Richard Petty
Richard Petty Petty in 2006 Born Richard Lee Petty (1937-07-02) July 2, 1937 (age 77) Level Cross, North Carolina, U.S. Achievements 1979 Winston Cup Series Champion 1975 Winston Cup Series Champion 1974 Winston Cup Series Champion 1972 Winston Cup Series Champion 1971 Winston Cup Series Champion 1967 Grand National Series Champion 1964 Grand National Series Champion 1964, 1966, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1979, 1981 Daytona 500 Winner 1967 Southern 500 Winner 1975, 1977 World 600 Winner All-Time Wins Leader in Sprint Cup Series (200) All-Time Poles Leader in Sprint Cup Series (123) Holds record for most Sprint Cup Series wins in a season (27 wins, 1967) Holds record for most consecutive Sprint Cup Series wins (10 wins, 1967) Awards 1959 Grand National Series Rookie of the Year NASCAR's Most Popular Driver (1962, 1964, 1968, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978) 1989 Motorsports Hall of Fame of America Inductee 1997 International Motorsports Hall of Fame Inductee 2010 NASCAR Hall of Fame Inductee Named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers (1998) Presidential Medal of Freedom (1992) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career 1,184 races run over 35 years Best finish 1st (1964, 1967, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1979) First race 1958 Jim Mideon 500 (Toronto) Last race 1992 Hooters 500 (Atlanta) First win 1960 untitled race (Southern States) Last win 1984 Firecracker 400 (Daytona) Wins Top tens Poles 200 712 123 NASCAR Convertible Division career 15 races run over 2 years Best finish 4th (1959) First race 1958 Race No. 14 (Columbia) Last race 1959 Race No. 14 (Greenville-Pickens) First win 1959 Race No. 13 (Columbia) Wins Top tens Poles 1 8 10 Richard Lee Petty (born July 2, 1937), nicknamed The King, is a former NASCAR driver who raced in the Strictly Stock/Grand National Era and the NASCAR Winston Cup Series. He is most well known for winning the NASCAR Championship seven times (Dale Earnhardt is the only other driver to accomplish this feat), winning a record 200 races during his career, winning the Daytona 500 a record seven times, and winning a record 27 races (ten of them consecutively) in the 1967 season alone. (A 1972 rule change eliminated races under 250 miles (400 km) in length, reducing the schedule to 30 [now 36] races.) Statistically he is the most accomplished driver in the history of the sport and is one of the most respected figures in motorsports as a whole. He also collected a record number of poles (127) and over 700 top-ten finishes in his 1,184 starts, including 513 consecutive starts from 1971–1989. Petty was the only driver to ever win in his 500th race start, until Matt Kenseth joined him in 2013. Petty is a member of the inaugural class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame. He was inducted into the Hall in 2010. Petty is a second generation driver. His father, Lee Petty, won the first Daytona 500 in 1959 and was also a 3 time NASCAR champion. Richard's son Kyle was also a well-known NASCAR driver. Richard's grandson, Adam, was killed in an accident at New Hampshire International Speedway on May 12, 2000, five weeks after the death of Lee Petty. Adam's brother Austin works on day-to-day operations of the Victory Junction Gang Camp, a Hole in the Wall Gang Camp established by the Pettys after Adam's death. Petty married Lynda Owens (who died on March 25, 2014 at her home in Level Cross, North Carolina at age 72, after a long battle with cancer) in 1958. They had four children—Kyle Petty, Sharon Petty-Farlow, Lisa Petty-Luck, and Rebecca Petty-Moffit. The family resides in Petty's home town of Level Cross, North Carolina and operates Richard Petty Motorsports. The Richard Petty Museum was formerly in nearby Randleman, North Carolina but moved back to its original location in March 2014.