Richard Petty

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Richard Petty

Petty in 2006
Born Richard Lee Petty
(1937-07-02) July 2, 1937
Level Cross, North Carolina, United States
Achievements

1979 Winston Cup Series Champion
1975 Winston Cup Series Champion
1974 Winston Cup Series Champion
1972 Winston Cup Series Champion
1971 Winston Cup Series Champion
1967 Grand National Series Champion
1964 Grand National Series Champion
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 Sprint Cup Series (200)

All-Time Poles Leader in Sprint Cup Series (123)

Holds record for most Sprint Cup Series wins in a season (27 wins, 1967)

Holds record for most consecutive Sprint Cup Series wins (10 wins, 1967)

Led Sprint Cup Series in Wins 7 times (1963, 1967, 1968, 1970, 1971, 1974, 1975)
Awards

1959 Grand National Series Rookie of the Year
NASCAR's Most Popular Driver (1962, 1964, 1968, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978)
1989 Motorsports Hall of Fame of America Inductee
1997 International Motorsports Hall of Fame Inductee
2010 NASCAR Hall of Fame Inductee
Named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers (1998)

Presidential Medal of Freedom (1992)
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career
1,184 race(s) run over 35 year(s)
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
Statistics current as of February 18, 2013.

Richard Lee Petty (born July 2, 1937) is a former NASCAR driver who raced in the Strictly Stock/Grand National Era and the NASCAR Winston Cup Series. "The King", as he is nicknamed, is most well known for winning the NASCAR Championship seven times (Dale Earnhardt is the only other driver to accomplish this feat),[1] winning a record 200 races during his career,[1] winning the Daytona 500 a record seven times,[1] and winning a record 27 races[1] (ten 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 [now 36] races.) Statistically he is the greatest driver the sport has ever seen 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-ten finishes in his 1,184 starts, including 513 consecutive starts from 1971–1989. Petty is a member of the inaugural class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame. He was inducted into the Hall in 2010.

Petty is a second generation driver. His father, Lee Petty, won the first Daytona 500 in 1959 and was also a 3 time NASCAR champion. Richard's son, Kyle Petty, is also a well-known NASCAR driver. Richard's grandson, Adam Petty, was killed in an accident at New Hampshire International Speedway on May 12, 2000, five weeks after the death of Lee. Meanwhile, 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 his wife Lynda in 1958 and they have four children – Kyle Petty, Sharon Petty Farlow, Lisa Petty Luck and Rebecca Petty Moffit – and 12 grandchildren.[2] The family still resides in Petty's home town of Level Cross, North Carolina and operates Richard Petty Motorsports. The Richard Petty Museum is in nearby Randleman, North Carolina.

Racing career

Petty was born in Level Cross, North Carolina, the son of Elizabeth (née Toomes) and Lee Arnold Petty, also a NASCAR driver, and the older brother of Maurice Petty.[3] 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.

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. He crashed his car at the Southeastern Dragway, in Dallas, Georgia, on February 28, 1965, killing a six-year old boy, Wayne Dye, and injuring seven others.[4] Petty, his father Lee, and Chrysler Corporation faced lawsuits totaling more than $1 million.[5]

On February 27, 1966 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 goalpost wing, Petty returned to Plymouth for the 1970 season. This is probably his most famous car, and the car in which Petty is cast in the 2006 Pixar film Cars.

The 1970s

Petty's IROC Porsche 911 from the 1970s
Petty's car used for his 1979 Daytona 500 win, on display at Daytona USA
1983 racecar

