Richard Lee Petty (born July 2, 1937), nicknamed “The King”, is an American former stock car racing driver who competed from 1958 to 1992 in the former NASCAR Grand National and Winston Cup Series (now called the NASCAR Cup Series), most notably driving the No. 43 Plymouth/Pontiac for Petty Enterprises. He is a member of the Petty racing family. He was the first driver to win the Cup Series championship seven times (a record now tied with Dale Earnhardt and Jimmie Johnson), while also winning a record 200 races during his career. This included winning the Daytona 500 a record seven times and winning a record 27 races in one season (1967).
He earns broad respect in motorsport as, statistically, the most accomplished driver in the history of NASCAR, where he remains very active as both a team owner (GMS Racing) in the Cup Series and owner of Petty’s Garage (a car restoration and modification shop) in Level Cross, North Carolina. During his 35-year career, Petty collected a record number of poles (123) and over 700 top 10 finishes in a record 1,184 starts, including 513 consecutive starts from 1971 to 1989. Petty was the first driver to win in his 500th race start, being joined by Matt Kenseth in 2013. He was inducted into the inaugural class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2010.
The Richard Petty Museum was formerly in nearby Randleman, North Carolina, but moved back to its original location in Level Cross in March 2014.
Petty has also voiced a role in Disney’s animated films Cars and Cars 3, playing The King, a character partially based on himself.
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