Richard Petty

Richard Petty

Born: July 2, 1937
Age: 86
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Biography

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 (10 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 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 10 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. He was inducted into the inaugural class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2010.

Petty is a second generation driver. His father, Lee Petty, won the first Daytona 500 in 1959 and was also a three-time NASCAR champion. His son Kyle is also a well-known NASCAR driver. His grandson, Adam, was killed in a practice crash at New Hampshire International Speedway on May 12, 2000, five weeks after Lee's death. 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 in 1958. She died on March 25, 2014 at her home in Level Cross, North Carolina at age 72, after a long battle with cancer. 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.

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Racing career

Petty was born in Level Cross, North Carolina to Elizabeth (née Toomes) and Lee Arnold Petty, also a NASCAR driver, and the older brother of Maurice Petty. He began his NASCAR career on July 18, 1958, 16 days after his 21st birthday. His first race was held at CNE Stadium in Toronto, Canada. In 1959, he was named NASCAR Rookie of the Year, after he produced 9 top 10 finishes, including six Top 5 finishes.(21) In Lakewood Georgia in 1959, Petty won his first race, but his father Lee protested, complaining of a scoring error on the officials' part. Hours later, Lee was awarded the win.(20)

The 1960s

In 1960, he finished 2nd in the NASCAR Grand National Points Race. 1963 was his breakout year, winning at tracks like Martinsville and Bridgehampton. In 1964, driving a potent Plymouth with a new Hemi engine, Petty led 184 of the 200 laps to capture his first Daytona 500, en route to 9 victories, earning over $114,000 and his first Grand National championship.

Joining in the Chrysler boycott of NASCAR due to the organizing body's ban of the Hemi engine, Petty spent much of 1965 competing as a drag racer. Petty Enterprises installed the Hemi in the new compact Barracuda and lettered "OUTLAWED" on the door. He crashed this car at Southeastern Dragway, in Dallas, Georgia, on February 28, 1965, killing a six-year-old boy and injuring seven others. Petty, his father Lee, and Chrysler Corporation faced lawsuits totaling more than $1 million, though Petty and his team came to settlements with the lawsuits within 1 month of the suits being filed. Afterwards, a second Hemi Barracuda was built, this time with an altered wheelbase and eventually with Hilborn fuel injection. This car was lettered with a large "43 JR" on the door. The car was very successful, winning its class at the Bristol Spring Nationals and competing in many match races against well known racers such as Ronnie Sox, Don Nicholson, Phil Bonner, Huston Platt, Hubert Platt and Dave Strickler. Even after returning to NASCAR once the Hemi was reinstated, Richard continued drag racing the 43 JR until early 1966.

On February 27, 1966, Richard Petty overcame a 2-lap deficit to win his second Daytona 500 when the race was stopped on lap 198 of 200 because of a thunderstorm. This made him the first driver to win the event twice. 1967 was a milestone year. In that year, Petty won 27 of the 48 races he entered, including a record 10 wins in a row (between August 12 and October 1, 1967). He won his second Grand National Championship. One of the 27 victories was the Southern 500 at Darlington, which would be his only Southern 500 victory. His dominance in this season earned him the nickname "King Richard". He had previously been known as "the Randleman Rocket".

In 1969, Petty switched brands to Ford, due to his belief the Plymouth was not competitive on super-speedways; he wanted a slippery Dodge Daytona but Chrysler executives insisted he stay with Plymouth. He would win 10 races and finish second in points. Won back in 1970 by the sleek new Plymouth Superbird with shark nose and towel rack wing, Petty returned to Plymouth for the 1970 season. This is the car in which Petty is cast in the Pixar film Cars (2006), in which Richard and Lynda Petty had voice roles.