On February 14, 1971, Petty won his third Daytona 500, driving a brand-new (for 1971) Plymouth Road Runner and beating team mate, Buddy Baker, by little more than a car length en route to another historic year, making him the first driver to win the event three times. He won 20 more races, became the first driver to earn more than $1 million in career earnings, and claimed his third Grand National Championship. At the end of the 1971 season Chrysler told the Pettys they would no longer receive direct factory funding support, causing the Petty team great concern. In 1972, STP (motor oil company) began what would turn into a successful 28-year sponsorship arrangement with Petty, however it marked the end of Petty's famous all "Petty Blue" paint job. STP at first 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 1982 Indianapolis 500 winner. Petty won his 4th Winston Cup Championship, thanks to his 28 top-10 finishes, including 25 top-5 finishes and 8 victories. 1972 was a year of change in other ways, as it was the last year Petty would campaign a Petty Plymouth, as toward the end of the year Petty drove a newly built 1972 Dodge Charger in a few races (winning one of them), as Petty believed the car to have a slight aero advantage over the Plymouth body style. On February 18, 1973, in a driver’s duel, 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 fourth Daytona 500 after Baker's engine gave out with six laps left. One 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 fifth Winston Cup Championship.

The year 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 sixth Winston Cup. The 13 victories is a modern (1972 to 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 for 1978 Dodge Magnum to handle properly, even though much time, effort, and faith were spent massaging the cars. Unhappy with the seven top-5 finishes (including two second places) Petty climbed out of the Dodge and into a four-year-old used Chevy Monte Carlo after 17 races, breaking the hearts of his faithful, though partisan Mopar fans. The switch to Chevy did not produce any wins however, in the remaining 1978 races. Petty would go on to rebound in 1979, winning the NASCAR championship for the seventh, and last time.

The Twilight Years

1989 car at Phoenix

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 Richard's seventh and last NASCAR Winston Cup Championship. Petty 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 17 Jan 1981 at the 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 brought 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. Unfortunately 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 3 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.

Petty at Pocono Raceway in 1985

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.[6]

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 Hooter's 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 2007 at the Pepsi 400 in Daytona, Petty was behind the wheel of a Daytona car during the pace laps, leading the field for the first lap. The field split him and he followed behind the field for one more pace lap before he pulled it in. This was in tribute to Bill France, Jr.

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.

Petty moved to the television broadcast booth for a few seasons immediatedly following his retirement, but his career in television did not last long. 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.[7][8] 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.[9][10]

Sponsorship

Petty promised his mother not to accept alcohol sponsorship.[11] Therefore, he never collected purses for the Bud Pole Award, and competed at the Busch Clash only once in 1980. Also, 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

Life after racing

Petty is currently a spokesman for Liberty Medical, Cheerios and GlaxoSmithKline products Nicorette and Goody's Headache Powder. 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.[12] 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. 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."[13] He was cast as "The King" in Pixar's 2006 animated film Cars as his 1970 Plymouth Superbird with the number "43", with his wife Lynda Petty appearing as "Mrs. The King" (a Chrysler Town and Country). A cereal "43's" was created with Petty information on the boxes.[14]

Races won

Grand National/Winston Cup (200 career wins)

Daytona 500 Results

Year Manufacturer Start Finish Team
1959 Oldsmobile 6 57 Petty
1960 Plymouth 19 3 Petty
1962 Plymouth 10 2 Petty
1963 Plymouth 23 6 Petty
1964 Plymouth 2 1 Petty
1966 Plymouth 1 1 Petty
1967 Plymouth 2 8 Petty
1968 Plymouth 2 8 Petty
1969 Ford 12 8 Petty
1970 Plymouth 11 39 Petty
1971 Plymouth 5 1 Petty
1972 Plymouth 32 26 Petty
1973 Dodge 7 1 Petty
1974 Dodge 2 1 Petty
1975 Dodge 4 7 Petty
1976 Dodge 6 2 Petty
1977 Dodge 3 26 Petty
1978 Dodge 6 33 Petty
1979 Oldsmobile 13 1 Petty
1980 Oldsmobile 4 25 Petty
1981 Buick 8 1 Petty
1982 Pontiac 21 27 Petty
1983 Pontiac 6 38 Petty
1984 Pontiac 34 31 Curb
1985 Pontiac 8 34 Curb
1986 Pontiac 10 36 Petty
1987 Pontiac 11 3 Petty
1988 Pontiac 34 34 Petty
1989 Pontiac 34 17 Petty
1990 Pontiac 11 34 Petty
1991 Pontiac 3 19 Petty
1992 Pontiac 32 16 Petty

Teams

  • Petty Enterprises 1958–1983, 1986–1992
  • Don Robertson 1970
  • Mike Curb 1984–1985
  • D. K. Ulrich 1986 (Petty crashed in practice and had no backup car, so he bought out Ulrich's ride.)

