Petty was born in Randleman, North Carolina. His grandfather Lee Petty won the inaugural Daytona 500 in 1959 and claimed three NASCAR championships. His father Richard is the most decorated driver in Cup Series history with seven championships. Petty grew up as a notable athlete at Randleman High School, where he excelled at quarterback and basketball and was offered college scholarships in both sports, which he declined in order to pursue racing. He was inducted into his school's Hall of Fame in 2016.
At eighteen, Petty made his major-league stock car debut and won the 1979 Daytona ARCA 200, becoming at the time the youngest driver to win a major-league stock car race. He drove one of his father's old 1978 Dodge Magnums to that victory.
Petty made his Winston Cup debut in the 1979 Talladega 500, driving a No. 42 STP Dodge Magnum — the same number his grandfather Lee had used — for Petty Enterprises. He scored a ninth-place finish in that first start. Through the early 1980s he ran the No. 42 full-time, achieving six top-ten finishes in 1980 and ten in 1981. He picked up 7-Eleven sponsorship in 1983, briefly switching his car number to 7. His results in this period were competitive but he had yet to win at the Cup level.
Petty joined Wood Brothers Racing in 1985 with the No. 21, achieving a career-high seven top-five finishes that year. In 1986, he won his first Cup race at the Miller High Life 400 at Richmond. The following year he claimed victory at the 1987 Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. He was released from the Wood Brothers ride after 1988, having fallen to thirteenth in points that season.
Petty joined the new SABCO Racing team in 1989, initially unsponsored before securing backing from Peak Antifreeze and Ames Department Stores. Peak became the full-time sponsor in 1990, and Petty won the GM Goodwrench 500 at North Carolina Speedway with a 26-second margin of victory. In 1991 he was running eleventh in points before suffering a broken leg in a crash at the Winston 500 at Talladega, causing him to miss eleven races.
His best season came in 1992, when he won twice — at Watkins Glen and Rockingham — and finished fifth in the championship standings, the highest points position of his career. He came close to the title that year: a flat tire at Phoenix and a broken engine in the final race prevented what could have been a three-way title fight with Bill Elliott and Alan Kulwicki. He won again at Pocono in 1993, then secured his final Cup victory at Dover in 1995 in the Miller Genuine Draft 500.
Beginning in 1997, Petty formed his own operation, PE2 Motorsports, fielding the No. 44 Hot Wheels Pontiac Grand Prix. He achieved two top-five finishes and nine top-tens that year, the highest points placement among new teams entering the 1997 season. He returned to Petty Enterprises in 1998 and took on the role of CEO.
Petty's racing in the 2000s was marked by personal tragedy. His son Adam died while practicing for a Busch Series race at New Hampshire International Speedway in May 2000. Kyle missed two races before returning to drive the No. 44 and later moved to the Busch Series full-time to finish the season in Adam's No. 45 Sprint Chevrolet. He subsequently brought the No. 45 to the Cup Series full-time in 2001 under the Petty Enterprises banner, continuing until 2008.
In 2007, at the Coca-Cola 600, Petty recorded his first top-five finish in a decade, placing third. His final Cup start came at Phoenix International Raceway in the fall of 2008, after which he stepped away from driving.
Petty transitioned smoothly into broadcast commentary. He worked as a color commentator for TNT's Nextel Cup coverage from 2007, stepping in to replace Benny Parsons following Parsons' death. He appeared on Fox Sports shows including NASCAR Trackside, NASCAR Victory Lane, and NASCAR RaceDay in the early 2010s. Since 2015 he has worked for NBC Sports on their NASCAR broadcasts. In 2025, he received the Jim Hunter Media Award from the North Carolina Motorsports Association.
He has hosted the television series Dinner Drive with Kyle Petty on Circle Network, in which he takes celebrity guests on drives in notable vehicles before sharing meals and conversation. The show ran for three seasons as of 2026.
Petty founded the Kyle Petty Charity Ride Across America in 1995, an annual motorcycle charity ride that has raised over $23 million for Victory Junction and other children's charities as of 2026. Victory Junction, established to honor Adam Petty, is a facility serving children with serious illnesses and chronic medical conditions.
Petty pursued a brief professional music career after being signed to RCA Records in 1986. His single "The Other Guy" led to television appearances on Hee Haw and opening sets for acts including Randy Travis and The Oak Ridge Boys. Disagreements with his record label and management caused him to abandon the album project. He later recorded "Oh King Richard," a tribute to his father written by Rodney Crowell, released in 1995 on a NASCAR-themed country compilation. Petty has continued to perform live sporadically, including a set at the Grand Ole Opry in June 2021 during NASCAR's Nashville weekend.
Petty has been married twice: to Pattie Petty from 1979 to 2012, and to Morgan Petty from 2015. He has six children, including Adam Kyler Petty (1980–2000), Austin Kemp Petty (born 1982), and Montgomery Lee Petty Schlappi (born 1985). He also has at least one grandchild.
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