The 1970s

On February 14, 1971, Petty won his third Daytona 500, driving a brand-new (for 1971) Plymouth Road Runner and beating Buddy Baker, by little more than a car length en route to another historic year, making him the first driver to win the race 3 times. He won 20 more races (which would make him become the first driver to earn more than $1 million in career earnings) and claimed his 3rd Grand National Championship. At the end of the 1971 season, Chrysler told the Pettys they no longer would receive direct factory funding support; this gave the Petty team great concern. In 1972, STP began what would turn into a successful 28-year sponsorship arrangement with Petty, however it marked the end of his famous all "Petty Blue" paint job. STP previously insisted on an all STP orangish-red color for the cars, but Petty balked and after an all-night negotiation session, the familiar STP orange/"Petty blue" paint scheme was agreed to as a compromise that would find its way to all STP racing operations, most notably Gordon Johncock's win in the 1982 Indianapolis 500. Thanks to his 28 Top 10 finishes (25 Top 5 finishes and 8 victories), Petty went on to win his 4th Winston Cup Championship. 1972 was a year of change in other ways, as it was the last year where Petty would campaign a Plymouth-based race car; as in the middle of the year, he debuted to drive a newly built 1972 Dodge Charger in a few races (winning one of them), as he believed that the car would have a slight aero advantage over the Plymouth body style. In a driver's duel on February 18, 1973, Petty, in a newly built 1973 Dodge Charger (a body style he would use exclusively until the end of 1977), outlasted Baker (now with the K&K Insurance Dodge race team) to win his 4th Daytona 500 after Baker's engine gave out with 6 laps to go. A year later, Petty won the Daytona "450" (shortened 20 laps {50 mi/80 km} due to the energy crisis) for the fifth time en route to his 5th Winston Cup Championship.

1975 was another historic year for Petty, as he won the World 600 for the first time in his career, one of 13 victories en route to his 6th Winston Cup. The 13 victories is a modern (1972-present) NASCAR record for victories in a season, and was tied in 1998 by Jeff Gordon, although Gordon won 13 out of 33 races, compared to Petty's 13 out of 30 races. In 1976, Petty was involved in one of the most famous finishes in NASCAR history. Petty and David Pearson were racing on the last lap out of turn 4 in the Daytona 500. As Petty tried to pass Pearson, at the exit of turn 4, Petty's right rear bumper hit Pearson's left front bumper. Pearson and Petty both spun and hit the front stretch wall. Petty's car came to rest just yards from the finish line, but his engine stalled. Pearson's car had hit the front stretch wall and clipped another car, but his engine was running. Pearson was able to drive his car toward the finish line, while Petty's car would not restart. Pearson passed Petty on the infield grass and won the Daytona 500. Petty was given credit for second place.

Oddly 1978 will stand out as the one year during his prime that Petty did not visit the winners circle. The Petty Enterprises Team could not get the new 1978 Dodge Magnum to handle properly, even though much time, effort, and faith were spent massaging the cars. Unhappy with the seven top-five and eleven top ten finishes (including two-second places), Petty decided that his longtime relationship with Chrysler could not continue and he instead began racing a secondhand 1974 Chevrolet Monte Carlo at the fall race at Michigan. Returning to the General Motors fold proved successful as Petty recorded six top ten finishes in the final ten races of the 1978 season and finished sixth in the final standings. He would go on to even better results in 1979. Petty won the Daytona 500 in an Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme and ran most of the remaining races in a Chevrolet, winning four additional races and taking the NASCAR championship for the seventh, and last, time by 11 points which was the closest points margin in NASCAR history until 1992.

The Twilight years

Petty won two more Daytona 500s in 1979 and 1981. In 1979, he snapped a 45-race drought, winning his sixth Daytona 500, the first to be televised live flag-to-flag; it would become notorious for a fistfight between competitors following the controversial finish. Petty won the race as the first and second place cars of Donnie Allison and Cale Yarborough crashed on the last lap. Petty held off Darrell Waltrip and A. J. Foyt. The race is also regarded as being the genesis of the current surge in NASCAR's popularity. The East Coast was snowed in by a blizzard, giving CBS a captive audience. The win was part of Petty's seventh and last NASCAR Winston Cup Championship. He was able to hold off Waltrip to win the title in 1979.

For 1981, NASCAR dictated that all teams had to show up with the new downsized cars of 110" wheel-base, that Detroit had been building since 1979. Though Petty had been successful with the Chevrolet and Oldsmobile cars he had been running, he wanted to get back to his Mopar roots. After taking a phone call from Lee Iacocca (who personally asked Petty to campaign a Dodge for 1981), the Petty team built a stunning 1981 Dodge Mirada and took it to Daytona in January 1981 for high speed tests. Petty's fans were also in a large part fans of his Dodges, so when word got out about the Mirada testing, 15,000 or so showed up on January 17, 1981 at Daytona Speedway to watch Petty put the Dodge through its paces. Sadly for the fans, the car could do no better than 186 miles per hour, about eight miles per hour slower than the GM and Ford cars. Petty gave up on returning to Dodge knowing that for the superspeedways the Mirada would not be competitive, and bought a Buick Regal for the Daytona race. In the 1981 Daytona 500, Petty used a "fuel only" for his last pit stop, with 25 laps to go, to outfox Bobby Allison and grab his seventh and final Daytona 500 win. This win marked a large change in Petty's racing team. Dale Inman, Petty's longtime crew chief, left the team after the Daytona victory (Inman would win an eighth championship as crew chief in 1984 with Terry Labonte).

