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 Early Years

Richard Petty began his NASCAR career on July 12,1958,10 days after his 21st birthday. It was a NASCAR Convertible race at Columbia, S.C.,and he finished sixth in an Oldsmobile. In 1959,Richard was named NASCAR Rookie of the Year, after he produced 9 top 10 finishes,including 6 Top 5 finishes.In 1960,he finished 2nd in the NASCAR Grand National Points Race.

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