Richard Petty

Richard Petty (born July 2, 1937 in Level Cross, North Carolina along U.S. Highway 220) is a renowned former NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver and is now a NASCAR Nextel Cup Series owner. Driving his famous No.43, Petty won the NASCAR Championship 7 times; Dale Earnhardt was the only other driver to accomplish this feat. Petty also won an unprecedented 200 races during his career and in the 1967 season alone won a record 27 races, including ten races in a row. His 200th win came in the Firecracker 400 on July 4, 1984 at Daytona International Speedway. President Ronald Reagan was in attendance, and celebrated the milestone with Petty and his family in victory lane. He also collected a record number of poles (127) and over 700 top-ten finishes in his 1,185 starts, including 513 consecutive starts from 1971-1989. He Won 7 Daytona 500s and 9 Most Popular Driver Awards.

The Championship Years

Four years later,driving a a potent Plymoputh with a new Hemi engine,Richard Petty led 184 of the 200 laps to capture his first Daytona 500,en route to 9 victories, earning over $114,000 dollars and his first Grand National championship. On February 27,1966 Richard Petty overcomes a 2-lap deficit to win his 2nd Daytona 500 after when the race was stopped at lap 198 of 200 because of a thunderstorm.

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