While the 1981 season gave Petty 3 wins, he felt the season was a failure, and the Regals being ill-handling and poor in reliability. For 1982, he made the move to the Pontiac Grand Prix, with the promise of substantial factory support from Pontiac. 1982 was a repeat of 1978, and no victories were to be had. At first, the Grand Prix behaved much like the Dodge Magnum of 1978, with handling and speed problems. Toward the end of 1982 things improved with several top-10 finishes, which opened the door to a successful 1983 season with three victories, and several top-5 and top-10 finishes. In 1983, he broke his 43-race winless streak from 1982 with a win in the 1983 Carolina 500, barely edging out a young Bill Elliott. After a controversial win at Charlotte in October 1983 (win No. 198), Petty left the race team his father founded for the 1984 season. He spent '84 and '85 driving for Mike Curb before returning to Petty Enterprises in 1986.

On July 4, 1984, Petty won his 200th (and what would turn to be his final victory) race at the Firecracker 400 at Daytona International Speedway. The race was memorable: On lap 158, Doug Heveron crashed, bringing out the yellow caution flag, essentially turning lap 158 into the last lap as the two drivers battled back to the start-finish line. Petty and Cale Yarborough diced it out on that lap, with Yarborough drafting and taking an early lead before Petty managed to cross the start/finish line only a fender-length ahead. (This is no longer possible because of the 2003 rule change freezing the field immediately upon caution. Furthermore, the green-white-checkered rule was created for if the yellow flag waves with two laps remaining, but not with one lap remaining.) President Ronald Reagan was in attendance, the first sitting president to attend a NASCAR race. Reagan celebrated the milestone with Petty and his family in victory lane.

In early 1988, Petty travelled to Australia to help promote a NASCAR exhibition race at the then new Calder Park Thunderdome, the first NASCAR race outside of North America. While he did not compete in the tracks inaugural race, the Goodyear NASCAR 500 (though his son Kyle did), in testing at the 1.119 mi (1.801 km) track which owner Bob Jane had modelled on the Charlotte Motor Speedway, Richard Petty set an unofficial lap record of 28.2 seconds (142.85 mp/h). This would have in fact landed him on pole position for the race as the fastest time in official qualifying was by Alabama Gang member Neil Bonnett who recorded a 28.829-second lap (139.734 mp/h) in his Pontiac Grand Prix.

Petty's Last Ride

On October 1, 1991, Petty announced he would retire after the 1992 season. Petty's final top ten finish came at the 1991 Budweiser at the Glen which was the same race J. D. McDuffie was killed in a fifth lap accident. Petty chose to run the entire 1992 season, not just selected events as other drivers have done before retirement. His year-long Fan Appreciation Tour took him around the country, participating in special events, awards ceremonies, and fan-related meetings. Racing Champions ran a promotional line of diecast cars for every race in Petty's Farewell Tour. In his final year behind the wheel, he had two notable races.

At the 1992 Pepsi 400 on July 4, Petty qualified second. Before the start of the race, he was honored with a gift ceremony which included a visit from President George H. W. Bush. At the start, Petty led the first five laps, but dropped out on lap 84 due to fatigue.

Despite the tremendously busy appearance schedule, and mediocre race results, Petty managed to qualify for all 29 races in 1992. On his final visit to each track, Petty would lead the field on the pace lap to salute the fans. Petty's final race was the season-ending Hooters 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The race was notable in that it was the first career start for Jeff Gordon, and it was the 2nd closest points championship in NASCAR history, with six drivers mathematically eligible to win the championship. A record 160,000 spectators attended the race, which went down to the final lap with Bill Elliott winning the race, and Alan Kulwicki winning the championship by 10 points over Elliott after Davey Allison dropped out early after a crash.

Facing the intense pressure, Petty barely managed to qualify at Atlanta, posting the 39th fastest speed out of 41 cars. He would not have been eligible for the provisional starting position, and had to qualify on speed. On the 94th lap, Petty became tangled up in an accident, and his car caught fire. Petty pulled the car off the track, and climbed out of the burning machine uninjured. His pit crew worked diligently with less than 20 laps to go to get the car running again, and with two laps to go, Petty pulled out of the pits and was credited as running at the finish in his final race. He took his final checkered flag finishing in 35th position. After the race, Petty circled the track to salute the fans one final time in his trademark STP Pontiac.

The following year, he was back into a race car one more time. On August 18, 1993, NASCAR participated in a tire test at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, in preparations for the 1994 Brickyard 400. Petty drove several laps around the track, and then donated his car to the Speedway's museum.

