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Richard Petty

Richard Lee Petty (born July 2, 1937), nicknamed "the King", is an American former stock car racing driver who competed from 1958 to 1992 in the former NASCAR Grand National and Winston Cup Series (now called the NASCAR Cup Series), most notably driving the No. 43 Plymouth/Pontiac for Petty Enterprises. He is one of the members of the Petty racing family. He was the first driver to win the Cup Series championship seven times (a record now tied with Dale Earnhardt and Jimmie Johnson),[1] while also winning a record 200 races during his career.[1] This included winning the Daytona 500 a record seven times and winning a record 27 races[1] in one season (1967).[2]

For the former president & C.E.O. of Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment, see Richard Peddie. For the psychology professor, see Richard E. Petty.

Richard Petty

Richard Lee Petty
(1937-07-02) July 2, 1937
Level Cross, Randolph County, North Carolina, U.S.

1964, 1967, Grand National Series Champion
1971, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1979 Winston Cup Series Champion
Tied with Dale Earnhardt and Jimmie Johnson for most NASCAR Cup Series Championships (7)
1964, 1966, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1979, 1981 Daytona 500 Winner
1967 Southern 500 Winner
1975, 1977 World 600 Winner
1983 Winston 500 Winner
All-Time Wins Leader in NASCAR Cup Series (200)
All-Time Poles Leader in NASCAR Cup Series (123)
Holds record for most NASCAR Cup Series wins in a season (27 in 1967)
Holds record for most consecutive NASCAR Cup Series wins (10 in 1967)
Most all time wins at Daytona International Speedway (10)

1959 Grand National Series Rookie of the Year
NASCAR's Most Popular Driver (1962, 1964, 1968, 1970, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978)
Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (1989)
International Motorsports Hall of Fame (1997)
NASCAR Hall of Fame (2010)
Diecast Hall of Fame (2011)
Named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers (1998)
Presidential Medal of Freedom (1992)
Named one of NASCAR's 75 Greatest Drivers (2023)

1st (1964, 1967, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1979)

1958 Jim Mideon 500 (Toronto)

1992 Hooters 500 (Atlanta)

1960 untitled race (Southern States)

1984 Firecracker 400 (Daytona)

4th (1959)

1958 Race No. 14 (Columbia)

1959 Race No. 14 (Greenville-Pickens)

1959 Race No. 13 (Columbia)

Petty was inducted into the inaugural class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2010.[3] He is also statistically, one of the most accomplished driver in the history of NASCAR, having racked up most wins (200), most poles (123), tied for most championships (seven), most wins in a season (27), most Daytona 500 wins (seven), most consecutive wins (10) and most starts (1,185).[4]


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 700 top 10 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.

Personal life

Petty is a second-generation driver. His father, Lee Petty, won the first Daytona 500 in 1959 and was also a three-time NASCAR champion. In 1958, Petty married Lynda Owens, who would die of cancer on March 25, 2014, at her home in Level Cross, North Carolina at age 72.[5][6] Lynda's brother Randy Owens was a member of Petty's pit crew and killed at age 19 during a pit road accident when a water tank exploded during the 1975 Winston 500. Richard and Lynda had four children, including Kyle Petty.[7] The family resides in Petty's home town of Level Cross, North Carolina.


Petty's son Kyle was also a NASCAR driver. His grandson, Adam (Kyle's son), was killed in a practice crash at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on May 12, 2000, five weeks after the death of Lee Petty. Adam's brother Austin is Emeritus Chairman and Founder of Victory Junction, a SeriousFun Children's Network camp established by the Pettys after Adam's death.

In the 1970 at Darlington, Petty was injured when his Plymouth Road Runner cut a tire and slammed hard into the wall separating the track from the pit area. The car flipped several times before coming to rest on its side. This accident injured Petty's shoulder and helped Bobby Isaac to win the 1970 Grand National Championship. During the accident, Petty's head hit the track pavement several times, a mishap that, along with Joe Weatherly's fatal crash six years earlier, led NASCAR to mandate the installation of the Petty-developed safety net that covers the driver's side window.

Rebel 400

In a 1980 race at , Petty slammed the Turn 2 wall, nearly flipping the car. He barely escaped, breaking his neck in the wreck, but still raced the next Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway.[23] This is unlikely to happen now because of modern NASCAR rules requiring an official series medical liaison to clear a driver after a crash.

