Richard Petty
American racing driver
Who is Richard Petty?
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 one of the members of the Petty racing family. He is also statistically the most accomplished driver in the history of NASCAR, having racked up most wins (two-hundred), most poles (123), tied for most championships (seven), most wins in a season (27), most Daytona 500 wins (seven), most consecutive wins (ten) and most starts (1,185). Richard Lee Petty, 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, most notably driving the No. 43 Plymouth/Pontiac for Petty Enterprises.
Historical significance
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). Petty is widely regarded as one of the greatest drivers in NASCAR history. Petty was inducted into the inaugural class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2010. He was the first driver to win the Cup Series championship seven times, while also winning a record 200 races during his career.
