JR Hildebrand wasn’t allowed to drive a modified IndyCar up Pikes Peak, but he has an alternative that’s also pretty damn cool: Kyle Petty’s #44 Hot Wheels Pontiac Grand Prix.

Son of NASCAR great Richard Petty, Kyle raced the #44 with Hot Wheels sponsorship from 1997 to 2000. 1999 was his first season back at the family-run Petty Enterprises after a two-year run as an owner–driver, ranking 26th in the Cup Series standings with nine top-ten finishes but also failing to qualify twice. The car ran one more season, a part-time calendar overshadowed by the death of his son Adam, before the team switched to Dodge for 2001.

Hildebrand never raced in NASCAR himself, being a longtime IndyCar veteran, but he was keen on trying something unique. After the IndyCar idea was shelved, he planned to take part in a Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 but that was dropped too because of “things outside of my control”.

Eventually, he got his hands on the Grand Prix. Of course, modifications had to be made to ensure it can handle hillclimbing.

“We have been busting it on this thing to get ready to come out here and do one of the most challenging events in all of motorsports,” said Hildebrand. “Unquestionably, very objectively, a thing that it was not meant to do in, period. It’s definitely not meant to do now, not been prepped for, but to be frank, this is exactly why I bought this car: should the occasion arise, I’d have something that could step up.”

In a restoration that Hildebrand called a “full and very proper rebuild,” the engine was swapped out for a Bullet Racing Engine while modern components such as a three-way adjustable damper from Motion Control Suspension were also installed. Otherwise, most of the car remains as it was in 1999.

He tested the car at Pueblo Motorsports Park last Thursday and Friday. Sports car veteran Tyler McQuarrie also helped shake down the car.

“She still moves like the ‘old’ Cup cars did and we’re keeping it that way because it’s cooler,” wrote Hildebrand in an Instagram Story. “(Plus, she fuckin’ boogies when it’s right!)”

The car will compete in the Pikes Peak Open class, one of 26 entrants.

While more common in decades past, there have continued to be cases of NASCAR stock cars (not to be confused with the Stock Car class for production vehicles) being used for the PPIHC. The most recent case was in 2020 when Rob “Chairslayer” Parsons raced a 2014 Chevrolet SS formerly driven by Martin Truex Jr. with hand controls from Falci Adaptive Motorsports, a company run by Truex’s former employer Barney Visser to design racing controls for drivers with disabilities.

The 2025 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb will take place on June 22.

Featured image credit: David Taylor / Getty Images