| Lee Petty | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Lee Petty in 1959 | |||||||
| Born | Lee Arnold Petty March 14, 1914 Randleman, North Carolina, U.S. | ||||||
| Died | April 5, 2000 (aged 86) Greensboro, North Carolina, U.S. | ||||||
| Achievements | 1954, 1958, 1959 Grand National Champion 1959 Daytona 500 Winner (inaugural race) | ||||||
| Awards | 1952-1954 Grand National Series Most Popular Driver International Motorsports Hall of Fame (1990) Motorsports Hall of Fame of America[1] (1996) North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame NASCAR Hall of Fame (2011) Named one of NASCAR's 75 Greatest Drivers (2023) | ||||||
| NASCAR Cup Series career | |||||||
| 427 races run over 16 years | |||||||
| Best finish | 1st (1954, 1958, 1959) | ||||||
| First race | 1949 Race No. 1 (Charlotte) | ||||||
| Last race | 1964 The Glen 151.8 (Watkins Glen) | ||||||
| First win | 1949 untitled race (Pittsburgh) | ||||||
| Last win | 1961 untitled race (Jacksonville) | ||||||
| |||||||
| NASCAR Convertible Division career | |||||||
| 28 races run over 3 years | |||||||
| Best finish | 13th (1957) | ||||||
| First race | 1957 Race #2 (Daytona Beach & Road Course) | ||||||
| Last race | 1959 Race #14 (Greenville-Pickens) | ||||||
| First win | 1958 Race #10 (Charlotte Fairgrounds) | ||||||
| Last win | 1959 Race #14 (Greenville-Pickens) | ||||||
| |||||||
| Statistics current as of February 1, 2018. | |||||||
Lee Arnold Petty (March 14, 1914 – April 5, 2000)[2] was an American stock car racing driver who competed during the 1950s and 1960s. He is the patriarch of the Petty racing family. He was one of the early pioneers of NASCAR and one of its first superstars. He was NASCAR's first three-time Cup champion. He is the father of Richard Petty, who went on to become the winningest driver in NASCAR Cup Series history and one of the most successful stock car racing drivers of all time. He is also the grandfather of Kyle Petty and great grandfather of Adam Petty.[3]
- ^ Lee Petty Archived March 24, 2019, at the Wayback Machine at the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America
- ^ White, Ben (2009). NASCAR Racers. Motorbooks. p. 32. ISBN 978-0-7603-3577-2. Archived from the original on August 5, 2020. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
- ^ McGee, Ryan (October 26, 2023). "Top-5s: 75 things for NASCAR's 75th anniversary: Five greatest pre-Modern Era drivers". NASCAR. ESPN. Retrieved October 27, 2023.