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The king NASCAR Driver Richard Petty
Date of Birth: July 2, 1937
Hometown: Randleman, NC
Years of Competition:1958--1992
NASCAR Cup Titles: Seven (1964, 1967, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1979)
Victories:200 (Holds most wins in NASCAR history)
Career Earnings: $7,755,409
When you say the name RICHARD PETTY, do you hear its iconic echos? Figuratively , I do hear it when ever someone mentions his name. Long before he became King Richard, his father, Lee Petty laid down the path for his career, let alone the foundation of NASCAR. The Petty name is forever one that will be the backbone on which the sport was built. Richard took the reigns to the Petty car in 1964 shortly after his father was seriously injured to a point where Lee Petty had to hang up his helmet. Richard then went on to become one of the most reputable and most recognized drivers in NASCAR history.
In his 1,177 starts, Petty claimed 127 pole positions. He won a total of seven Cup titles and a record setting 200 races that no driver will ever break. Dale Earnhardt Sr. is the only other driver (deceased) to hold that magic number of 7 championships. Richard also holds record for the most wins in one season (27 races won in 1967), with ten of those wins consecutively! NASCAR would have been nothing, without Richard Petty, which is why he is known as King Richard.
Richard Petty, was born in Level Cross, North Carolina on June 2, 1937. Who would have known that during that era, a legend was born. From humble beginnings, Lee Petty laid down the seeds, from which the roots of racing had begun. Lee Petty was the first driver to win three WINSTON CUP Titles, winning the very first Daytona 500, edging out Johnny Beauchamp in a photo finish that resulted in NASCAR to take three days to determine the winner. Lee Petty was handed the trophy to that first 500 race the day after. He claimed 54 victories in 433 starts and at the time was considered the best driver all time total wins. His famous son, Richard, broke that title in 1964. During a 100-mile qualifying race at Daytona the following year, Petty was seriously injured after his car and Beauchamps car locked bumpers and went hurtling through the guardrail on the mighty high banks and ended up in the track parking lot. He continued to run the family racing business with sons Maurice and Richard and nephew Dale Inman. Dale would play a pivotal role in Richards career. Lee Petty was named of NASCARs 50 Greatest Drivers in history and was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1990. He created a dynasty on which the building blocks of NASCAR were erected.
The following year in 1972, he continued to dominate with a win at the first road-course race at the now defunct Riverside Speedway, carrying the the logo of his new sponsor, STP, a relationship that lasted for 30 seasons and continues to do so till this very day on the familiar Petty Blue racecars in which Bobby Labonte will be the new driver to fill the #43 seat in 2006. He won his fifth Daytona 500 in 1974, finishing with 10 wins and 22 top-fives in 30 races. In 1975 he won the series title with a 722 point margin over former driver Dave Marcis, finishing out the season with 13 wins in 30 starts. He swept both Charlotte races, North Wilkesboro and Bristol. He won his seventh and final NASCAR series title in 1979, a record that stood until Dale Earnhardt tied it with his seventh title in 1994. Petty won his sixth Daytona 500 in an Oldsmobile, but drove a Chevrolet most of the season in 1979. The Daytona 500 win was punctuated with a free for all fight between Cale Yarborough and Bobby Allison along with his brother Donnie Allison. While Bobby and Cale battled it out, and wrecked, Richard came from 3rd place to snatch the win. The ensuing fight between the Allisons and Yarborough was generally regarded as a turning point in national television attention for the blossoming NASCAR series
Richard Petty & Dale Earnhardt-2 Seven-Time NASCAR Champions
The 1984 race at the Daytona 500 is the most memorable race of Richard Pettys career, because it marked his 200th record setting win. President Ronald Reagan was the first sitting President to attend a NASCAR race. From Air Force One, the commander in chief ordered the "gentleman start your engines." The ending of the race was every bit as historic as the beginning. It was when royalty ascended to new heights, The King, Richard Petty, had been stuck on 199 wins since May. His total was and is far and away the most ever, but he wanted to crest that 200 mark. There was an accident with three laps to go, which meant a mad dash to the finish line of that lap would determine the winner. Petty narrowly edged Cale Yarborough, then crawled the last two laps. The 80,000 fans in attendance stood on their feet, knowing they were about to witness history in the making. As Air Force One descended in the background of the famed race track, Richard Petty hit the 200 mark, but that win would prove to be his last. He drove until 1992, but never visited victory lane.
Today Richard Petty continues to be a pivotal part of PETTY ENTERPRISES, which was started by his father Lee Petty who passed away in on April 5th of 2000. That same year, the Pettys were met with more grief when Richards son Kyle Petty (#45 Georgia Pacific car) lost his own son, Adam Petty at the tender age of 18 in a crash at New Hampshire International Speedway. It was a very difficult year for the Petty clan, losing Lee and Adam within months of each of other. Kyle Petty continues to race in honor of his sons name and is using the number 45 in memory of Adam. Kyle and Patty Petty continued to honor Adams memory by turning a dream into reality in June of 2004 by creating and building a place called the "Victory Junction Camp", a summer home for chronically ill children. Kyle and Patty were both acknowledged for the Myers Brothers Award, which recognizes individuals and/or groups who have provided outstanding contributions to the sport of stock car racing
Richard Petty throughout his career conveyed that same emotion to his loyal fans, having won the Most Popular Driver Award 9 times. Wearing his trademark cowboy hat and shades, with the little STP logo, Petty signs autographs for his fans everywhere he goes, and he does not leave until the very last fan is satisfied. As a celebrity, Richard Pettys main asset is the honest, heartfelt and vibrant love he feels for his fans. The fans in turn feel his warmth and sincerity and The King inspires an example of the greatest loyalty other figures in the spotlight can only even imagine, let alone dream about. In the public eye, Richard Petty makes it crystal clear that the two most important things in his life are his family and his fans. Although Petty retired in 1992, he has not lost that desire to be in the hunt for victory. He continues to be there on on race day to support all the Petty cars.
If you ever get a chance to meet The King, savor the moment, because you are in the midst of a legend, one whom has the Petty image and name burned into our memories forever. There will never be another race car driver or person like Richard Petty, that is why he earned the name," The King".
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