8 replies to this topic

[Nathan]

As much as I hate NASCAR, I would like to send my regards to the Petty family. Lee was one of the greats.

CHARLOTTE, N.C., April 5 (Reuters) - Lee Petty, winner of the first Daytona 500 and patriarch of four generations of professional stock car drivers, died on Wednesday in a North Carolina hospital, racing officals said. He was 86.

A three-time NASCAR Winston Cup champion, Petty finished second in the stock car circuit's first sanctioned race on a three-quarter mile dirt track in Charlotte, North Carolina, in 1949, and was the father of another racing legend, Richard Petty.

``Lee raced in our first Winston Cup event in Charlotte, won the inaugural Daytona 500 and played a leadership role in the early growth of our sport,'' NASCAR President Bill France said. ``He began the great Petty family tradition.''

Petty was a stock car pioneer who helped transform the sport from its legacy of informal races on dirt tracks across the South to one of the United States's most popular sports, with professional teams backed by corporate sponsors racing for millions of dollars in purses.

Driving in car No. 42, Petty won 54 races in 10 full seasons of stock car racing, a record that was later eclipsed by his son Richard, a seven-time Winston Cup champion who won 200 races and became the first driver to win $1 million in purses.

Lee Petty built the family racing dynasty in his hometown of Level Cross, North Carolina, south of Greensboro, where his Petty Enterprises racing team racked up 271 stock car wins and 10 national Winston Cup series championships.

Petty's grandson, Kyle, has won eight Winston Cup races, and his great-grandson, Adam, began racing professionally as a 17-year old in 1998.

Petty, who was being treated for a stomach aneurysm, died at Cone Hospital in Greensboro.

[Dudley]

I'm going to do nothing more than 2nd that.

It's always sad to lost one of the greats.

[Psychoman]

Indeed, one of the best of the good old days of NASCAR--before it became the commercialized motorsport it is now...

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"Hey there, all you middle men
Throw away your fancy clothes
And while you're out there sittin' on a fence
So get off your ass and come down here
'Cause rock 'n' roll ain't no riddle man
To me it makes good, good sense"
-Brian Johnson
SHAMELESS PROMOTION--check out my website! Like the Atlas newsroom, only worse!
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[Limey]

I agree with Nathan on this and I am sending my condolences.

Also Adam raced in his first Winston Cup race last Sunday making an admirable record for the Petty family with four generations competing in the top echelon of NASCAR.

PS I do like NASCAR, in fact I'm addicted to all forms of racing whether on 2 or 4 wheels.

[MrAerodynamicist]

How about we deciate the 1st of May to all drivers that have passed away. We could hold a one day silence in the board.

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MrA
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[Jackdaw]

Fat chance of keeping people on this board quiet for a day, MrA, no matter how noble the cause.

But I too would like to salute Lee Petty, head of what is arguably America's foremost racing family. Are there any other families which have had four generations of racers like the Pettys have had?

[Linus27]

Mr A

That is a good idea. I am with you. I guess you mean no one post on the 1st May.

[Psychoman]

From what I heard, the Petty's are the first American family with 4 generations in a single sport--Lee, King Richard, Kyle, and now Adam. Other than them, I don't know of any in motorsports...

------------------
"Hey there, all you middle men
Throw away your fancy clothes
And while you're out there sittin' on a fence
So get off your ass and come down here
'Cause rock 'n' roll ain't no riddle man
To me it makes good, good sense"
-Brian Johnson
SHAMELESS PROMOTION--check out my website! Like the Atlas newsroom, only worse!
http://mrpsycho61636...d.com/home.html

[Don Capps]

Godspeed, Lee Petty.

I was fortunate to see Lee Petty race several times on visits back to the States from Europe when I was growing up. He was really a Racer. Keep in mind that the Petty family has only had one means to put food on the table for years: Petty Enterprises. That is a remarkable feat.

I send my condolences to the Petty family and all those in the extended Petty family as well.

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Yr fthfl & hmbl srvnt,

Don Capps

Semper Gumbi: If this was easy, we’d have the solution already…