Richard Petty

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Richard Petty
Petty at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 2024
Born	Richard Lee Petty (1937-07-02) July 2, 1937 (age 87) Level Cross, Randolph County, North Carolina, U.S.
Achievements	1964, 1967, Grand National Series Champion 1971, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1979 Winston Cup Series Champion Tied with Dale Earnhardt and Jimmie Johnson for most NASCAR Cup Series Championships (7) 1964, 1966, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1979, 1981 Daytona 500 Winner 1967 Southern 500 Winner 1975, 1977 World 600 Winner 1983 Winston 500 Winner All-Time Wins Leader in NASCAR Cup Series (200) All-Time Poles Leader in NASCAR Cup Series (123) Holds record for most NASCAR Cup Series wins in a season (27 in 1967) Holds record for most consecutive NASCAR Cup Series wins (10 in 1967) Most all time wins at Daytona International Speedway (10)
Awards	1959 Grand National Series Rookie of the Year NASCAR's Most Popular Driver (1962, 1964, 1968, 1970, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978) Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (1989) International Motorsports Hall of Fame (1997) NASCAR Hall of Fame (2010) Diecast Hall of Fame (2011) Named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers (1998) Presidential Medal of Freedom (1992) Named one of NASCAR's 75 Greatest Drivers (2023)
NASCAR Cup Series career
1,184 races run over 35 years
Best finish	1st (1964, 1967, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1979)
First race	1958 Jim Mideon 500 (Toronto)
Last race	1992 Hooters 500 (Atlanta)
First win	1960 untitled race (Southern States)
Last win	1984 Firecracker 400 (Daytona)
Wins Top tens Poles 200 712 123
NASCAR Convertible Division career
15 races run over 2 years
Best finish	4th (1959)
First race	1958 Race No. 14 (Columbia)
Last race	1959 Race No. 14 (Greenville-Pickens)
First win	1959 Race No. 13 (Columbia)
Wins Top tens Poles 1 8 10

Richard Lee Petty (born July 2, 1937), nicknamed "the King", is an American former stock car racing driver who competed from 1958 to 1992 in the former NASCAR Grand National and Winston Cup Series (now called the NASCAR Cup Series), most notably driving the No. 43 Plymouth/Pontiac for Petty Enterprises. He is one of the members of the Petty racing family. He was the first driver to win the Cup Series championship seven times (a record now tied with Dale Earnhardt and Jimmie Johnson),^[1] while also winning a record 200 races during his career.^[1] This included winning the Daytona 500 a record seven times and winning a record 27 races^[1] in one season (1967).^[2]

Petty was inducted into the inaugural class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2010.^[3] He is also statistically the most accomplished driver in the history of NASCAR, having racked up most wins (200), most poles (123), tied for most championships (seven), most wins in a season (27), most Daytona 500 wins (seven), most consecutive wins (10) and most starts (1,185).^[4]

He earns broad respect in motorsport where beyond driving, he remains very active as both a team ambassador (Legacy Motor Club) in the Cup Series and owner of Petty's Garage (a car restoration and modification shop) in Level Cross, North Carolina. During his 35-year career, Petty collected a record number of poles (123) and over 700 top 10 finishes in a record 1,184 starts, including 513 consecutive starts from 1971 to 1989. Petty was the first driver to win in his 500th race start, being joined by Matt Kenseth in 2013.

The Richard Petty Museum was formerly in nearby Randleman, North Carolina, but moved back to its original location in Level Cross in March 2014. Petty has also voiced a role in Disney/Pixar's animated films Cars and Cars 3, playing Strip "The King" Weathers, a character partially based on himself.