Richard Petty was nicknamed The King….is a former NASCAR driver who raced from 1958 to 1992 in the former NASCAR Grand National and Winston Cup Series…which is now called the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series)….who was the first driver to win the NASCAR Cup Championship seven times…. wih Dale Earnhardt and Jimmie Johnson being the only other drivers to accomplish this feat….when The King won a record 200 races during his career….while winning the Daytona 500 a record seven times….and winning a record 27 races….with 10 of them consecutively in the 1967 season alone. Statistically, he is the most accomplished driver in the history of the sport….and is one of the most respected figures in motor sports as a whole. He also collected a record number of poles (127)…. and over 700 Top 10 finishes in his record 1,184 starts….including 513 consecutive starts from 1971 –1989. Petty was the only driver to ever win in his 500th race start….until Matt Kenseth joined him in 2013.
He was inducted into the inaugural class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2010. Petty remains very active, as both a NASCAR team owner of Richard Petty Motorsports in the Cup Series….and owner of Petty’s Garage….a car restoration and modification shop in Level Cross, North Carolina.
