March 3, 2023: Richard Petty with his Hall of Fame and 7x Daytona 500 Champion rings at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. (HHP/Tom Copeland)
Richard Lee Petty – the son of a farmer, racer, mechanic, moonshiner and mill worker – never intended to become stock car racing’s most beloved icon.
When Petty and his cousin Dale Inman were growing up as teenagers in the early 1950s, their first jobs were changing the oil, airing the tires, and changing the spark plugs on Lee Petty’s Oldsmobile single-racer #42-car shop known as Petty Engineering .
Winning NASCAR races was everything to the Petty family because it meant putting food on the table.
When Richard Petty turned 21 on July 2, 1958, his driving career began with a car frame and a pile of car parts parked behind the garage. Through hard work and many long nights, a racing car was born.
Dale Inman (left) and Richard Petty in 1967. (NASCAR Photo)
“One day (July 1958) I wanted to try it,” Petty said. “We went to Columbia, SC. There was me, Dale and Red Myler. Dad, Maurice and she drove to Asheville (NC) on a Thursday night to run across a baseball field (at McCormick Field). A few laps later I ended up in sixth place. On the way back between Columbia and Rockingham, I said, “I think I’m going to like this Dadgum ride part.” I didn’t know until that point. When I ran the first race, I said, ‘This is what I want to do.’”
Petty’s first drive at Columbia Speedway was in a NASCAR convertible race.
“That dadgum drive part” Petty was referring to led to the most successful career in NASCAR history. In a 35-year period, from 1958 to 1992, he earned 200 Cup Series wins, won seven Daytona 500s and won seven series championships.
He has received numerous awards, including induction into many Halls of Fame, such as the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2010 and the National Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1998.
Petty, who will turn 86 on July 2, is as grateful for his accomplishments today as he was when he clinched his first NASCAR win on February 28, 1960 at the Charlotte Fairgrounds.
Petty’s first checkered flag did indeed come on June 14, 1959 at Lakewood Speedway in Atlanta, but the runner-up protested and was demoted to second place after a re-assessment of the standings. The driver who protested the win was his father.
“Dad drove a hardtop and I drove a convertible for that race,” Petty said. “Back in 1959 all the factories had left NASCAR because there was a rule dispute or something. This has happened many times over the years. The organizers donated $500 if you owned a current model car and won the race. That was dad’s excuse. He said, “We can make $500 more if I win instead of you winning.” Up to that point, second place was the best I’d ever run. I agreed. First and second place money went home to Level Cross.”
NASCAR’s greatest driver has met Presidents, Kings, Queens and numerous dignitaries, as well as movie stars and music legends. Still, he has never changed. He’s the same humble, down-to-earth man he was when he signed his first autograph more than six decades ago.
“Well, you have to remember that there were maybe three or four thousand people when I first went to the circuit,” Petty said upon his induction into the NMPA Hall of Fame in 1998. “For someone to come along and …” ask for an autograph, I was always surprised. I think I felt really good about it. I’ve found that when you stop and sign an autograph, you give something back and to see the excitement from the fans just makes me feel good.”
While Petty is a hero to fans around the world, there is one person he considers a personal hero who paved the way for his phenomenal life journey.
“As for everyone I’ve met, I’ve admired a lot of people,” Petty said. “I guess my dad was the only hero I really thought about. He did a little bit of everything to make a living. Then he started racing. I look back and say, “Why me?”
“Why did the good Lord bring me to Lee Petty who was in the racing business and made it a success? I was able to enjoy this and help spread it. And the good Lord put all these people together around me to make this possible. There is no word “I”. I can not do anything. There is nothing you can do yourself. Everyone around me made it possible.”
Since his 1,184. and final start in the Cup Series on November 15, 1992 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Petty’s legacy has taken on a new role: that of the sport’s ambassador, which he helped popularize.
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