Richard Petty

Richard Petty is unarguably the front runner and pioneer of NASCAR racing. Petty has numerous records to his name which haven’t been broken to date. He is the winner of 7 Cup Series titles and tied with Dale Earnhardt and Jimmie Johnson.

Richard Lee Petty’s performance in the pinnacle of stock car racing led to him earning the moniker of “King”. He even inspired movies like Pixar’s ‘Cars’ to name a character after his nickname. The character “King” in the Cars series featured his iconic blue decals. Petty even received the prestigious Presidential Medal of Freedom, a feat that no other NASCAR driver has achieved in the history of the sport. He tops the list of the 75 Greatest Drivers of NASCAR which was introduced in 2023. Petty was inducted to the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2010.

Richard Petty Early Life

Richard Petty was born in cCross, Randolph County, North Carolina. He has his schooling at Randleman High School in Randleman, North Carolina. Petty used to be on the school’s football team. He studied a business course at the Greensboro Junior College, graduating in 1955. Petty started working for his father’s racing company, Petty Enterprises. He made his debut in NASCAR in July 1958. Richard Petty’s first race was at CNE Stadium in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Richard Petty Personal Life

After his retirement from the sport, Richard Petty was actively involved in politics. He was elected as a Republican for the Randolph County Commission in 1978. He was a nominee for Republicans for the North Carolina Secretary of State in 1996. Petty was defeated by State Senator Elaine Marshall in the general election. Richard Petty said after his loss that he wouldn’t have run the elections had he known he wouldn’t win. Petty also made an appearance on stage with Donald Trump in 2016. Petty currently endorses Liberty Medical, Cheerios and GlaxoSmithKline products as a spokesperson.

Richard Petty Family Background

Richard Petty was born to Elizabeth Petty and Lee Petty on July 2, 1937. He has a brother named Maurice Petty. His parents got married in March 1937. Elizabeth Petty was born in 1917 in Randolph County, North Carolina. She stayed away from the spotlight throughout her son and husband’s racing career. She used to handle payrolls while her husband went racing. She passed away in 2006 at the age of 88 years.

Lee Petty is the pioneer of the Petty family in NASCAR racing. He was among the first generation of drivers to compete in the NASCAR Cup Series. He sported his own racing team Petty Enterprises. Lee Petty was the winner of the first ever Daytona 500 in history. He won 54 races throughout his career. He was a three time champion in the Cup Series. Petty has been inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2011 and he is also among the 75 Greatest Drivers of NASCAR.

Richard Petty Wife

Richard Petty was married to Lynda Gale Owens for 54 years until her death in 2014. She tied the knot with Petty in 1959, which was also his debut year in NASCAR. Lynda was Richard Petty’s lover since high school. She became a homemaker after her marriage and started the Racing Wives Auxiliary. She founded the Richard Petty Museum dedicated to his achievements in NASCAR. Unfortunately, she succumbed to cancer in 2014. Lynda Petty was often known as the first lady of NASCAR.

Richard Petty Kids

Richard Petty had four children with his wife Lynda Petty. He had one son, Kyle Petty and three daughters, Sharon Farlow, Rebecca Petty Moffit, and Lisa Petty Luck. His son Kyle Petty became a third generation NASCAR driver following in his father’s legacy. There is no information available about his daughters publicly.

Kyle Eugene Petty raced in NASCAR from 1979 to 2008. He had a 30 year career in the Cup Series participating in 829 races. Kyle Petty achieved 8 victories in the sport over the years with one victory at the Coca-Cola 600 in 1987.

Richard Petty Social Media

Richard Petty is an active social media personality. He has more than 113,000 followers on Instagram and nearly 26,000 followers on Twitter. Petty actively posts about his day to day activities and wholeheartedly accepts his status as a NASCAR legend. His social media details are listed below:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/C87Ca28xKgd/?hl=en&img_index=1

Twitter: https://twitter.com/therichardpetty?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

Richard Petty Net Worth

Richard Petty Brand Ambassador

Richard Petty is the brand ambassador of the Legacy Motor Club. His team Petty Enterprises was acquired by Jimmie Johnson and now competes in the Cup Series. Petty endorses the team through his social media channels and in-person appearances at its races. There are no other known companies that Petty endorses currently.

Richard Petty Investments

Richard Petty took over the ownership of his father’s NASCAR team, Petty Enterprises. It underwent many changes and Pettyonce sold off the team to Gillett-Evernham Motorsports. Once Everham left the team, it was renamed to Richard Petty Motorsports and Petty took over full control in 2010 with his sponsors Medallion Finance Group.

Richard Petty Career Stats

Richard Petty has participated in the most NASCAR races. He has raced in the Cup Series for 35 years and participated in 1184 races. Petty made his debut in the Cup Series in 1958 at Toronto. He has won 7 titles in the Cup Series which is a NASCAR record. Petty is tied with Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt for the most NASCAR titles. He retired from the Cup Series after the 1992 season.

Richard Petty NASCAR Records

Richard Petty has many NASCAR records to his name which include-

• Most championships in NASCAR history (tied with Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt for 7 championships)

• All time wins leader in the Cup Series (200 wins)

• All time pole positions leader in the Cup Series (123 poles)

• Record for most consecutive NASCAR Cup Series victories (10 wins consecutively)

• Most wins in a Cup Series season (27 victories in 1967)

• Most all time wins at the Daytona International Speedway (10 wins)

Richard Petty Race Wins/ Podium Finishes

Richard Petty has 200 race victories and 712 Top-10s in the Cup Series. His first wins supposedly came in 1959 at Lakewood but it was credited to his father due to a scoring error. Petty’s first victory in the Cup Series came in the 1960 NASCAR season. He has 7 Daytona 500 victories to his name in the Cup Series. Petty has also won the Southern 500, the Coca-Cola 600 and the Winston 500 race completing his Crown Jewel Grand Slam.

Richard Petty Awards

Richard Petty received many significant awards throughout his career. He received 123 pole position awards which are a NASCAR record. He was the 1959 Rookie of the Year on his debut in the Cup Series. Petty has been inducted into multiple Hall of Fames, including the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2010, the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1997 and the Motorsports Hall of Fame America in 1989. He also received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1992. Petty was the first motorsport driver to achieve the award. He is among the 75 Greatest Drivers of NASCAR according to their list in 2023.

Richard Petty House