Lee Petty

For some who knew him Lee Petty was uncommunicative, tight-fisted, and a dirty competitor. Others, however, found that he was also a gentleman. Driver Ned Jarrett was close behind Petty for ten laps with no way to get past in one race. Finally Jarrett bumped Petty's car. After the race Petty pulled Jarrett aside and advised him to learn some manners when driving. However a few days later, when the two met at another track and Petty learned Jarrett didn't have a car to race, he told him that if he had known he would have brought one for him. "I learned right then that I'd got the man's respect," Jarrett said, according to Estes Thompson of the Associated Press. Those who knew Petty in his hometown of Level Cross, North Carolina felt that success and fame never changed him. Petty lived out his life in the same home he built for his family after their house burned down.

In his retirement, Lee Petty continued as head of Petty Enterprises. In his later years he became a fanatic golfer, playing often four times a week. In February 2000 he underwent surgery for a stomach aneurysm. He never recovered. On April 5, 2000 he passed away at Moses Cone Hospital in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Lee Petty left behind a legacy that is unique in professional sports. In addition to being a pioneer of NASCAR and one of its greatest drivers, and to compiling a record of wins that is still number six on the all-time NASCAR list—doubly remarkable considering he didn't start racing until he was already thirty-five—he started a formidable racing dynasty. His son Richard is the all-time leader in wins, his grandson Kyle drove, and—until his tragic death at 19—so did his great-grandson Adam Petty. It was the first time that four generations from a single family participated in a professional sport. It is unlikely sport will witness the likes of Lee Petty or his family again.