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. He is one of the members of the Petty racing family. He was the first driver to win the Cup Series championship seven times, 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 at Allegiant Stadium in 2021
Petty's famous Plymouth Superbird, on display at The Richard Petty Museum in Randleman, North Carolina
Petty's IROC Porsche 911 from the 1970s
Petty's car used for his 1979 Daytona 500 win, on display at Daytona USA
Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing run on oval tracks and road courses measuring approximately 0.25 to 2.66 miles. It originally used production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifically built for racing. It originated in the southern United States; its largest governing body is NASCAR. Its NASCAR Cup Series is the premier top-level series of professional stock car racing. Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, and the United Kingdom also have forms of stock car racing. Top-level races typically range between 200 and 600 miles in length.
NASCAR vehicles practicing at Daytona International Speedway with Jeff Burton, Elliott Sadler, Ricky Rudd, Dale Jarrett, and Sterling Marlin in 2004
1934 Ford stock car racer with reinforcement in the front
NASCAR Cup Series cars competing
ASA Late Model Series car on an asphalt track