Movie 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.[15]
  • 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 #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 2006 Disney/Pixar animated movie Cars. His car, the Road Runner Superbird with distinctive "Petty" blue tint and number #43, is also the model for the car used in the movie. The King's crash at the end of the movie 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 as in the movie. 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 plays The King's wife, a 1976 Chrysler Town & Country station wagon (based on Petty's family car), in the movie as well.
  • Petty appeared in the 1990 Tom Cruise movie Days of Thunder.
  • He appeared in the 1983 Burt Reynolds movie Stroker Ace.
  • Petty appeared as himself in the 1972 movie 43: The Richard Petty Story (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 #43 car.
  • In 1967, Richard 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.[16]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Hinton, Ed (2001). Daytona: From the Birth of Speed to the Death of the Man in Black. New York, New York: Warner Books. p. 118. ISBN 0-446-52677-0. 
  2. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1872135
  3. Ancestry of Richard Petty
  4. Times-Picayune, March 1, 1965, Page 1; Trenton Evening Times, March 1, 1965, Page 1.
  5. Plain Dealer, May 19, 1965, Pages 35, 40.
  6. "Richard Petty's 200th Victory Car". National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 2008-06-17. 
  7. "Taxi tycoon Andrew Murstein is revved to build race track in New York, bring sport to fans." NY Daily News, December 14, 2010 (http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2010/12/14/2010-12-14_taxi_tycoon_andrew_murstein_is_revved_to_build_race_track_in_new_york_bring_spor.html)
  8. ”Ambrose victory validates investment into RPM” NBC Sports, August 16, 2011 (http://scores.nbcsports.msnbc.com/nascar/story.asp?i=20110816174624103641708&ref=hea&tm=&series=NASCAR)
  9. “Industry Information,” New York City Taxi & Limousine Commission website (http://www.nyc.gov/html/tlc/html/misc/avg_med_price.shtml), retrieved Oct. 7, 2010
  10. "Medallion Financial Corp." Yahoo Finance, April 8, 2010 (http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=TAXI&ql=0)
  11. Petty in a Catch-43 - Jenna Fryer, AP, 30 October 2009
  12. Public Service Announcement for Civitan International featuring Richard Petty
  13. "The Fix's Grab Bag of Celebrity Politicians". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 22, 2010. 
  14. "Take a Bite Out of "The King" - Richard Petty 43's Cereal". Motor Trend. February 6, 2003. Retrieved July 2, 2013. 
  15. "Richard Petty Named Grand Marshal of STP 400 at Kansas Speedway". Kansas Speedway. 2011-05-26. Retrieved 2013-08-25. 
  16. Speedway (1968 film)

External links

Achievements

Sporting positions
Preceded by
Joe Weatherly
David Pearson
Bobby Isaac
NASCAR Grand National Champion
1964
1967
1971–1972
Succeeded by
Ned Jarrett
David Pearson
Benny Parsons
Preceded by
Benny Parsons
Cale Yarborough
NASCAR Winston Cup Champion
1974, 1975
1979
Succeeded by
Cale Yarborough
Dale Earnhardt
Preceded by
Tiny Lund
Fred Lorenzen
Pete Hamilton
A.J. Foyt
Bobby Allison
Buddy Baker
Daytona 500 Winner
1964
1966
1971
1973, 1974
1979
1981
Succeeded by
Fred Lorenzen
Mario Andretti
A.J. Foyt
Benny Parsons
Buddy Baker
Bobby Allison
Preceded by
Shorty Rollins
NASCAR Rookie of the Year
1959
Succeeded by
David Pearson
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