ATLANTA – MARCH 07: NASCAR team owner Richard Petty sits in a press conference during practice for … [+] the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Kobalt Tools 500 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway on March 7, 2009 in Hampton, Georgia. The family of Raymond Parks announced their intent to donate a collection of NASCAR awards and memorabilia to the future NASCAR Hall of Fame. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

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Much has changed since the sport of NASCAR was formed in 1947: the cars, the drivers, the tracks, and the teams. Dozens of teams have come and gone, some with legendary racers at the helm such as A.J. Foyt, Bill Elliott, Darrell Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt Sr.

There has been one team however, led by a legendary racer, that’s been almost a constant presence in NASCAR since it was formed in 1949, only two years removed from the formation of NASCAR itself.

Many NASCAR weekends fans are thrilled to see a tall lanky figure strolling around the garage his face partially hidden by cowboy hat, and sunglasses, smiling beneath a mustache. He still walks with a hint of a swagger that belies his 84 years. It’s a swagger that can only come from winning 200 Cup races in NASCAR and being the first driver to win seven championships. They don’t call him “The King” for nothing.

Richard Petty will still gladly sign an autograph or pose for a picture if you ask him to. All while smiling. When it’s time to race however, he can be found with the team, his team. Sure, it may have merged and undergone many changes, but for nearly as long as NASCAR has been in existence a team with a Petty name has been on the track. That’s because Richard Petty, and his team are survivors.

Petty Enterprises began as Lee Petty Engineering, a team based in the Petty hometown of Level Cross, North Carolina. Lee Petty founded the team with his sons Richard and Maurice. Lee won the team’s first race in 1950 and it would go on to tally 268 wins in NASCAR’s top tier Cup series; a record that stood for an incredible 61 years until just last season when Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson scored that team’s 269^th win at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Most of the wins for Petty Enterprises however came from Richard who raced from 1959-1992.

Lee ran the team during its glory years, a time that included Richard leaving for another team in 1984 and 85. Richard would return and retire from …….

Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/gregengle/2021/12/24/nascars-king-shows-once-more-hes-a-survivor/