"They paid $1,500 to win the race" - Richard Petty reflects on late father Lee Petty's legacy as family marks 75 years in racing

The Petty family is celebrating 75 years in racing this year. Richard Petty, the second generation, recently looked back on how his father started his racing career and subsequently changed the sport.

Richard's father, Lee Petty, began racing in 1949 and won 54 races in his 16-year career. He won 54 NASCAR races and was a three-time champion. Lee passed away in 2000 at the age of 86. His son, Richard Petty, built on this legacy with 200 NASCAR wins, including seven Daytona 500 victories.

In a recent video message uploaded by Fox Sports, Richard Petty and his son Kyle talked about their family’s racing history. Richard recalled how his father realized he could make a living through racing after he saw the prize money.

"My dad got to looking at it and I think they paid $1,500 to win the race, and so he went out said, 'Okay, I can, I can make a living doing this.' So he went out and bought a 49 employment business coupe for $990 or something like that. So he figured that, you know, if I can win races or run good, then we can pay for the car and we can make a living in it. So basically, he was the first professional that looked at racing and said, I can make a living for my family by driving a race car." Richard said (2:32).

Petty Enterprises was NASCAR's most successful racing team, earning 10 championships before closing in 2008.

Richard's son, Kyle Petty, also found success in stock car racing and won his first race at Daytona. Kyle became a team owner in 1997. Fourth-generation racer Adam Petty was also active in racing before his tragic death in 2000 at age 19. He lost his life during a practice session for the Busch 200 race.

"We grow race cars" - Richard Petty talks about family racing farm

Richard Petty also recollected his early experiences with the sport, as well as his family's racing business.

The Petty family farm in North Carolina became a legendary racing hub, producing countless victories and trophies over the years. However, Richard himself didn't learn about racing until he was 11 when his father entered his first race.

"You know, we've got a big farm here, and we just in the racing business. We're not in the farming business. We don't, don't grow corn or tobacco, you know, whatever. We grow race cars," Petty said (00:27).

"11 years old, I didn't even know what racing was, okay. So the very first race I ever seen was born in Charlotte, and I really don't remember that much about it, except that my dad turned the car over about halfway through the race, and we had some home ride home with my uncle because we drove the race car. They were strictly stock cars, and we drove the race car to the racetrack."

You can watch the full video below.