Petty would again step into a race car in 2003 on the week of the final race under the Winston banner at Homestead-Miami Speedway and took a solo lap honoring his seven Winston Cup Championships for Winston's salute to the champions.

In 2009 at the Coke Zero 400 in Daytona, for the 25th anniversary of his final, 200th victory in 1984, Petty was behind the wheel of one of his 1980s Pontiac racecars during the pace laps, leading the field for the first pace lap. The field split him and he followed behind the field for one more pace lap before he pulled it in.

Petty as an owner

In later years of his career, Petty developed the career of crew leader Robbie Loomis, who was at the helm of Petty Enterprises as crew chief in the 1990s, and won three races—the 1996 Checker Auto Parts 500 at Phoenix, the 1997 ACDelco 400 at North Carolina Speedway, both with Bobby Hamilton driving, and the 1999 Goody's Body Pain 500 at Martinsville Speedway, with John Andretti driving.

He remained as operating owner until his son Kyle Petty took over day-to-day operations a decade later.

However, in 2008, Kyle Petty was released by Petty Enterprises, and due to lack of sponsorship, Petty Enterprises was bought out by Gillett-Evernham Motorsports. The name was originally going to stay the same, but due to Evernham leaving the team, It was renamed Richard Petty Motorsports, despite George Gillett continuing to own the majority of the team.

In November 2010, an investment group including Medallion Financial Corp., Douglas G. Bergeron and Petty, signed and closed sale on racing assets of Richard Petty Motorsports. Andrew M. Murstein, president of Medallion, had been seeking a sports investment since 2008 when he formed a special purpose acquisition company together with Hank Aaron, a Medallion board member, and others.

Petty as a broadcaster

In 1995, Petty moved to the television broadcast booth joining CBS as a colour commentator immediately following his retirement, but his career in television did not last long.

Sponsorship

Petty promised his mother not to accept alcohol sponsorship. Therefore, he never collected purses for the Bud Pole Award, and competed at the Busch Clash only once, in 1980. His team Petty Enterprises never competed at the Busch Clash.

Close calls

Of all the races he won, Petty is also remembered for three of the many incredible crashes that he survived:

  • In the 1970 Rebel 400 at Darlington, Petty was injured when his Plymouth Road Runner cut a tire and slammed hard into the wall separating the track from the pit area. The car flipped several times before coming to rest on its side. This accident injured Petty's shoulder, and helped Bobby Isaac to win the 1970 Grand National Championship. During the accident, Petty's head hit the track pavement several times, which led NASCAR to mandate the installation of the Petty-developed safety net that covers the driver's side window.
  • In a 1980 race at Pocono, Petty slammed the Turn 2 wall, nearly flipping the car. Petty barely escaped breaking his neck in the wreck and kept his injury hidden from NASCAR officials for the next races, knowing that another wreck could possibly kill him. Such an incident could never happen today, because of modern NASCAR rules requiring an official series medical liaison to clear a driver after a crash.
  • In the 1988 Daytona 500, Petty's crash on Lap 106 hurled parts all over the front stretch at the Daytona International Speedway. After several flips, Petty walked away with no serious injuries, except for temporary sight loss due to excessive g-forces. The crash was similar to the accident suffered by Bobby Allison during the 1987 Winston 500 at Talladega Superspeedway and Carl Edwards 2009 Talladega crash in that all three cars became airborne after turning sideways, and both cars damaged the spectator fencing (though Petty's crash did much less damage to the fencing). Petty's car became airborne despite the use of the carburetor restrictor plate, which was mandated by NASCAR for races at Talladega Superspeedway and Daytona International Speedway just prior to the start of the 1988 season.

Career awards

  • He was inducted into the first class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame on May 23, 2010.
  • 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 Bush in 1992, the first motorsports athlete ever to be honored with this award.

Life after racing

Petty is currently a spokesman for Liberty Medical, Cheerios and GlaxoSmithKline products Nicorette and Goody's Headache Powder. He had also been featured on Brawny towels during a limited time when the company replaced their image with several "real Brawny men". Petty and his son Kyle have lent their talent to host "Lifting It Right" a lift safety training DVD produced and distributed by the Automotive Lift Institute (ALI); it is used in high school vocational programs and community colleges. He has recorded public service announcements for Civitan International, a nonprofit organization of which he is a former member. He is usually seen wearing his trademark sunglasses and a Charlie One Horse cowboy hat, with a large snakeskin hat band and a plume of rooster feathers at the front. Petty has established a summer camp known as "Victory Junction", which is intended to give seriously ill children the outdoors experience and experience of summer camp, and is staffed by round the clock medical staff to be on hand in case of emergencies. In 1996, he was the Republican nominee for North Carolina Secretary of State, but was defeated by State Senator Elaine Marshall in the general election. Petty was mistakenly seen as a shoo-in and his campaigning was sporadic. Following his loss, Petty stated "If I had known I wasn't going to win, I wouldn't have run." A cereal "43's" was created with Petty information on the boxes. Petty also played himself in the 2009 film Swing Vote, where he commends the film's protagonist by allowing him to briefly drive his famous "43" Plymouth.

