"I couldn't stand to think about it": When Richard Petty quit drag racing after a heartbreaking accident

Richard Petty, arguably the most successful NASCAR Cup Series driver, once ventured into the world of drag racing during his racing days. However, he quit after a heartbreaking incident in drag racing that killed an eight-year-old boy.

In 1965, Petty joined drag racing after NASCAR boycotted Chrysler due to its Hemi engine. As a result, he parted ways with NASCAR for a brief amount of time, and this was when he tried out drag racing, but not for long.

On his second drag race in the series, Petty crashed his car at the Southeastern Dragway in Dallas, Georgia on February 28 that year. A tire flew off Petty's car and hit Wayne Dye, an eight-year-old boy. The boy instantly died. In addition to it, the tire also injured several others, including the father of the boy.

Narrating the incident on how he gave up on drag racing, Petty wrote in his book, King Richard I,

”I blasted off the line and something broke in the left-front as I shifted from first to second gear,” Petty wrote. ”I didn’t have any control over the steering, and the brakes didn’t work, either.”

Following this, he added how he wasn't able to continue in drag racing anymore:

"Nothing in my whole life has ever gotten to me like that,” Petty wrote. "I couldn’t stand to think about it. I tried drag racing again, but my heart wasn’t in it. I kept thinking about the boy, so I quit.”

Richard Petty returned to NASCAR with the Grand National Championship, and subsequently, the Cup Series, where he spent over three and a half decades, and emerged as one of the most successful stock car racing drivers.

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A sneak peek into Richard Petty's illustrious NASCAR Cup Series career

Richard Petty debuted in the NASCAR Cup Series in 1958 with the Jim Mideon 500 in Toronto and raced in the series till 1992 — for an astonishing 35 years. During these years, he participated in 1184 races and claimed seven Cup Series titles, 200 wins, 123 pole positions, and 712 Top 10s.

Given his victory count, Petty is the most successful Cup Series driver in the history of NASCAR, and one of the three drivers with seven titles (two other drivers are Dale Earnhardt and Jimmie Johnson). He raced his last in the 1992 Hooters 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Former NASCAR driver Richard Petty shows off a custom vest with his son Kyle Petty on the red carpet before the 2025 NASCAR Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony - Source: Imagn

Richard Petty registered numerous accolades to his name, such as NASCAR's Most Popular Driver titles (nine), Motorsports Hall of Fame America, International Motorsports Hall of Fame, NASCAR Hall of Fame, Diecast Hall of Fame, and Presidential Medal of Freedom winner.

Petty is also one of NASCAR's 50 and 75 Greatest Drivers and former owner of now-defunct Richard Petty Motorsports, a NASCAR team. He is 87 years old and is currently associated with the NASCAR team, Legacy Motor Club, as their ambassador.