by Beth Szczepanski

Created on: July 31, 2008   Last Updated: November 24, 2008

Richard Petty's name comes up under quite a few categories in the NASCAR record books: most wins, most pole position starts, most Spring Cup victories, and on and on. Beyond the record books, this legendary driver has become an American icon, his oversized hat, dark sunglasses and toothy smile symbolizing a vibrant cultural phenomenon of the heartland.

Petty began his racing career in 1958 at the age of 21. The very next year, he won NASCAR rookie of the year honors, having finished in the top 10 in 9 different races. In 1967, Petty earned the nickname "King Richard," winning a remarkable 27 of the 48 races in which he competed. This milestone year marked the beginning of decades of winning for NASCAR's king.

Petty's racing career was not all glory and winning; in one instance, he was involved in a terrible tragedy. In 1965, Perry had moved from NASCAR to the drag racing circuit, and he had a horrific accident. He crashed his car during a race in Dallas, Georgia, killing an eight-year-old boy and injuring seven other spectators.

Petty also suffered some close calls in NASCAR races. In 1970 at the Rebel 400, Petty blew a tire and slammed into the side wall of the racetrack, flipping several times. He injured his shoulder and repeatedly smacked his head into the track as his car flipped. After this accident, Petty designed a net to keep drivers' heads from hitting the ground during flips.

In 1980, Petty severely injured his neck in a crash at Pocono, but hid the injury in order to keep racing in other races. In the Daytona 500 in 1988, Petty's car became airborne, flipping multiple times and scattering debris all over the track. Petty escaped with only temporary vision impairment from the g-forces of the crash. All of these incidents did nothing to dampen Perry's enthusiasm for his sport.

Petty continued racing through the 1970's and 1980's, retiring in 1992 at the age of 55. In those decades, he developed a large following of fans, due in no small part to his easygoing, open manner with the public. Petty was always willing to stay after a race and sign endless autographs, and his smiling face became an emblem of NASCAR. He deserves much of the credit for NASCAR's huge growth in popularity during the course of his career.

Although Petty is retired, his involvement with NASCAR and NASCAR-related activities continues. He acted as owner-operator for Perry Enterprises for a decade after his retirement, fostering new racing talent. For a few seasons after his retirement, he tried his hand at broadcasting as well. His status as the face of NASCAR was sealed in 2006 when he voiced the character "The King," a blue 1970 Pontiac Superbird like the car Petty raced early in his career, for Disney-Pixar's hit movie Cars.

Racing continues to play an important role in life of the Petty family. Richard's son Kyle drives for Petty Enterprises. In 2000, Richard's grandson Adam was killed in a NASCAR crash. Still, the Petty family will doubtless continue to work to improve NASCAR, the sport to which they have dedicated their lives.

Sources:

"Richard Petty." Go NASCAR Go! http://www.gonascargo.com/drivers/richard-petty.php.

"Richard Petty." Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Petty.

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