Richard "The King" Petty is considered the greatest NASCAR driver of all times by many. He proved himself by setting records for both Cup Championships, and number of victories. He's most well known for winning the NASCAR Championship seven times. He's a second-generation driver, led by his dad Lee Petty who won the first Daytona 500 in 1959 and was a 3-time NASCAR champion.
Third and fourth generations would follow in his son Kyle and grandson Adam. (Sadly, Richard lost his grandson Adam in an accident in 2000.) Richard Petty was born in a little town in North Carolina and began his racing career in 1958, just 16 days after his 21st birthday. He started with a bang and was named NASCAR Rookie of the Year in 1959 with 9 top-10 finishes-six of which were in the top-5.
In 1964 and 1966 Richard took wins at the Daytona 500 making him the first driver to win twice. Soon his competitors began to protest saying that his engines were bigger. He became frustrated with the sport and left to compete in drag racing but that venture was short lived. He crashed his car at a raceway in Georgia, injuring 7 people and killing an eight-year-old boy.
Back to NASCAR, 1964 was a milestone year. He won 27 of the 48 events he ran. Another "first" occurred for Richard Petty in 1971 when he again won the Daytona 500, becoming the first to win the event three times. He won it again in 1973 and 1974. In the 1975 season he had 13 wins (a NASCAR record tied by Jeff Gordon in 1998). Only in 1978 did Richard fail to make it to the winner's circle but victory was not to be out of his grasp for long-he went wild in 1979 and won the NASCAR championship for his 7th and last time.
Richard's 7th and final win at Daytona came when he took "fuel only" on his last pit stop in 1981. A smart move that out foxed Bobby Allison. "The King" won his 200th race under caution at the Firecracker 400 at Daytona on July 4th, 1984. Petty managed to cross the finish line a fender ahead of Cale Yarborough. (Back then the field was not frozen under caution.)
Throughout Richard Petty's career he always took time for the fans. He could be seen standing by the fence for hours signing autographs. He never turned a fan away. His last season before retirement was 1992 and he finished 35th in his last race. He passed the checkered flag and circled the track for the fans one last time in his #43 STP Pontiac.
Career awards
In 1997, he was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame.
He was named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers in 1998.
He was sole stock car representative in the first class inducted in the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1989.
He was awarded the Medal of Freedom by President George H. W. Bush in 1992, the first motorsports athlete ever to be honored with this award.
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