"I’m going to go as long as I can": When Richard Petty made his commitment to staying involved in NASCAR clear

A few days before turning 80, Richard Petty touched upon his longevity in NASCAR and stated that he wanted to remain involved with the sport "as long as" he could. Speaking about this in an interview with USA Today in 2017, Petty affirmed his health to be the main factor behind the decision.

Petty, popularly known as 'The King' in NASCAR, is currently 87-years-old and will turn 88 in July this year. He is the most successful NASCAR driver with seven Cup Series championships and 200 race wins to his name, including a record seven Daytona 500 wins.

Petty raced in the top tier of stock car racing for 35 years, where he racked up 1184 races. A NASCAR Hall of Famer and a part of NASCAR's Greatest 50 and 75 Drivers, The King is also an ambassador of NASCAR to the world. His last Cup Series race was the 1992 Hooters 500 at Atlanta.

“I don’t know what the future is,” Petty told USA TODAY Sports about his longevity in NASCAR. “I think health will dictate what I do and where I go and when I do it. As long as I am healthy and can afford to do all this stuff, I’m going to go as long as I can.”

Richard Petty is currently associated with Jimmie Johnson-owned Legacy Motor Club, and acts as the team's ambassador. Besides being a driver, he is also a former team owner of a Cup Series team named Richard Petty Motorsports.

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Richard Petty is alive because of NASCAR, claimed his son, Kyle Petty

Richard Petty's son, Kyle Petty, made a shocking claim about his father's longevity in life. In the interview with USA Today, he claimed that his father wouldn't have made it to 80 years if he wasn't associated with the sport.

“If it wasn’t for racing, he wouldn’t make it to 80,” Kyle Petty, Richard’s son and also a former driver, told USA TODAY Sports. “He would just sit down and stop, because he wouldn’t have anything to do. He went to the first race with my grandfather in 1949, and he was at the last race last week. That’s a long time to be dragging up and down the highway.”

Richard Petty and son Kyle Petty on the red carpet before the 2025 NASCAR Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony at Charlotte Convention Center - Source: Imagn

The Pettys are one of the most recognizable families in NASCAR and probably the only family where four generations were involved with the sport. It all started with the late Lee Petty (427 Cup Series races in over 16 years).

Then, his son, Richard Petty, took over the baton and passed it to his son, Kyle Petty (827 Cup Series races in over 30 years), and then Kyle to his late son Adam Petty (47 Xfinity Series races in over four years).