A living legend in the world of racing if ever there was one, Richard Petty has won an incredible 200 races in his career, holding one of his many records as a seven time winner of the Daytona 500. Other than Dale Earnhardt, he is the only racer to ever win the NASCAR Championship seven times, a record he is justifiably proud of.
Born in 1937, Richard Petty ran 1184 NASCAR Sprint Cup races over 35 years. While he has won 200 races, he has 712 top ten finishes in his career. Richard Petty is considered the greatest NASCAR driver of all time with 513 consecutive starts from 1971 to 1989.
Richard Petty is actually a second generation racecar driver. Lee Petty, his father, won the first Daytona 500 in 1959 and was a 3 time NASCAR Champion. Richard Petty's son, Kyle is also well-known in the NASCAR circuit. His grandson, Adam was killed in a racing accident at New Hampshire International Speedway just five weeks after the death of Lee.
Petty Enterprises is operated by the Petty family and in 2008 they moved the race team into a vacated Yates Racing facility that was 115,000 square feet. Richard Petty still signs autographs for people, even though he is in his 70's now.
He started his racing career a few days after his 21st birthday, and in 1959 was named NASCAR Rookie of the Year, after 9 top 10 finishes that included six Top 5 finishes. In late 1991, Richard Petty announced that he would retire after the 1992 season and his final top ten finish came at the 1991 Budweiser at the Glen.
Petty is well known for surviving three dramatic crashes, including one at the 1970 Rebel 400, where his car lost a tire, slammed into the wall and flipped several times. Amazingly, Petty suffered only a shoulder injury, although the incident prompted the league to begin requiring safety netting for the driver's seat in all subsequent races.
Petty somehow managed to keep a broken neck a secret from the world, even competing in a few more races after being injured in a race at Pocono in 1980. His other incredible crash came in 1988 in the Daytona 500, when he was in a crash which sent pieces of his car flying - Petty himself though was able to walk away unhurt save for some temporary visual impairment.
Richard Petty was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1997. He was named one of NASCAR's 50 greatest drivers in 1998 and was awarded the Medal of Freedom by George H W Bush in 1992, the first sports figure to receive the honor.
Richard Petty was known for his accessibility to his fans, where he would sign autographs for hours and he increased the popularity of the racing sports. He has been featured in movies as himself, such as Speed Zone, Stroker Ace with Burt Reynolds, and the 2008 movie, Swing Vote, besides the 1972 video release, The Petty Story.
With a racing heritage handed down from his father that won the first Daytona 500, and passed down to his racing son, Kyle, Richard Petty's life has revolved around the racing world and continues to this day.
Born in 1937, Richard Petty ran 1184 NASCAR Sprint Cup races over 35 years. While he has won 200 races, he has 712 top ten finishes in his career. Richard Petty is considered the greatest NASCAR driver of all time with 513 consecutive starts from 1971 to 1989.
Richard Petty is actually a second generation racecar driver. Lee Petty, his father, won the first Daytona 500 in 1959 and was a 3 time NASCAR Champion. Richard Petty's son, Kyle is also well-known in the NASCAR circuit. His grandson, Adam was killed in a racing accident at New Hampshire International Speedway just five weeks after the death of Lee.
Petty Enterprises is operated by the Petty family and in 2008 they moved the race team into a vacated Yates Racing facility that was 115,000 square feet. Richard Petty still signs autographs for people, even though he is in his 70's now.
He started his racing career a few days after his 21st birthday, and in 1959 was named NASCAR Rookie of the Year, after 9 top 10 finishes that included six Top 5 finishes. In late 1991, Richard Petty announced that he would retire after the 1992 season and his final top ten finish came at the 1991 Budweiser at the Glen.
Petty is well known for surviving three dramatic crashes, including one at the 1970 Rebel 400, where his car lost a tire, slammed into the wall and flipped several times. Amazingly, Petty suffered only a shoulder injury, although the incident prompted the league to begin requiring safety netting for the driver's seat in all subsequent races.
Petty somehow managed to keep a broken neck a secret from the world, even competing in a few more races after being injured in a race at Pocono in 1980. His other incredible crash came in 1988 in the Daytona 500, when he was in a crash which sent pieces of his car flying - Petty himself though was able to walk away unhurt save for some temporary visual impairment.
Richard Petty was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1997. He was named one of NASCAR's 50 greatest drivers in 1998 and was awarded the Medal of Freedom by George H W Bush in 1992, the first sports figure to receive the honor.
Richard Petty was known for his accessibility to his fans, where he would sign autographs for hours and he increased the popularity of the racing sports. He has been featured in movies as himself, such as Speed Zone, Stroker Ace with Burt Reynolds, and the 2008 movie, Swing Vote, besides the 1972 video release, The Petty Story.
With a racing heritage handed down from his father that won the first Daytona 500, and passed down to his racing son, Kyle, Richard Petty's life has revolved around the racing world and continues to this day.
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