Richard Lee Petty

Petty was born in Level Cross, North Carolina, the son of Elizabeth Petty and Lee Arnold Petty — also a NASCAR driver — and the older brother of Maurice Petty. He enjoyed whittling and worked at his uncles' tobacco fields. He attended Randleman High School, where he was an All-Conference guard on the football team, and graduated in 1955. He then took a business course at Greensboro Junior College before joining his father's racing company, Petty Enterprises.

Petty began his NASCAR career on July 18, 1958, sixteen days after his 21st birthday, at CNE Stadium in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In 1959, he was named NASCAR Rookie of the Year after producing nine top-ten finishes, including six top-five finishes. He participated in the inaugural Daytona 500 at the new Daytona International Speedway, but engine trouble ended his day and he joined his father Lee's pit crew — who won the race. In Lakewood, Georgia in 1959, Petty won his first race, though his father protested claiming a scoring error, and Lee was later awarded the win.

In 1960, Petty finished second in the NASCAR Grand National Points Race and secured his first career win at the Charlotte Fairgrounds Speedway. In 1963, wins at tracks including Martinsville and Bridgehampton marked his breakout year.

In 1964, driving a Plymouth with a new Hemi engine, Petty led 184 of the 200 laps to capture his first Daytona 500, earning over $114,000. He secured nine victories and his first Grand National championship.

Following NASCAR's ban of the Hemi engine, Petty joined a Chrysler boycott in 1965 and competed as a drag racer. Petty Enterprises installed the Hemi in a compact Barracuda 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. Lawsuits totaling over $1 million were filed; Petty and his team reached settlements within one month. A second Hemi Barracuda was built, eventually with Hilborn fuel injection and lettered "43 JR," winning its class at the Bristol Spring Nationals. Petty continued drag racing the 43 JR until early 1966.

On February 27, 1966, Petty overcame a two-lap deficit to win his second Daytona 500 when the race was stopped on lap 198 of 200 due to a thunderstorm, making him the first driver to win the event twice. In 1966, he also won the first ever race at Middle Georgia Raceway (Morelock 200).

In 1967, Petty won 27 of the 48 races he entered — a record — including a record ten consecutive wins between August 12 and October 1. He won his second Grand National Championship. One of the 27 victories was the Southern 500 at Darlington, his only Southern 500 win. His dominance earned him the nickname "King Richard," previously known as "the Randleman Rocket."

In 1968, Petty won sixteen races including the last ever race at Occoneechee Speedway. In 1969, believing his Plymouth was not competitive on super-speedways, he switched to Ford and won ten races, finishing second in points. In 1970, he returned to Plymouth in the sleek new Plymouth Superbird with its shark nose and towel rack wing.

On February 14, 1971, Petty won his third Daytona 500, driving a new Plymouth Road Runner and beating Buddy Baker by little more than a car length, becoming the first driver to win the race three times. He won twenty more races that year — making him the first driver to earn more than $1 million in career earnings — and claimed his third Grand National Championship. At the end of 1971, Chrysler ended direct factory funding to the Petty team.

In 1972, STP began a 28-year sponsorship arrangement with Petty. After an all-night negotiation, the familiar STP orange and "Petty Blue" paint scheme was agreed upon. Petty won his fourth NASCAR Cup Series championship with 28 top-ten finishes, 25 top-five finishes, and eight victories. Mid-season he debuted a 1972 Dodge Charger, winning one race in it.

In 1973, driving a newly built 1973 Dodge Charger, Petty won his fourth Daytona 500 after Buddy Baker's engine gave out with six laps remaining. In 1974, he won the Daytona "450" — shortened twenty laps due to the energy crisis — and claimed his fifth Winston Cup Championship.

In 1975, Petty won the World 600 for the first time, one of thirteen victories en route to his sixth Winston Cup. Thirteen wins in 30 races is a modern-era NASCAR record, tied in 1998 by Jeff Gordon (who won thirteen from 33 races).

The 1976 Daytona 500 produced one of the most famous finishes in NASCAR history. On the last lap out of turn 4, Petty and David Pearson made contact: both spun and hit the front stretch wall. Petty's car came to rest yards from the finish line but his engine stalled. Pearson's engine kept running; he drove his damaged car across the finish line to win while Petty's crew failed to push the stalled car to the line.

In 1979, Petty won the Daytona 500 in an Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme in what became known as the "Famous Finish" — the first Daytona 500 televised live flag-to-flag. He won as the first and second place cars of Donnie Allison and Cale Yarborough crashed on the last lap. Petty held off Darrell Waltrip and A. J. Foyt. With the East Coast snowed in by a blizzard, CBS had a captive audience; the race is regarded as the genesis of the current surge in NASCAR's popularity. This win was part of Petty's seventh and last NASCAR Winston Cup Championship, won by eleven points — the closest points margin in NASCAR history until 1992.

In 1980, Petty won two races early in the year at North Wilkesboro and Nashville, but a violent crash at Pocono in July ended his championship hopes. He finished fourth in points.

