Filed under: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Petty Enterprises, Daytona Int'l Speedway
Why is Richard Petty the King? Let us count the ways.
He won 200 races. He's signed at least a million autographs. He's 73 years old.
As impressive as those feats are, what makes Petty the greatest driver in NASCAR history isn't numbers. The King was good enough to win, but wise enough to know you don't win at all costs.
That's the big difference between Petty and Dale Earnhardt Sr. Sure, we could point to about total victories, win percentage and other arithmetic. But statistics can make any point you want.
Petty and Earnhardt each won seven NASCAR championships, but Petty won 137 more races. He did it pre-NASCAR boom, so Earnhardt fans will argue that it was easier to rack up checkered flags.
There's some truth to that, but it's also like saying Babe Ruth wouldn't have been Babe Ruth if baseball had been integrated and he'd had to play night games.
Petty won 27 of 48 races he entered in 1967, including 10 in a row. I don't care if he was racing against Danica Patrick's grandmother, that's astounding.
The King's critics will even say that 200th win wasn't legit. It was a premiere event, the Firecracker 400. Ronald Reagan was in the press box, making him the first sitting president to attend a NASCAR race.
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Source: http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2011/02/08/richard-petty-remains-king-of-nascar/
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