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Home > Nascar > Nextel Cup Champions > Lee Petty
Lee Petty
Lee Petty was born on March 14, 1914 near Randleman, North Carolina. Lee Petty was an American stock car driver in the 1950s and 60s. He was one of the pioneers of NASCAR, and one of its first superstars. In 1990, Lee Petty was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame. He was inducted in the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1996. Lee Petty was the father of Richard Petty, who would become NASCAR's all-time race winner. With sons Richard and Maurice, he founded Petty Enterprises, which became NASCAR's most successful racing team. Lee Petty died on April 5, 2000, at the age of 86, some weeks after undergoing surgery for a stomach aneurysm.
Lee Petty was thirty-five years old before he began racing. He began his NASCAR career at NASCAR's first race at Charlotte Speedway (not Charlotte Motor Speedway). He finished in the Top 5 in season points for NASCAR's first eleven seasons. He won the NASCAR Championship on three occasions and the inaugural Daytona 500 in 1959. In that inaugural race, Petty locked horns with Johnny Beaucamp during the final laps of the race. The finish was so close that it took 3 days to decide the winner; Johnny was first declared as unofficial winner. In the end, with the help of the national newsreel, Petty was officially declared the winner and cemented his place as one of stock-car racing's all time greats.
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