page_title: Richard Petty
section_title: Petty's last ride (1992)
hierarchical_section_title: Richard Petty / Racing career / Petty's last ride (1992)
caption_attribution_description: English: Flag stand from Lakewood (GA) Speedway site of Richard Petty's first win presented to Richard Petty at his retirement party 1992-11-14 at the Georgia Dome by the Atlanta Motor Speedway. Lee Petty disputed the results of that race and was later awarded the win.[1]
context_page_description: Richard Lee Petty, nicknamed The King, is an American former NASCAR driver who raced from 1958 to 1992 in the former NASCAR Grand National and Winston Cup Series. He was the first driver to win the NASCAR Cup Championship seven times, winning a record 200 races during his career, winning the Daytona 500 a record seven times, and winning a record 27 races in the 1967 season alone. Statistically, he is the most accomplished driver in the history of the sport, and is one of the most respected figures in motorsports as a whole. He collected a record number of poles and over 700 Top 10 finishes in his record 1,184 starts, including 513 consecutive starts from 1971–1989. Petty was the only driver to ever win in his 500th race start, until Matt Kenseth joined him in 2013. He was inducted into the inaugural class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2010. Petty remains very active, as both a NASCAR team owner in the Cup Series and owner of Petty's Garage in Level Cross, North Carolina.
  Petty is a second-generation driver. His father, Lee Petty, won the first Daytona 500 in 1959 and was also a three-time NASCAR champion. His son Kyle was also a NASCAR driver.
context_section_description: On October 1, 1991, Petty announced he would retire after the 1992 season. Petty's final top ten finish came at the 1991 Budweiser at the Glen which was the same race J. D. McDuffie was killed in a fifth lap accident. Petty chose to run the entire 1992 season, not just selected events as other drivers have done before retirement. His year-long Fan Appreciation Tour took him around the country, participating in special events, awards ceremonies, and fan-related meetings. Racing Champions ran a promotional line of diecast cars for every race in Petty's Farewell Tour.
  At the 1992 Pepsi 400 on July 4, Petty qualified on the front row for the first time since 1986. Before the start of the race, he was honored with a gift ceremony which included a visit from President George H. W. Bush. When the green flag dropped, Petty led the opening five laps as the holiday crowd cheered wildly Unfortunately, the oppressive heat forced him to drop out after completing just 84 laps.
  Despite the busy appearance schedule and mediocre race results, Petty managed to qualify for all 29 races in 1992. On his final visit to each track, Petty would lead the field on the pace lap to salute the fans. Petty's final race was the season-ending Hooters 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Petty's final appearance, along with the fact that it was the first career start for Jeff Gordon and the second closest points championship in NASCAR history, with six drivers mathematically eligible to win the championship, meant that it is hailed to this day as the greatest race in NASCAR history. A record 160,000 spectators attended the race and celebrated Petty's farewell. The title race was the most intense in the history of the sport. Championship contender Davey Allison got mixed up in a crash with Ernie Irvan, dashing his title hopes. Long-shot contenders Mark Martin, Kyle Petty and Harry Gant fell behind in the long run, which left Bill Elliott and Alan Kulwicki to compete for the title. The race went down to the final lap with Elliott winning and Kulwicki taking the championship by 10 points due to leading the most laps, one lap more than Elliott, which gave him a five-point bonus.
  Facing intense pressure, Petty barely managed to qualify at Atlanta, posting the 39th fastest speed out of 41 cars. He would not have been eligible for the provisional starting position, and had to qualify on speed. On the 94th lap, Petty became tangled up in an accident, and his car caught fire. Petty pulled the car off the track, and climbed out of the burning machine uninjured. His pit crew worked diligently with less than 20 laps to go to get the car running again, and with two laps to go, Petty pulled out of the pits and was credited as running at the finish in his final race. He took his final checkered flag finishing in 35th position. After the race, Petty circled the track to salute the fans one final time in his trademark STP Pontiac.
  The following year, he was back into a race car one more time. On August 18, 1993, NASCAR participated in a tire test at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, in preparations for the 1994 Brickyard 400. Petty drove several laps around the track, and then donated his car to the Speedway's museum.
  Petty would again step into a race car in 2003 on the week of the final race under the Winston banner at Homestead-Miami Speedway and took a solo lap honoring his seven Winston Cup Championships for Winston's salute to the champions.
  In 2009 at the Coke Zero 400 in Daytona, for the 25th anniversary of his final, 200th victory in 1984, Petty was behind the wheel of one of his 1980s Pontiac racecars during the pace laps, leading the field for the first pace lap. The field split him and he followed behind the field for one more pace lap before he pulled it in.
  At the 2017 Southern 500 at Darlington, Petty led the field through several pace laps in a Plymouth Road Runner. Petty apparently stayed out a lap longer than expected, and was humorously black flagged by the starter. Petty followed the pace car down pit road at the start of the race.
caption: Flag stand from Petty's first win
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