Petty Enterprises was an American professional stock car racing team that competed in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team, created in 1949 by owner-driver Lee Petty, became the most successful team of the first 50 years of NASCAR. Competing primarily in the Cup Series, the team won 10 Cup Series owners and drivers championships and amassed 268 NASCAR Cup victories, along with 2 Truck Series wins and 3 ARCA Racing Series victories.
Although primarily fielding cars for Lee Petty, Richard Petty, and Kyle Petty, others who drove for the team included Jim Paschal, Buddy Baker, Pete Hamilton, Jimmy Hensley, Bobby Hamilton, John Andretti, Marvin Panch, Jeff Green, and Bobby Labonte. Petty Enterprises scored its last Cup Series win in 1999 and closed after the 2008 season, merging operations with Evernham Motorsports to become Richard Petty Motorsports.
Lee Petty competed in the inaugural series race in 1949, crashing out after completing half distance. Lee went on to win 54 races from 1949 to 1961, including the inaugural Daytona 500 in 1959. Richard Petty won 200 races from 1960 to 1984. Of those, 196 wins came with Petty Enterprises, mainly in the No. 43 but also in Nos. 41 and 42 from 1962 to 1966. Petty ran two dirt races for owner Don Robertson in 1970 at Columbia Speedway and North Carolina State Fairgrounds as part of a deal with Petty Enterprises, winning both starts. [1] [2] He moved to newly-formed Curb Racing for 1984 and 1985, winning his last two career races during the 1984 season. [1] After 1983, the team went winless in the series until 1996, when Bobby Hamilton found victory lane. The last two wins for the team came in 1997 with Hamilton and 1999 with John Andretti.
. – Petty Enterprises won driver's championship
No. | Date | Season | Car # | Driver | Race | Track | Location |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | February 8 | 1964 | 43 | Richard Petty | Daytona 500 Pole Position Race #2 | Daytona International Speedway | Daytona Beach, Florida |
2 | July 29 | 1973 | 43 | Richard Petty | ACME Super Saver 500 [note 1] | Pocono International Raceway | Long Pond, Pennsylvania |
3 | February 17 | 1977 | 43 | Richard Petty | Qualifying Race #1 | Daytona International Speedway | Daytona Beach, Florida |
Eight drivers won at least one points race for Petty Enterprises in the Cup Series; Lee and Richard Petty combined to win 250 of the 268 races.
Driver | Wins (Points) | Wins (Exhibition) | First Win (Points) | Last Win (Points) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Richard Petty | 196 | 3 | 1960 | 1983 |
Lee Petty | 54 | 0 | 1949 | 1961 |
Jim Paschal | 9 | 0 | 1962 | 1964 |
Pete Hamilton | 3 | 0 | 1970 | 1970 |
Buddy Baker | 2 | 0 | 1971 | 1972 |
Bobby Hamilton | 2 | 0 | 1996 | 1997 |
Marvin Panch | 1 | 0 | 1966 | 1966 |
John Andretti | 1 | 0 | 1999 | 1999 |
The Petty's ran part-time in the NASCAR Convertible Division from 1957 to 1959, winning three races. [6] [7]
No. | Date | Season | Car # | Driver | Race | Track | Location |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | May 16 | 1958 | 42 | Lee Petty | 1958-10 | Southern States Fairgrounds | Charlotte, North Carolina |
2 | July 18 | 1959 | 43 | Richard Petty | 1959-13 | Columbia Speedway | Cayce, South Carolina |
3 | July 31 | 1959 | 42 | Lee Petty | 1959-14 | Greenville-Pickens Speedway | Greenville, South Carolina |
Petty Enterprises fielded an entry in the NASCAR Truck Series from the inaugural season in 1995 to the 2002 season, winning two races with Jimmy Hensley. [10]
No. | Date | Season | Car # | Driver | Race | Track | Location |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | August 15 | 1998 | 43 | Jimmy Hensley | Federated Auto Parts 250 | Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway | Nashville, Tennessee |
2 | April 17 | 1999 | 43 | Jimmy Hensley | NAPA 250 | Martinsville Speedway | Ridgeway, Virginia |
In 1979, Petty fielded Kyle Petty in the ARCA series for a race at Daytona, which he won. In 1998, Adam Petty made two starts for the team, winning once, and in 2007 Chad McCumbee ran at Pocono, winning the race. [11]
No. | Date | Season | Car # | Driver | Race | Track | Location |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | February 11 | 1979 | 44 | Kyle Petty | Daytona ARCA 200 | Daytona International Speedway | Daytona Beach, Florida |
2 | September 30 | 1998 | 45 | Adam Petty | EasyCare Certified 100 | Charlotte Motor Speedway | Concord, North Carolina |
3 | June 9 | 2007 | 62 | Chad McCumbee | Pocono 200 | Pocono Raceway | Long Pond, Pennsylvania |
Richard Petty competed in eight Winston West Series races from 1964 to 1984, winning three times at Phoenix International Raceway. [12]
No. | Date | Season | Car # | Driver | Race | Track | Location |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | November 26 | 1978 | 43 | Richard Petty | Arizona NAPA 250 | Phoenix International Raceway | Avondale, Arizona |
2 | November 23 | 1980 | 43 | Richard Petty | Arizona Winston 250 | Phoenix International Raceway | Avondale, Arizona |
3 | November 29 | 1981 | 43 | Richard Petty | Warner W. Hodgdon 250 | Phoenix International Raceway | Avondale, Arizona |
Richard Lee Petty, nicknamed "The King", is an American former stock car racing driver who raced from 1958 to 1992 in the former NASCAR Grand National and Winston Cup Series, most notably driving the No. 43 Plymouth/Pontiac for Petty Enterprises. He was the first driver to win the Cup Series championship seven times, while also winning a record 200 races during his career. This included winning the Daytona 500 a record seven times and winning a record 27 races in one season (1967).
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Petty Enterprises was a NASCAR racing team based in Level Cross, North Carolina, USA. It was founded by Lee Petty with his two sons Richard Petty and Maurice Petty. The team was later owned by Richard Petty, his son Kyle Petty and Boston Ventures. At the time of its folding the team operated the No. 43 and No. 45 Dodge Chargers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Petty Enterprises ran from 1949 until 2008. The team closed shop in January 2009 and merged with Gillett Evernham Motorsports after sponsorship could not be found for any of the cars in the Petty stable; the merged team took the name Richard Petty Motorsports, adopting a logo similar to that of Petty Enterprises' logo. In 2021, Richard Petty Motorsports became Petty GMS Motorsports, and in 2023 the team rebranded as Legacy Motor Club.
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