In 1981, after a call from Lee Iacocca, Petty built a 1981 Dodge Mirada for Daytona. Testing drew 15,000 fans on January 17, 1981, but the car could do no better than 186 mph — about eight mph slower than the GM and Ford cars. Petty opted for a Buick Regal for the Daytona race instead. In the 1981 Daytona 500, with 25 laps to go, Petty pitted for fuel only, outfoxed Bobby Allison, and grabbed his seventh and final Daytona 500 win. Crew chief Dale Inman left the team after this race.

For 1982, Petty moved to the Pontiac Grand Prix. That season was winless, as was 1978. In 1983, he won three races, breaking a 43-race winless streak with a win in the Carolina 500, edging out Bill Elliott.

On May 20, 1984, Petty won the Budweiser 500 at Dover International Speedway — recognized under modern regulations as his two-hundredth Cup class win. On July 4, 1984, he won the officially-recognized two-hundredth (and final) race of his career, the Firecracker 400 at Daytona International Speedway. Petty and Cale Yarborough diced it out on a caution-shortened last lap, with Petty crossing the finish line a fender-length ahead. President Ronald Reagan attended — the first sitting president at a NASCAR race — and celebrated with Petty and his family in victory lane.

In early 1988, Petty travelled to Australia to promote a NASCAR exhibition race at Calder Park Thunderdome. During testing at the 1.119 mi track, he set an unofficial lap record of 28.2 seconds (142.85 mph). In the 1988 Daytona 500 on lap 106, Petty was turned by Phil Barkdoll out of turn 4. His car tumbled many times and rode along the catch fence, then was T-boned by Brett Bodine. He walked away with no serious injuries except temporary sight loss due to excessive g-forces.

On October 1, 1991, Petty announced he would retire after the 1992 season. His year-long Fan Appreciation Tour took him around the country. He managed to qualify for all 29 races in 1992. His final race, the Hooters 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway — attended by a record 160,000 spectators — also marked the start of Jeff Gordon's NASCAR career and a six-driver championship battle. Alan Kulwicki won the championship by ten points. Petty's car caught fire on lap 94; his pit crew got it running again and with two laps to go he pulled out of the pits and was credited with finishing 35th. After the race, he circled the track one final time to salute the fans.

Petty is remembered for surviving several catastrophic accidents. In the 1970 Rebel 400 at Darlington, his Plymouth Road Runner cut a tire and slammed the wall, flipping several times; the accident injured his shoulder and helped Bobby Isaac win the 1970 Grand National Championship. The incident also contributed to NASCAR mandating the Petty-developed driver's side window safety net. In a 1980 Pocono race, Petty broke his neck hitting the Turn 2 wall but raced the following Sunday at Talladega. The 1988 Daytona 500 crash described above saw his car become airborne despite carburetor restrictor plates mandated for Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway just before the start of the 1988 season.

As team owner through Petty Enterprises and its successors, Petty developed the career of crew chief Robbie Loomis. Bobby Hamilton drove Petty Enterprises cars to wins at Phoenix in 1996 and North Carolina Speedway in 1997, and John Andretti won the 1999 Goody's Body Pain 500 at Martinsville. In 2008, Petty Enterprises was bought out by Gillett-Evernham Motorsports and eventually renamed Richard Petty Motorsports. In November 2022, Jimmie Johnson purchased an ownership stake in what would become Legacy Motor Club, with Petty serving as a team ambassador.

Petty's records include the most starts (1,185), most victories (200), most poles (123), most wins in a season (27), most consecutive wins (10), most Daytona 500 wins (7), and most wins from the pole in a season (15). During his career he led 51,514 laps — nearly 20,000 more than second-place Cale Yarborough's 31,556. Petty won at least one race in 18 straight seasons from 1960 to 1977, a record that stood for 46 years before Kyle Busch passed it in 2023. He ranks first all-time with 55 superspeedway wins and 139 short track wins. He won at every type of track.

Petty was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1997, the National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame in 1998, and the NASCAR Hall of Fame in its inaugural class in 2010. He was the sole stock car representative in the first class of the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1989 and the first man inducted into the North Carolina Auto Racing Hall of Fame in 1997. He was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in 2002 and the North Carolina Drag Racing Hall of Fame in 2016. He was named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers in 1998 and one of NASCAR's 75 Greatest Drivers in 2023. President George Bush awarded him the Medal of Freedom in 1992 — the first motorsports athlete honored with this award.

Among his competitors, Benny Parsons told the Greenville (S.C.) News in 1972: "The consistency Petty has is remarkable, and the good equipment helps, but there's something else. He knows everything there is to possibly know in racing. That's why he's so great." A. J. Foyt called Petty "the greatest stock car driver ever." Brad Keselowski stated in 2025 that Petty is the greatest driver in NASCAR history and does not get enough credit.

The Richard Petty Driver of the Year Award is given by the National Motorsports Press Association to recognize the most outstanding driver of each NASCAR season.

This article is based solely on the supplied corpus. No external sources were consulted; claims that could not be substantiated against the corpus were omitted under the drop-the-claim rule.