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

(key) (Bold - Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics - Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * - Most laps led.)

Grand National Series

NASCAR Grand National Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 NGNC Pts Ref
1958 Petty Enterprises 14 Olds FAY DAB CON FAY WIL HBO FAY CLB PIF ATL CLT MAR ODS OBS GPS GBF STR NWS BGS TRN RSD CLB NBS REF LIN HCY AWS RSP MCC SLS TOR
37th 1016
42 BUF
MCF BEL
BRR CLB NSV AWS ATL
2 BGS
MBS
DAR CLT BIR CSF GAF RCH HBO
SAS
MAR NWS
1959 24 FAY
DAY 15th 3694
43 DAY
HBO CON ATL WIL
MAR
TRN
CLT
NSV ASP PIF GPS ATL
CLB WIL RCH BGS
AWS CLT
MBS
CLT
42 BGS
CLB NWS REF HCY
43 Plymouth DAY
HEI NSV
AWS
BGS GPS CLB DAR
HCY RCH CSF HBO
MAR
AWS
NWS
CON
1960 CLT
CLB
DAY
DAY DAY
CLT
NWS
PHO CLB
MAR
HCY
WIL
BGS
GPS
AWS
DAR
PIF
HBO
RCH
HMS CLT
BGS
DAY
HEI
MAB
MBS
ATL
BIR
NSV
AWS
PIF
CLB
BGS
DAR
HCY
CSF GSP
HBO
MAR
NWS
CLT
RCH
ATL
2nd 17228
42 SBO
1961 43 CLT
JSP
DAY
DAY DAY
PIF
AWS
HMS ATL
GPS
BGS
MAR
NWS
CLB
HCY
RCH
MAR
DAR
CLT
CLT RSD ASP CLT
PIF
BIR GPS
BGS
NOR HAS
STR
DAY ATL
CLB
MBS
BRI
NSV
BGS
AWS
RCH
SBO
DAR
ATL
MAR
CLT
BRI
HBO
8th 14984
42 HBO
HCY
RCH
CSF NWS
GPS
1962 CON
CHT
STR
HCY
RCH
DTS
2nd 28440
43 AWS
DAY DAY
DAY
CON
AWS
SVH
HBO
RCH
CLB
NWS
GPS
MBS
MAR
BGS
BRI
RCH
HCY
CON
DAR
PIF
CLT
ATL
BGS
AUG
RCH
SBO
DAY
CLB
ASH
GPS
AUG
SVH
MBS
BRI
NSV
HUN
AWS
BGS
PIF
VAL
DAR
MAR
NWS
CLT
ATL
41 AUG
1963 43 BIR
GGS
THS
RSD
DAY
DAY DAY
PIF
AWS
HBO
ATL
HCY
BRI
AUG
SBO
MAR
NWS
CLT
ATL
DAY
DTS
ASH
OBS
BRR
BRI
NSV
CLB
AWS
PIF
BGS
ONA
DAR
HCY
THS
CLT
RSD
2nd 31170
41 RCH
GPS
BGS
CLB
THS
ODS
RCH
BIR
MBS
GPS
RCH
MAR
NWS
SBO
42 DAR
SVH
BGS
DTS
HBO
1964 CON
JSP
1st 40252
43 AUG
SVH
RSD
DAY DAY
DAY
RCH
BRI
GPS
BGS
ATL
AWS
HBO
PIF
CLB
NWS
MAR
SVH
DAR
LGY
HCY
SBO
CLT
GPS
ASH
ATL
CON
NSV
CHT
BIR
VAL
PIF
DAY
ODS
OBS
BRR
GLN
BRI
NSV
MBS
AWS
DTS
ONA
CLB
BGS
DAR
HCY
HBO
MAR
SVH
NWS
CLT
JAC
41 ISP
LIN
STR
RCH
ODS
HAR
AUG
1965 43 RSD DAY DAY DAY PIF ASW RCH HBO ATL GPS NWS MAR CLB BRI DAR LGY BGS HCY CLT CCF ASH HAR NSV BIR ATL GPS MBS VAL DAY ODS OBS ISP GLN BRI
NSV
CCF
AWS
SMR
PIF AUG CLB
DTS
BLV
BGS
DAR HCY
LIN
ODS
RCH MAR
NWS
CLT HBO CAR
DTS 38th 5638
1966 42 AUG
CLB
AWS
BLV
BGS
HCY
RCH
HBO 3rd 22952
43 RSD
DAY
DAY DAY
CAR BRI ATL
HCY
CLB
GPS
BGS
NWS
MAR
DAR
LGY
MGR
MON RCH
CLT
DTS
ASH
PIF SMR AWS
BLV
GPS DAY
ODS BRR OXF
FON
ISP
BRI
SMR
NSV
ATL
DAR
MAR
NWS
CLT
CAR
1967 AUG
RSD
DAY DAY
DAY
AWS
BRI
GPS
BGS
ATL
CLB
HCY
NWS
MAR
SVH
RCH
DAR
BLV
LGY
CLT
ASH
MGR
SMR
BIR
CAR
GPS
MGY
DAY
TRN
OXF
FDA
ISP
BRI
SMR
NSV
ATL
BGS
CLB
SVH
DAR
HCY
RCH
BLV
HBO
MAR
NWS
CLT
CAR
AWS
1st 42472
1968 MGR
MGY
RSD
DAY
BRI
RCH
ATL
HCY
GPS
CLB
NWS
MAR
AUG
AWS
DAR
BLV
LGY
CLT
ASH
MGR
SMR
BIR
CAR
GPS
DAY
ISP
OXF
FDA
TRN
BRI
SMR
NSV
ATL
CLB
BGS
AWS
SBO
LGY
DAR
HCY
RCH
BLV
HBO
MAR
NWS
AUG
CLT
CAR
JFC
3rd 3123
1969 MGR
MGY
2nd 3813
Ford RSD
DAY DAY
DAY
CAR
AUG
BRI
ATL
CLB
HCY
GPS
RCH
NWS
MAR
AWS
DAR
BLV LGY CLT
MGR
SMR
MCH
KPT
GPS
NCF
DAY
DOV
TPN
TRN
BLV
BRI
NSV
SMR
ATL
MCH
SBO
BGS
AWS
DAR
HCY
RCH
TAL
CLB
MAR
NWS
CLT
SVH
AUG
CAR
JFC
MGR
TWS
1970 Plymouth RSD
DAY
DAY DAY
RCH
CAR
SVH
ATL
BRI
TAL
NWS
DAR
BLV LGY CLT SMR MAR MCH
RSD
HCY KPT
GPS
DAY
AST
TPN
TRN
BRI
SMR
NSV
ATL
CLB
ONA
MCH
TAL
BGS
SBO
DAR
HCY
RCH
DOV
NWS
CLT
MAR
MGR
CAR
LGY 4th 3447
Robertson Racing CLB
NCF
1971 Petty Enterprises RSD
DAY
DAY DAY
ONT
RCH
CAR
HCY
BRI
ATL
CLB
GPS
SMR
NWS
MAR
DAR
SBO
TAL
ASH
KPT
CLT
DOV
MCH
RSD
HOU
GPS
DAY
BRI
AST
ISP
TRN
NSV
ATL
BGS
ONA
MCH
TAL
CLB
HCY
DAR
MAR
CLT
DOV
CAR
MGR RCH
NWS
TWS
1st 4435

