Richard petty biography for kids

Richard Lee Petty (born July 2, 1937) in the Level Cross community of Randleman, North Carolina to Elizabeth (Toomes) and Lee Arnold Petty, also a NASCAR driver and the older brother of Maurice Petty. Richard is nicknamed "The King" for a reason. He is the most respected and accomplished driver of all motorsports. A second generation driver he accomplished more and set the standards for the Stock/Grand National Era as well as the NASCAR Winston Cup Series. He holds 7 NASCAR Championships (Dale Earnhardt and Jimmie Johnson are the only other ones to reach this milestone). He won 200 races, won the Daytona 500 a record 7 times and a record 27 races with 10 being consecutively in the '67 season alone. He had a record number of poles at 127, over 700 Top 10 finishes in 1184 starts including 513 consecutive starts from 1971-1989. He was inducted into the first class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2010. He has also been inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame (1997), named one of NASCAR's 50 greatest drivers (1998), sole stock car representative in the first class inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (1989) and awarded the Medal of Freedom by President George Bush (1992), the first motorsports athlete to ever receive this honor.

He began his career on July 18, 1958 only 16 days after his 21st birthday. his first race was in CNE Stadium in Toronto, Canada. In 1959, he was named NASCAR's Rookie of the Year after producing 9 Top 10 finishes, including 6 Top 5. On July 4, 1984 he won his 200th victory at the Firecracker 400 in Daytona. President Ronald Regan was in attendance and celebrated with the family in victory lane. In 1988 a horrific wreck in Dayton found Richard going end over end spreading debris over the front straight away and after the flips Petty walked away with no serious injuries. October 1, 1991 came the dreaded news that Petty would retire after the 1992 season.

The first superstar of stock car racing, Richard Petty is the most successful driver in NASCAR history. During his long driving career (1958-1992), he won seven NASCAR championships and set several driving records that may never be equaled: the most wins, 200; the most wins in a single season, 27 in 1967; and the most wins in a row, 10 in 1967.In 1,185 starts he finished in the top ten 712 times. He was the first stock car racer to win a million dollars in one season (1971). Known affectionately as "the King," Petty won the Most Popular Driver award nine times. He was a member of the first induction class into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2010.

The Petty family has been in the racing business for generations. Richard’s father Lee was one of the early stars in NASCAR. He was a three time Cup champion and won the first Daytona 500 in 1959. Son Kyle and grandson Adam followed in the family tradition.  Kyle drove for Petty Enterprises through 2008 and currently is a television commentator for NASCAR races. He and his wife Pattie are the driving force behind the highly successful Victory Junction Gang Camp for terminally-ill children, established in memory of their son Adam, who was tragically killed in a wreck during practice at New Hampshire motor Speedway on May 12, 2000

Young Richard Petty helped his father in the garage from an early age. He began sweeping the floor and changing the oil, eventually graduating to rebuilding cars. He and his brother Maurice (pronounced Morris) worked on Lee’s pit crew as teenagers. His father finally let him get behind the wheel of a race car when he turned 21. In his driving debut on July 12, 1958, he competed in a convertible race at Columbia (SC) Speedway, a half-mile dirt track. He qualified thirteenth and finished sixth. He notched his first win at the same track on July 18, 1959.

Lee never showed favoritism to his son on the track. Petty’s first NASCAR G

His record seven Daytona 500 wins might fall some day, as might his seven Winston Cup championships. But what never can be displaced is the role Petty had building stock-car racing from a day at the beach for good ol' boys into a superspeedway sport for the masses.

The winner of a remarkable 200 NASCAR races was a man for the people, a charismatic presence the way Arnie was for golf and Babe was for baseball. From the '50s to the '90s, millions flocked to see the races because of him -- "The King."

"It was as if Richard had written the script," driver Darrell Waltrip said, "and NASCAR just helped him out."

The script had many milestones: First stock-car racer to exceed $1 million in earnings; first to repeat as winner of the Daytona 500; winner of 10 consecutive races; 356 top-five finishes; $7,755,409 in earnings.

Not bad for a guy who made only $760 his first year of racing.

Richard Lee Petty was born on July 2, 1937, in Randleman, N.C., the son of one of stock-car racing's early pioneers, Lee Petty. The elder Petty won three Grand National championships in the '50s, and his 54 NASCAR victories stood as a record until his son broke it.

Even though young Richard was bitten by the racing bug as a kid, his father would not let the future king compete until Richard was a legal adult. Only days after turning 21, he finished sixth in his first race.

The next eight events would come and go, and Petty failed to finish any of them. Then he thought he had his first win. The checkered flag was waved for him. He was on his way to victory lane before another driver protested, successfully claiming the checkered flag was waved on the wrong lap.

The driver? Lee Pe

The King

Born in Level Cross, North Carolina, in 1937, Richard Petty was exposed to the world of racing at an early age. He would often travel with his mother and brother Maurice to watch his father Lee race. Petty’s father was a very successful driver who won the inaugural running of the Daytona 500 in 1959. Richard Petty’s racing career began in 1958. He would be named NASCAR Rookie of the Year that season after producing 9 top-10 finishes and six top-5 finishes. Petty would score his first win in 1960 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

The win was an important first step in Petty’s impressive racing career. After some years of fighting his way through the pack, Petty had a breakthrough season in 1963 with wins at Martinsville and Bridgehampton. In 1964, driving a hemi-engineed Plymouth, Petty led 184 of the 200 laps to capture his first Daytona 500 victory. The win was one of eight for Petty that season and helped power him to his first championship. Petty would secure a second Daytona 500 win in 1967, thus becoming the first driver ever to win the event twice. Petty won 27 of the 48 races he entered that year, including a record 10 wins in a row, giving him a second Championship.

Petty’s final win came at the Firecracker 400 on July 4, 1984, at Daytona Speedway with President Ronald Reagan in attendance. After Petty’s retirement in 1992, President George Bush presented him with the Medal of Freedom Award, America’s highest civilian honor. Petty’s NASCAR career produced some hugely impressive stats. Petty ranks first in numerous categories, including races started (1,184); most top-five finishes (555); most top-ten finishes (712); most pole position’s earned (123); and most laps completed (307,836). In total, Petty won 200 races during his career, nearly double that of the next closest competitor. Petty’s dominance of the sport earned him the nickname “The King.”