Richard Petty holds multiple NASCAR records, most of which will never be broken, and that is why he is “The King” of the sport.
He is tied with Dale Earnhardt Sr. for the most NASCAR championships (7) and he individually holds the records for most wins (200), most poles (123), most wins in a season (27), most Daytona 500 wins (7), most consecutive wins (10) and most career starts (1,185).
On top of his astounding on-track records, Petty became the sports most recognizable and most fan-friendly face. He is known for never refusing an autograph request and he helped make NASCAR the sport it is today.
His name is on the team his father founded, Richard Petty Motorsports (formerly Petty Enterprises), and prior to the team’s merger with Gillett Evernham Motorsports in 2009 the Petty organization had recorded 268 victories.