Winston Cup Series

NASCAR Winston Cup Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 NWCC Pts Ref
1972 Petty Enterprises 43 Plymouth RSD
DAY
RCH
ONT
CAR
ATL
BRI
DAR
NWS
MAR
RSD
BRI
TRN
NSV
RCH
DOV
MAR
NWS
CAR
1st 8701.4
Dodge TAL
CLT
DOV
MCH
TWS
DAY
ATL
TAL
MCH
DAR
CLT
TWS
1973 RSD
DAY
RCH
CAR
BRI
ATL
NWS
DAR
MAR
TAL
NSV
CLT
DOV
TWS
RSD
MCH
DAY
BRI
ATL
TAL
NSV
DAR
RCH
DOV
NWS
MAR
CLT
CAR
5th 6877.95
1974 RSD
DAY
RCH
CAR
BRI
ATL
DAR
NWS
MAR
TAL
NSV
DOV
CLT
RSD
MCH
DAY
BRI
NSV
ATL
POC
TAL
MCH
DAR
RCH
DOV
NWS
MAR
CLT
CAR
ONT
1st 5037.75
1975 RSD
DAY
RCH
CAR
BRI
ATL
NWS
DAR
MAR
TAL
NSV
DOV
CLT
RSD
MCH
DAY
NSV
POC
TAL
MCH
DAR
DOV
NWS
MAR
CLT
RCH
CAR
BRI
ATL
ONT
1st 4783
1976 RSD
DAY
CAR
RCH
BRI
ATL
NWS
DAR
MAR
TAL
NSV
DOV
CLT
RSD
MCH
DAY
NSV
POC
TAL
MCH
BRI
DAR
RCH
DOV
MAR
NWS
CLT
CAR
ATL
ONT
2nd 4449
1977 RSD
DAY
RCH
CAR
ATL
NWS
DAR
BRI
MAR
TAL
NSV
DOV
CLT
RSD
MCH
DAY
NSV
POC
TAL
MCH
BRI
DAR
RCH
DOV
MAR
NWS
CLT
CAR
ATL
ONT
2nd 4614
1978 RSD
DAY
RCH
CAR
ATL
BRI
DAR
NWS
MAR
TAL
DOV
CLT
NSV
RSD
MCH
DAY
NSV
POC
TAL
6th 3949
Chevy MCH
BRI
DAR
RCH
DOV
MAR
NWS
CLT
CAR
ATL
ONT
1979 RSD
CAR
RCH
NWS
DAR
MAR
NSV
CLT
TWS
RSD
MCH
NSV
POC
MCH
BRI
DAR
RCH
DOV
MAR
CLT
NWS
CAR
ATL
ONT
1st 4830
Olds DAY
ATL
BRI
TAL
DOV
DAY
TAL
1980 Chevy RSD
RCH
CAR
ATL
BRI
DAR
NWS
MAR
NSV
DOV
CLT
TWS
RSD
MCH
NSV
POC
MCH
BRI
DAR
RCH
DOV
NWS
MAR
CLT
CAR
ATL
ONT
4th 4255
Olds DAY
TAL
DAY
TAL
1981 42 Chevy RSD
8th 3880
43 Buick DAY
RCH
CAR
ATL
BRI
NWS
DAR
MAR
TAL
NSV
DOV
CLT
TWS
RSD
MCH
DAY
NSV
POC
TAL
MCH
BRI
DAR
RCH
DOV
MAR
NWS
CLT
CAR
ATL
RSD
1982 Pontiac DAY
RCH
BRI
ATL
CAR
DAR
NWS
MAR
TAL
NSV
DOV
CLT
POC
RSD
MCH
DAY
NSV
POC
TAL
MCH
BRI
DAR
RCH
DOV
NWS
CLT
MAR
CAR
ATL
RSD
5th 3814
1983 DAY
RCH
CAR
ATL
DAR
NWS
MAR
TAL
NSV
DOV
BRI
CLT
RSD
POC
MCH
DAY
NSV
POC
TAL
MCH
BRI
DAR
RCH
DOV
MAR
NWS
CLT
CAR
ATL
RSD
