Richard petty biography for kids
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By Ron Flatter
Special to ESPN.com
He has not won a race since 1984. His last championship came in 1979. But Richard Petty's big sunglasses, cowboy hat and that No. 43 still loom large over stock-car racing.
| Petty raced for a remarkable 34 years. |
His record sju 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 idrott 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
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Richard Petty: The King of NASCAR
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 I
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Richard Petty Collection: Biography
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 Enterp