Richard “The King” Petty Talks NASCAR Safety History in ALI Video
Seven-time NASCAR champion Richard “The King” Petty is the star of the latest Automotive Lift Institute (ALI) video, which documents his surprise appearance at October’s Lift Inspector Certification Program kick-off.
The short video begins as the kick-off meeting is wrapping up. When ALI President R.W. “Bob” O’Gorman asks if there are any more questions from the audience, Petty pipes up from the back of the room with, “Yeah, I’ve got questions.” He receives a standing ovation as he walks to the podium. In his talk to the more than 300 attendees, Petty reflects on his experience with lift safety in his family’s NASCAR team garages going back to a time when they worked on dirt floors.
“When we first started, there was no safety. We didn’t get anything inspected,” Petty says in the video. He goes on to praise ALI’s new lift inspector certification program: “If you feel like you can save somebody’s life, it’s worth all the trouble.” A link to the video is posted on ALI’s homepage (www.autolift.org) and YouTube page (www.youtube.com/liftinstitute).
The ALI Lift Inspector Certification Program was launched Oct. 31 at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas. It was created to provide third-party qualification of vehicle lift inspectors and to certify those who demonstrate that they are qualified to properly inspect vehicle lifts in accordance with ANSI standards and in support of OSHA’s General Duty Clause and provincial requirements in Canada.
Detailed materials about the program can be found at www.autolift.org/certified-inspectors. The relationship between Petty and ALI started in 2005, when he and son Kyle Petty teamed up to host ALI’s Lifting It Right DVD lift safety training program. ALI sponsors the Petty’s Garage Performance Tour and the Petty’s Garage annual Spring Fling Car Show.
To learn more about ALI, visit www.autolift.org or call (607) 756-7775. You can also connect with ALI on Facebook at www.facebook.com/LiftInstitute, on Twitter at www.twitter.com/LiftInstitute, and on YouTube at www.youtube.com/LiftInstitute.
About ALI
Founded in 1945, the Automotive Lift Institute (ALI) is a trade association of North American-based lift manufacturers. ALI’s mission is to promote the safe design, construction, installation, service, inspection and use of automotive lifts. In 1947, ALI developed the first Commercial Standard covering vehicle lifts published by the National Bureau of Standards. Today, ALI sponsors several national lift safety standards and offers third- party certification programs for automotive lifts and automotive lift inspectors.
Category: Fleet Maintenance, General Update