4th 4042
1984 Curb Racing DAY
RCH
CAR
ATL
BRI
NWS
DAR
MAR
TAL
NSV
DOV
CLT
RSD
POC
MCH
DAY
NSV
POC
TAL
MCH
BRI
DAR
RCH
DOV
MAR
CLT
NWS
CAR
ATL
RSD
10th 3643
1985 DAY
RCH
CAR
ATL
BRI
DAR
NWS
MAR
TAL
DOV
CLT
RSD
POC
MCH
DAY
POC
TAL
MCH
BRI
DAR
RCH
DOV
MAR
NWS
CLT
CAR
ATL
RSD
14th 3140
1986 Petty Enterprises DAY
RCH
CAR
ATL
BRI
DAR
NWS
MAR
TAL
DOV
CLT
RSD
POC
MCH
DAY
POC
TAL
GLN
MCH
BRI
DAR
RCH
DOV
MAR
NWS
CLT
CAR
ATL
RSD
14th 3314
U.S. Racing 6 Chevy CLT
1987 Petty Enterprises 43 Pontiac DAY
CAR
RCH
ATL
DAR
NWS
BRI
MAR
TAL
CLT
DOV
POC
RSD
MCH
DAY
POC
TAL
GLN
MCH
BRI
DAR
RCH
DOV
MAR
NWS
CLT
CAR
RSD
ATL
8th 3708
1988 DAY
RCH
CAR
ATL
DAR
BRI
NWS
MAR
TAL
CLT
DOV
RSD
POC
MCH
DAY
POC
TAL
GLN
MCH
BRI
DAR
RCH
DOV
MAR
CLT
NWS
CAR
PHO
ATL
22nd 2644
1989 DAY
CAR
ATL
RCH
DAR
BRI
NWS
MAR
TAL
CLT
DOV
SON
POC
MCH
DAY
POC
TAL
GLN
MCH
BRI
DAR
RCH
DOV
MAR
CLT
NWS
CAR
PHO
ATL
29th 2148
1990 DAY
RCH
CAR
ATL
DAR
BRI
NWS
MAR
TAL
CLT
DOV
SON
POC
MCH
DAY
POC
TAL
GLN
MCH
BRI
DAR
RCH
DOV
MAR
NWS
CLT
CAR
PHO
ATL
26th 2556
1991 DAY
RCH
CAR
ATL
DAR
BRI
NWS
MAR
TAL
CLT
DOV
SON
POC
MCH
DAY
POC
TAL
GLN
MCH
BRI
DAR
RCH
DOV
MAR
NWS
CLT
CAR
PHO
ATL
24th 2817
1992 DAY
CAR
RCH
ATL
DAR
BRI
NWS
MAR
TAL
CLT
DOV
SON
POC
MCH
DAY
POC
TAL
GLN
MCH
BRI
DAR
RCH
DOV
MAR
NWS
CLT
CAR
PHO
ATL
26th 2731
Daytona 500
Year Team Manufacturer Start Finish
1959 Petty Enterprises Oldsmobile 6 57
1960 Plymouth 19 3
1961 DNQ
1962 10 2
1963 23 6
1964 2 1
1966 Petty Enterprises Plymouth 1 1
1967 2 8
1968 2 8
1969 Ford 12 8
1970 Plymouth 11 39
1971 5 1
1972 32 26
1973 Dodge 7 1
1974 2 1
1975 4 7
1976 6 2
1977 3 26
1978 6 33
1979 Oldsmobile 13 1
1980 4 25
1981 Buick 8 1
1982 Pontiac 21 27
1983 6 38
1984 Curb Racing Pontiac 34 31
1985 8 34
1986 Petty Enterprises Pontiac 10 36
1987 11 3
1988 34 34
1989 34 17
1990 11 34
1991 3 19
1992 32 16

