| Richard "The King" Petty is considered the greatest | | | | Richard fail to make it to the winner's circle but |
| NASCAR driver of all times by many. He proved | | | | victory was not to be out of his grasp for long-he |
| himself by setting records for both Cup | | | | went wild in 1979 and won the NASCAR |
| Championships, and number of victories. He's most | | | | championship for his 7th and last time. |
| well known for winning the NASCAR Championship | | | | Richard's 7th and final win at Daytona came when he |
| seven times. He's a second-generation driver, led by | | | | took "fuel only" on his last pit stop in 1981. A smart |
| his dad Lee Petty who won the first Daytona 500 in | | | | move that out foxed Bobby Allison. "The King" won |
| 1959 and was a 3-time NASCAR champion. | | | | his 200th race under caution at the Firecracker 400 |
| Third and fourth generations would follow in his son | | | | at Daytona on July 4th, 1984. Petty managed to |
| Kyle and grandson Adam. (Sadly, Richard lost his | | | | cross the finish line a fender ahead of Cale |
| grandson Adam in an accident in 2000.) Richard Petty | | | | Yarborough. (Back then the field was not frozen |
| was born in a little town in North Carolina and began | | | | under caution.) |
| his racing career in 1958, just 16 days after his 21st | | | | Throughout Richard Petty's career he always took |
| birthday. He started with a bang and was named | | | | time for the fans. He could be seen standing by the |
| NASCAR Rookie of the Year in 1959 with 9 top-10 | | | | fence for hours signing autographs. He never turned |
| finishes-six of which were in the top-5. | | | | a fan away. His last season before retirement was |
| In 1964 and 1966 Richard took wins at the Daytona | | | | 1992 and he finished 35th in his last race. He passed |
| 500 making him the first driver to win twice. Soon his | | | | the checkered flag and circled the track for the fans |
| competitors began to protest saying that his engines | | | | one last time in his #43 STP Pontiac. |
| were bigger. He became frustrated with the sport | | | | Career awards |
| and left to compete in drag racing but that venture | | | | In 1997, he was inducted into the International |
| was short lived. He crashed his car at a raceway in | | | | Motorsports Hall of Fame. |
| Georgia, injuring 7 people and killing an eight-year-old | | | | He was named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest |
| boy. | | | | Drivers in 1998. |
| Back to NASCAR, 1964 was a milestone year. He | | | | He was sole stock car representative in the first |
| won 27 of the 48 events he ran. Another "first" | | | | class inducted in the Motorsports Hall of Fame of |
| occurred for Richard Petty in 1971 when he again | | | | America in 1989. |
| won the Daytona 500, becoming the first to win the | | | | He was awarded the Medal of Freedom by President |
| event three times. He won it again in 1973 and 1974. | | | | George H. W. Bush in 1992, the first motorsports |
| In the 1975 season he had 13 wins (a NASCAR | | | | athlete ever to be honored with this award. |
| record tied by Jeff Gordon in 1998). Only in 1978 did | | | | |