Lee Arnold Petty (1914-03-14)March 14, 1914 Randleman, North Carolina, U.S.
Died
April 5, 2000(2000-04-05) (aged 86) Greensboro, North Carolina, U.S.
Cause of death
Abdominal aortic aneurysm
Achievements
1954, 1958, 1959 Grand National Champion 1959 Daytona 500 Winner (inaugural race)
Awards
1952-1954 Grand National Series Most Popular Driver International Motorsports Hall of Fame (1990) Motorsports Hall of Fame of America[1] (1996) North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame NASCAR Hall of Fame (2011) Named one of NASCAR's 75 Greatest Drivers (2023)
NASCAR Cup Series career
427 races run over 16 years
Best finish
1st (1954, 1958, 1959)
First race
1949 Race No. 1 (Charlotte)
Last race
1964 The Glen 151.8 (Watkins Glen)
First win
1949 untitled race (Pittsburgh)
Last win
1961 untitled race (Jacksonville)
Wins
Top tens
Poles
54
332
18
NASCAR Convertible Division career
28 races run over 3 years
Best finish
13th (1957)
First race
1957 Race #2 (Daytona Beach & Road Course)
Last race
1959 Race #14 (Greenville-Pickens)
First win
1958 Race #10 (Charlotte Fairgrounds)
Last win
1959 Race #14 (Greenville-Pickens)
Wins
Top tens
Poles
2
21
1
Statistics current as of February 1, 2018.
Lee Arnold Petty (March 14, 1914 – April 5, 2000)[2] was an American stock car racing driver who competed during the 1950s and 1960s. He is the patriarch of the Petty racing family. He was one of the early pioneers of NASCAR and one of its first superstars. He was NASCAR's first three-time Cup champion. He is the father of Richard Petty, who went on to become the winningest driver in NASCAR Cup Series history and one of the most successful stock car racing drivers of all time. He is also the grandfather of Kyle Petty and great grandfather of Adam Petty.[3]
^Lee Petty Archived March 24, 2019, at the Wayback Machine at the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America
^White, Ben (2009). NASCAR Racers. Motorbooks. p. 32. ISBN 978-0-7603-3577-2. Archived from the original on August 5, 2020. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
^McGee, Ryan (October 26, 2023). "Top-5s: 75 things for NASCAR's 75th anniversary: Five greatest pre-Modern Era drivers". NASCAR. ESPN. Retrieved October 27, 2023.
Lee Arnold Petty (March 14, 1914 – April 5, 2000) was an American stock car racing driver who competed during the 1950s and 1960s. He is the patriarch...
Richard LeePetty (born July 2, 1937), nicknamed "the King", is an American former stock car racing driver who competed from 1958 to 1992 in the former...
LeePetty, and father of racer Adam Petty, who was killed in a crash during practice in May 2000. Petty last drove the No. 45 Dodge Charger for Petty...
Petty Enterprises (formerly LeePetty Engineering) was a NASCAR racing team based in Level Cross, North Carolina, USA. It was founded by LeePetty with...
to become the next great Petty, following in the footsteps of his father, grandfather Richard, and great grandfather Lee. Petty began his career in 1998...
up petty in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Petty may refer to: Bruce Petty (1929–2023), Australian political satirist and cartoonist Bryce Petty (born...
standings for 1954". Racing-reference.info. Retrieved June 21, 2013. "LeePetty: 1954 NASCAR Grand National Results". Racing-reference.info. Retrieved...
soon elected to focus on engine building. Petty Enterprises was founded by LeePetty and his two sons. The Petty family, working together as a team, corporately...
Beach, Florida. Dick Rathmann won the pole position. Top ten results 42- LeePetty 41- Jimmie Lewallen 91- Tim Flock 1- Herschel Buchanan 86- Don Oldenberg...
3 - Bill Snowden 44 - Bill Blair 90 - Tim Flock 19 - Otis Martin 42 - LeePetty 28 - Buddy Helms Complete Results The fourth race of the Strictly Stock...
consisted of 37 races from February 1, 1954, and to November 1. LeePetty, driving for Petty Enterprises, won the championship, his first of three in the...
competed in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team, created in 1949 by owner-driver LeePetty, became the most successful team of the first 50 years of NASCAR. Competing...
killed a few weeks earlier in a modified sportsman race. Curtis Turner, LeePetty, Buck Baker, Fonty Flock and Bill Blair—all rated as pre-race threats—failed...
Engineering and the "LeePetty House", where Richard and his brother Maurice were born. It includes exhibits about all four members of the Petty family who are...
lasting 212 laps/530 miles. William Byron is the defending winner. 1959: LeePetty, patriarch of the racing family, won the inaugural 500 Mile NASCAR International...
Speedway. Fonty Flock won the pole Top ten results 41-Curtis Turner 42-LeePetty 6-Marshall Teague 92-Herb Thomas 88-Frank Luptow 72-Weldon Adams 77-Ewell...
performance. LeePetty battled with Beauchamp during the final 30 laps of the race, and they were the only two drivers to finish on the lead lap. Petty took the...
disqualified on a minor technicality. Second-place finisher LeePetty edged out Buck Baker, and Petty was declared the winner of the main event. Flock became...
In mid-1957, Earnhardt entered Grand National competition driving for LeePetty Engineering, replacing the recently departed Tiny Lund. In eight starts...
The winner was the first race was LeePetty in 1959, and the most recent victor was William Byron in 2024. Richard Petty holds the record for the most victories...
all-time wins list features some of the best NASCAR drivers including LeePetty, Ralph Earnhardt, Ned Jarrett, Richie Evans, and Jerry Cook. The football...
Herb Thomas finished second to Flock after competing in 32 races, and LeePetty finished third in the standings that year. Throughout the 1952 season...
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