There are many legends of their sport in our entire ImaSportsphile video library….but none bigger than the legend of car # 43….as somewhere around the early 1960’s there appeared two “soon to be” American heroes whose moniker would become simply “King”…. as one was a handsome singer from Tupelo, Mississippi by the name of Elvis Presley….and the other was a maverick race car driver from Level Cross, North Carolina named Richard Petty….as both became Rock Stars.
Richard Petty is a former NASCAR driver who raced in the Strictly Stock/Grand National Era and the NASCAR Winston Cup Series…..while winning NASCAR Championship seven times….a record that has only been tied since then….by Dale Earnhardt and Jimmie Johnson. King Richard won a record 200 races during his career….in which he won the Daytona 500 a record seven times….and winning a record 27 races (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 1,184 starts….which included 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.
This video is a true “nugget of gold” in our ImaSportsphile treasure chest of memories….for King Richard was a one-of-a-kind legend that can never be duplicated….only imitated….which makes this video well worth the watch to any and all NASCAR and auto racing fans.
