SENIOR SALUTE
PRESENTED BY
FOR THE RECORD: RICHARD PETTY
THE KING OF NASCAR
Throughout NASCAR history, no driver has been more successful or more popular than seven-time Cup Series champion Richard Petty. Among the inaugural inductees into the NASCAR Hall of Fame and the winner of 200 Cup Series races, Petty, who will celebrate his 85th birthday on July 2, enjoys talking about family history, growing up with legendary crew chief and fellow NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee Dale Inman, and the enjoyment of winning races and championships. BY BEN WHITE
WHAT IS YOUR EARLIEST RECOLLECTION OF LIVING IN LEVEL CROSS, NORTH CAROLINA? Probably, Christmas as a child. I remember being probably 4 or 5 years old. One of the first things I remember getting for Christmas was a scooter. It was red. And let me say, the house isn’t as big as it looks. On Christmas, grandmother would have all of the family come in. They would all exchange presents. Santa brought me a scooter. Me and Chief (brother Maurice) both. (Laughter) We would run them up and down
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the hallway and I remember they took them away from us until everyone went home. There was just no room to ride them. Over a period of time, we asked for a bicycle and then an electric train. TELL US ABOUT YOUR MOM, ELIZABETH TOOMES PETTY. WHAT WAS SHE LIKE WHEN YOU WERE GROWING UP? (Laugher) She was a very stern lady. She was lovable but stern. She just wanted to keep us straight. The big thing would be when Chief and I would get into a fight and daddy (Lee Petty) would be gone. She would make us wait until he
got home. You know what I mean? With our kids (Kyle, Lisa, Sharon and Rebecca), Lynda would take care of it because she wanted us to have quality time with the kids when I came home and not be scared of me. But we were scared when daddy was coming home. There were different philosophies on that. DID YOU PICK TOMATOES AS A KID? This whole place around here (where Petty Enterprises/Petty’s Garage is located) was once covered in tomatoes. Maybe the next year my daddy decided to raise pigs. The next year, it would be