Pocono

In the 1988 , on Lap 106, Petty got turned by Phil Barkdoll out of turn 4. Petty's car went aloft, tumbled many times, rode along the catch fence, and hurled parts all over the front stretch at the Daytona International Speedway. After several flips, Petty was t-boned by Brett Bodine before coming to a stop. Petty walked away with no serious injuries, except for temporary sight loss due to excessive g-forces. The crash was similar to the accident suffered by Bobby Allison during the 1987 Winston 500 at Talladega Superspeedway and Carl Edwards's 2009 Talladega crash in that, in all three cases, the racers' cars became airborne after turning sideways and damaged the spectator fencing (though much less in Petty's case). Petty's car became airborne despite the use of the carburetor restrictor plate, which was mandated by NASCAR for races at Talladega Superspeedway and Daytona International Speedway just before the start of the 1988 season.

Daytona 500

Politics

In 1978, Petty was elected to the Randolph County Commission as a Republican.[25] In 1980 he endorsed John Connally for the Republican nomination for president. According to Petty, it was a "tossup" between Connally and Ronald Reagan, but he chose Connally "basically on personality. And Connally's been there in Washington a lot of times doing a lot of things. He knows the system better."[26] He was reelected to the county commission in 1982, 1986, and 1990.[27][28] During his 1992 retirement tour, Petty took a parade lap before every race with the exception of the Southern 500, where Democratic presidential candidate Bill Clinton served as grand marshal.[29] In 1993, Petty formed a political action committee to support Republican candidates.[30] In 1996, he was the Republican nominee for North Carolina Secretary of State, but was defeated by State Senator Elaine Marshall in the general election. Petty was mistakenly seen as a shoo-in, and his campaigning was sporadic. Following his loss, Petty stated, "If I had known I wasn't going to win, I wouldn't have run."[31] In June 2016, he made an appearance on stage with Donald Trump.[32]

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

In 2011, Petty was featured in the show Modern HotrodZ. Petty's Garage now builds Custom cars for the general public, most of which are Limited Edition.

He appeared as himself in the movie driving in his famous blue No. 43 car, and letting Bud drive his car to Air Force One to meet the President.

Swing Vote

Petty voiced (a fictionalized version of himself), also known as "The King", in the Disney/Pixar animated movie Cars (2006). His car, the Road Runner Superbird with the distinctive "Petty Blue" tint and the number 43, is also the model used for the car in the movie. He is hoping to get one more victory in him before he can retire from racing on the Piston Cup circuit. Though The King's accident caused by his longtime running rival Chick Hicks at the end of the film was a re-creation of Rusty Wallace's real-life Winston 500 accident in 1993, the bit in which rookie racer Lightning McQueen assists him to the finish line is based on the 1976 incident, albeit by the pit crew. Petty's wife Lynda voiced The King's wife, a 1976 Chrysler Town & Country station-wagon (based on Petty's family car), in that movie as well. Petty's character did not appear in Cars 2 (2011), but did return in Cars 3 (2017), in which Petty voiced his character as the crew chief of his nephew and new Dinoco racer Cal Weathers, who was voiced by Kyle Petty, who is Petty's son.

Strip Weathers

Petty appeared in the movie Days of Thunder (1990).

Tom Cruise

He appeared in the movie Stroker Ace (1983) as himself.

Burt Reynolds

Petty appeared as himself in the movie 43: The Richard Petty Story (1972) (a Victory Lane Production, released by Video Gems, distributed by United American Video in 1986).

In 1989, Petty appeared as himself in the movie , driving in his famous blue No. 43 car.

Speed Zone

In 1967, Petty appeared in the opening credits of the Elvis Presley movie that was shot and filmed at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina. This movie was released in 1968.

Speedway

He was in Petty Blue, a documentary by NASCAR.

Petty guest-starred in the daily comic strip from June 7 to June 20, 1994, in which he drove a pickup truck to help corral an escaped dinosaur (that had been transported to the 20th century).

Alley Oop

Petty appeared as himself in the (1965) Howard Hawks film .

Red Line 7000

Official website

driver statistics at Racing-Reference

Richard Petty

Richard Petty Gives a Tour of Petty Enterprises

at IMDb

Richard Petty

discography at Discogs

Richard Petty