Susan‘s travels, tours and trips

NORTH CAROLINA, STOCK CARS AND THE KING: THE RICHARD PETTY MUSEUM TELLS OF A RACING LEGEND.  Petty Blue. The signature color of one of the best-known figures in motorsports. Richard Lee Petty (born July 2, 1937), nicknamed The King, won the NASCAR Championship seven times and won a record 200 races during his career, including the Daytona 500 a record seven times. He was inducted into the inaugural class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2010. Petty’s father, Lee Petty, won the first Daytona 500 in 1959 and was also a three-time NASCAR champion. His son Kyle is also a well-known NASCAR driver. The family resides in Petty’s hometown of Level Cross, North Carolina, where it operates Richard Petty Motorsports. In nearby Randleman, mementos of lives lived in the fast lane are on display at The Richard Petty Museum, a complex of low-slung buildings that preserve the heritage of a man and a family who have had an immeasurable influence on American car racing. Dozens of Petty-related vehicles are set indoors surrounded by hundreds of race trophies and cases of memorabilia covering decades of Petty family history. A separate room holds fascinating pieces from Richard Petty’s rifle and gun collection, each weapon intricately decorated and identified as the “number 43” of a limited edition issue.

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