against the incumbent Democrat, Leo T. McCarthy, in a bitterly contested race, largely run on the issue of punishment for drug trafficking and violent crimes. A vocal opponent of drug use, Curb advocated extension of the death penalty to include drug pushers whose narcotics trafficking resulted in a death. As of 2021, he is the last Republican elected lieutenant governor; Abel Maldonado was appointed to the position by then Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger but lost the subsequent election to then San Francisco mayor and future Governor Gavin Newsom. In 1980, Curb was co-chairman of Ronald Reagan's successful presidential campaign. Curb was also chairman of the convention program in Detroit and was later appointed by Reagan to be chairman of the national finance committee. Involvement in car racing A motorsport enthusiast, Curb is a co-owner of the Curb Agajanian Performance Group, a team that has won 10 national championships. His sponsorship and ownership have included three of NASCAR's most celebrated drivers: he previously owned Richard Petty's famed No. 43 car in 1984 and 1985, during which Petty achieved his 199th and 200th career wins. Curb was also a sponsor for Dale Earnhardt during his 1980 Winston Cup championship winning season, and sponsored Darrell Waltrip's No. 12 Toyota Tundra in the Craftsman Truck Series, driven by Joey Miller in 2006. Curb-Agajanian also ran cars for many years in the Indianapolis 500, including for Dan Wheldon and Alexander Rossi, with whom he won the 2011 and 2016 Indianapolis 500s respectively. Curb was the only car owner to win in all 10 NASCAR auto racing series in the United States – the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (formerly Nextel/Sprint Cup and Winston Cup), the Xfinity Series (formerly the Nationwide series and Busch Series), the Gander Outdoors Truck Series (formerly the Camping World Truck Series and Craftsman Truck Series), the Grand-Am Rolex Daytona Prototype National Sports Car Series (now the United Sports Car Series merged with American Le Mans), the IMSA GT Series (formerly IMSA Camel GT), Continental Series (formerly IMSA GTS), the Late Model All American Series, the Modifieds and the K&N East and West Series. Curb was the co-owner with Richard Childress of the No. 98 Chevrolet driven by Austin Dillon. Curb is also a long-time sponsor of ThorSport Racing in the Truck Series, being part-owner of the team's No. 98 Ford driven by Grant Enfinger. He also maintained a similar partnership with Phil