Lee Arnold Petty, born on March 14th, 1914 in Randleman, North Carolina was one of the best known drivers ever. He started his career in 1949 at Charlotte Speedway (not Charlotte Motor Speedway).
Lee Petty won the very first race at Daytona International Speedway, which was also the first Daytona 500. Petty was battling with Joe Weatherly and Johnny Beauchamp in the final laps, they came across the finish line three wide. A photo later showed that Petty indeed had won the race.
Lee Petty is perhaps known best for being father of Richard Petty, who has 200 career Nascar cup series wins and seven championships making him tied with Dale Earnhardt Sr. with seven championships, the most of any driver.
Lee Petty of course was the grandfather of Kyle Petty and great grandfather of Kyle's son, Adam petty.
Lee Petty was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1990, he was also selected as one of Nascar's 50 greatest NASCAR drivers.
Lee Petty ran a total of 427 races in his 16 year career. He has 54 wins, 332 top tens and 18 pole awards.
Lee Petty passed away on April 5th, 2000 a few weeks after having surgery for a stomach aneurysm. He was 86 years old.
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