This is the single greatest honor in the motor vehicle industry, intended to honor a career and/or lifetime achievement. To become a "Hall of Famer" the nominee must be either retired or deceased. Recipients must have significantly impacted the development of the automobile or the motor vehicle industry. Typically, four to eight individuals are inducted each year.
Born in Level Cross, North Carolina in 1937, Richard Petty was exposed to the world of racing at an early age, often traveling with his mother and brother Maurice to watch his father Lee race his way to three national championships.
In 1958, Richard entered his first race and was named Rookie of the Year his first season.
He won his first race in 1960 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway, and started a career and an overall record that will most likely never be broken, an incredible 200 career victories.
In the 1967 season, Richard Petty won 27 out of 48 races, including a string of ten consecutive victories.
In addition to career wins, Richard Petty ranks first in numerous NASCAR categories, including: races started (1,184); most top-five finishes (555); most top-ten finishes (712); most pole position earned (126); and most laps completed (307,836). Richard raced for nearly 304,000 miles, roughly the equivalent of making 12 trips around the world at nearly 200 miles per hour.
So utterly dominating were his performances that he earned the nickname ?The King.? King Richard earned his 200th and final win of his career at the Firecracker 400 on July 4, 1984 at Daytona Speedway with President Ronald Reagan in attendance. Petty continued to race until stepping away from his legendary #43 STP car in 1992. That year, President George Bush honored Richard Petty and presented him with the Medal of Freedom Award, America?s highest civilian honor.
