Even though Jay Leno seemingly has met every celebrity, and driven every car imaginable, he apparently still can get star struck riding with members of a legendary racing family in the most recognizable race cars from their careers.
He recently hung out at a race track with Richard and Kyle Petty while filming for Wednesday’s episode of “Jay Leno’s Garage,” and both the former talk show host and his camera crew could barely contain their excitement. Leno rode shotgun with Kyle in his No. 42 Melo Yellow-branded car from the 1990s, while “The King” drove alongside them in his legendary No. 43 Plymouth Superbird from the 1970 season.
At one point during the ride, Leno, with a smile from ear-to-ear, noted that the Superbird “looks so cool.” But one of his camera men, while filming close-ups of the Melo Yellow car, gave the most enthusiastic reaction of the day.
“Oh yeah, baby! Oh yeah!” he said as Kyle approached the camera car. “If we’re going to die, we’re going out with glory!”
It’s always funny to see Leno get this excited during episodes of “Jay Leno’s Garage,” considering how big his own car collection is. He’s probably seen plenty of examples of the road-going Chrysler “winged cars” — the Superbird and Dodge Charger Daytona — but there’s something special about seeing the racer that made those cars famous.
