Richard Petty

Lore & Background

Petty was inducted into the inaugural class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2010. He is also statistically the most accomplished driver in the history of NASCAR, having racked up most wins (two-hundred), most poles (123), tied for most championships (seven), most wins in a season (27), most Daytona 500 wins (seven), most consecutive wins (ten) and most starts (1,185). He earns broad respect in motorsport where beyond driving, he remains very active as both a team ambassador (Legacy Motor Club) in the Cup Series and owner of Petty's Garage (a car restoration and modification shop) in Level Cross, North Carolina.

During his 35-year career, Petty collected a record number of poles (123) and over seven-hundred top-ten finishes in a record 1,184 starts, including 513 consecutive starts from 1971 to 1989. Petty was the first driver to win in his 500th race start, being joined by Matt Kenseth in 2013. The Richard Petty Museum was formerly in nearby Randleman, North Carolina, but moved back to its original location in Level Cross in March 2014. Petty has also voiced a role in Disney/Pixar's animated films Cars and Cars 3, playing Strip "The King" Weathers, a character partially based on himself.

He has also been active in Republican politics, serving as a county commissioner for sixteen years and making an unsuccessful run for North Carolina Secretary of State in 1996.

Reader's Guide

Petty was born in Level Cross, North Carolina, the son of Elizabeth Petty (née Toomes) and Lee Arnold Petty, also a NASCAR driver, and the older brother of NASCAR personality Maurice Petty. Growing up Petty enjoyed whittling and would work at his uncles tobacco fields. He was educated in Randleman, North Carolina and attended Randleman High School, where he was an All-Conference guard on the football team. After his 1955 graduation, he took a business course at Greensboro Junior College, then began work for his father's racing company, Petty Enterprises.

Petty began his NASCAR career on July 18, 1958, sixteen days after his 21st birthday. His first race was held at CNE Stadium in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In 1959, he was named NASCAR Rookie of the Year, after he produced nine top-ten finishes, including six top-five finishes. That year, he had participated in the inaugural Daytona 500 at the new Daytona International Speedway, but after his day ended due to engine trouble, he joined his father Lee's pit crew, who won the race.

In Lakewood, Georgia in 1959, Petty won his first race, but his father Lee protested, complaining of a scoring error on the officials' part. Hours later, Lee was awarded the win. In 1960, he finished second in the NASCAR Grand National Points Race, and got his first career win at the Charlotte Fairgrounds Speedway. 1963 was his breakout year, winning at tracks like Martinsville and Bridgehampton. In 1964, driving a potent Plymouth with a new Hemi engine, Petty led 184 of the 200 laps to capture his first Daytona 500, en route to nine victories, earning over $114,000 and his first Grand National championship.

Joining in the Chrysler boycott of NASCAR due to the organizing body's ban of the Hemi engine, Petty spent much of 1965 competing as a drag racer. Petty Enterprises installed the Hemi in the new compact Barracuda and lettered "OUTLAWED" on the door. He crashed this car at Southeastern Dragway, in Dallas, Georgia, on February 28, 1965, killing an eight-year-old boy and injuring seven others. Petty, his father Lee, and Chrysler Corporation faced lawsuits totaling more than $1 million, though Petty and his team came to settlements with the lawsuits within one month of the suits being filed.

Afterwards, a second Hemi Barracuda was built, this time with an altered wheelbase and eventually with Hilborn fuel injection.

Did You Know?

• Petty's first career win was at the Charlotte Fairgrounds Speedway in 1960, not at Columbia Speedway.
• Petty voiced Strip 'The King' Weathers in Cars (2006) and Cars 3 (2017), but not in Cars 2 (2011).