International Race of Champions

(key) (Bold - Pole position. * - Most laps led.)

International Race of Champions results
Season Make 1 2 3 4 Pos. Pts Ref
1973-74 Porsche RSD
RSD
RSD
DAY 10th NA
1974-75 Chevy MCH
RSD
RSD
DAY 10th NA
1975-76 MCH
RSD
RSD
DAY 10th NA
1976-77 MCH
RSD
RSD
DAY
6th NA
1977-78 MCH
RSD
RSD
DAY
5th NA
1989 Chevy DAY
NZH
MCH
GLN
12th 16

Film and TV appearances

  • In May 2011, he was chosen to say the most famous words in motorsports: "Gentlemen, start your engines!" for the 2011 STP 400 of the Sprint Cup Series.
  • In 2011, Petty was featured in the show Modern HotrodZ. Petty's Garage now builds Custom cars for the general public, most of which are Limited Edition.
  • He appeared as himself in the movie Swing Vote driving in his famous blue No. 43 car, and letting Bud drive his car to Air Force One to meet the President.
  • Petty voiced Strip Weathers, also known as "The King", in the Disney/Pixar animated movie Cars (2006). His car, the Road Runner Superbird with the distinctive "Petty"-blue tint and the number 43, is also the model used for the car in the movie. The King's accident at the end of the film was also a re-creation of Petty's real-life Daytona 500 accident in 1988 with the exception that it was not caused by a deliberate crash. The bit which Lightning McQueen assists him to the finish line is based on the 1976 incident albeit by the pit crew. Petty's wife Lynda voiced The King's wife, a 1976 Chrysler Town & Country station-wagon (based on Petty's family car), in that movie as well.
  • Petty appeared in the Tom Cruise movie Days of Thunder (1990).
  • He appeared in the Burt Reynolds movie Stroker Ace (1983).
  • Petty appeared as himself in the movie 43: The Richard Petty Story (1972) (a Victory Lane Production, released by Video Gems, distributed by United American Video in 1986).
  • In 1989, Petty appeared as himself in the movie Speed Zone, driving in his famous blue No. 43 car.
  • In 1967, Petty appeared in the Elvis Presley movie Speedway that was shot and filmed at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina. This movie was released in 1968.
  • He was in Petty Blue, a documentary by NASCAR.
Charities

Richard Petty supports the following charitable cause: Children.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]


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