Richard Petty | PERSON

Richard Lee Petty (born July 2, 1937) is a former NASCAR driver who raced in the Strictly Stock/Grand National Era and the Winston Cup Series. "The King", as he is nicknamed, is most well-known for winning the Nascar Championship seven times (Dale Earnhardt is the only other driver to accomplish this feat), winning a record 200 races during his career, winning the Daytona 500 a record seven times, and winning a record 27 races (ten of them consecutively) in the 1967 season alone. (A 1972 rule change eliminated races under 250 miles (400 km) in length, reducing the schedule to 30 [now 36] races.) Petty is widely considered the greatest NASCAR driver of all time. He also collected a record number of poles (127) and over 700 top-ten finishes in his 1,185 starts, including 513 consecutive starts from 1971-1989.

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Latest News

Economy isn't biting into this year's Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance
— Mar 11 2010 9:16 PM from Jacksonville.com
Cory McCartney: Grading NASCAR's open-wheelers, more notes
— Mar 11 2010 6:05 PM from Sports Illustrated
NOTES FROM THE NASCAR NATION: Be careful what you wish for
— Mar 11 2010 12:08 PM from Speedway Media
Retaliation in Nascar Draws Only Probation
— Mar 10 2010 2:16 AM from The New York Times
On this day ... March 9
— Mar 09 2010 7:06 PM from Sporting News

Photos

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Former driver Richard Petty walks through the garage during practice for Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Kobalt Tools 500 auto race at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Ga., Friday, March 5, 2010.

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DAYTONA BEACH, FL - FEBRUARY 14: NASCAR legend Richard Petty speaks during a press conference at the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 14, 2010 in Daytona Beach, Florida.

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DAYTONA BEACH, FL - FEBRUARY 14: NASCAR legend Richard Petty speaks during a press conference at the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 14, 2010 in Daytona Beach, Florida.

Getty Images

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DAYTONA BEACH, FL - FEBRUARY 14: NASCAR legend Richard Petty speaks during a press conference at the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 14, 2010 in Daytona Beach, Florida.

Getty Images

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Richard Petty attends a news conference before the NASCAR Daytona 500 auto race at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla., Sunday, Feb. 14, 2010.

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"I pulled my shirt off, and it looked like I still had the seat belts on"

David Pearson Mar 12 2010 1:44 PM from SPEEDtv.com: NASCAR

"They were sitting there in the floorboard side by side just like somebody had placed them there ... I’d always heard that when people were killed in car wrecks that their shoes were knocked off, so I had to make sure I wasn’t dead."

David Pearson Mar 12 2010 1:44 PM from SPEEDtv.com: NASCAR

"What is not giving to me, and this might be where other drivers see it different from me, is being in your lane and allowing someone else to turn into you and push you off the racetrack and lift so not to. That's not giving in my..."

Brad Keselowski Mar 11 2010 6:46 PM from ESPN

"The difference is what my interpretation of give is versus someone else's interpretation"

Brad Keselowski Mar 11 2010 6:46 PM from ESPN

"He's made the decision that he's not going to cut anybody any slack ... He's made the decision he's going to race aggressively all the time. Those are decisions and he's going to have to live with it."

Jeff Burton Mar 11 2010 6:46 PM from ESPN

"If you ask a driver's opinion on other people they're going to give you an answer that is self-beneficial"

Brad Keselowski Mar 11 2010 6:46 PM from ESPN

"That kind of defeats the rationale of trying to send a message across to a driver as being too aggressive ... In my mind, that sends a message across that there is some kind of negative emotion or negative feelings that far..."

Brad Keselowski Mar 11 2010 6:46 PM from ESPN

"I don't think a guy that is simply mad at you for the contact we had earlier in the race at Atlanta would do what he did"

Brad Keselowski Mar 11 2010 6:46 PM from ESPN

"We’ve designed the overall itinerary and specific modules with input from guys who know what it takes"

Rick Fedrizzi Mar 09 2010 9:30 PM from SPEEDtv.com: AUTO-RACING

"He started the whole thing and I finished it"

Tony Stewart Mar 08 2010 2:05 PM from SPEEDtv.com: Voices of Speed

Economy isn't biting into this year's Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance
— Mar 11 2010 9:16 PM from Jacksonville.com
Cory McCartney: Grading NASCAR's open-wheelers, more notes
— Mar 11 2010 6:05 PM from Sports Illustrated
NOTES FROM THE NASCAR NATION: Be careful what you wish for
— Mar 11 2010 12:08 PM from Speedway Media
Retaliation in Nascar Draws Only Probation
— Mar 10 2010 2:16 AM from The New York Times
On this day ... March 9
— Mar 09 2010 7:06 PM from Sporting News

Close Caption

Former driver Richard Petty walks through the garage during practice for Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Kobalt Tools 500 auto race at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Ga., Friday, March 5, 2010.

Close Caption

DAYTONA BEACH, FL - FEBRUARY 14: NASCAR legend Richard Petty speaks during a press conference at the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 14, 2010 in Daytona Beach, Florida.

Getty Images

Close Caption

DAYTONA BEACH, FL - FEBRUARY 14: NASCAR legend Richard Petty speaks during a press conference at the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 14, 2010 in Daytona Beach, Florida.

Getty Images

Close Caption

DAYTONA BEACH, FL - FEBRUARY 14: NASCAR legend Richard Petty speaks during a press conference at the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 14, 2010 in Daytona Beach, Florida.

Getty Images

Close Caption

Richard Petty attends a news conference before the NASCAR Daytona 500 auto race at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla., Sunday, Feb. 14, 2010.

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