my editor caught me completely off guard. He handed me a 500mm lens—no small piece of glass in the film era—and casually instructed me to head up into the blimp to photograph the race-leading Porsche 935, driven by A.J. Foyt, Bob Wollek, and Derek Bell. Just like that, my perspective on Sebring was about to change—literally.

Back then, photographers had the freedom to wander in and out of garages, talk to anyone, and generally move around as long as we respected the space. So I stepped right in, introduced myself as a UPI photographer, and asked Petty if he’d mind if I got on the floor to make a few photos of him under the car. His reply was simple:“Knock yourself out.”