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NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
SPEED™ Premieres One-Hour Lee Petty Biography Special April 15
A grandson recalls living legacy of a legend, NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee Lee Petty...
Megan Englehart  |  Posted April 15, 2011   Charlotte, NC
Lee Petty is one of five men to be inducted into the second NASCAR Hall of Fame class. (Photo: Courtesy of NASCAR)
A GRANDSON RECALLS LIVING LEGACY OF A LEGEND

NASCAR HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE LEE PETTY THROUGH THE EYES OF GRANDSON KYLE PETTY

SPEED™ PREMIERES ONE-HOUR LEE PETTY BIOGRAPHY SPECIAL APRIL 15 AT 8:30 P.M. ET; LIVE INDUCTION CEREMONY MAY 23 AT 8 P.M. ET

Kyle Petty: “Those guys raised the bar every time they got in the car … The way he established Petty Enterprises and the parameters he set forth for that team still have an impact on the sport 11 years after his death and 60-plus years after he started the company.”

What kept NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee Lee Petty, one of the sport’s first superstars, climbing behind the wheel every week in NASCAR’s infancy?

Was it his victories, the sensation of speed, his pivotal role in building the sport or the thrill of competition? Hardly. Accordingly to Lee Petty’s grandson, Kyle Petty, it was all about the bottom line.

“Unlike guys who drive today, and unlike even my father, my grandfather didn’t drive for trophies or for glory,” said Kyle Petty, now an analyst for NASCAR RaceDay on SPEED. “He drove for money. That was essential to keeping the business going. The stuff that came later, like the Hall of Fame induction, didn’t matter to him. He didn’t drive a car to be in the Hall of Fame. He drove a car to make money.”

A product of Randleman, N.C., Lee Petty subsidized his farming business by slinging cars around southern short tracks on weekends. That hobby eventually led to a storied racing career that cemented Lee as one of the sport’s pioneers and spawned one of the most successful operations in NASCAR.

But according to Kyle, Lee, who will be profiled in a one-hour SPEED special April 15 at 8:30 p.m. ET, never gave the impression he was aware of his legendary status.

“I don’t think he ever sat and thought about being the first three-time champion or one of the first big names in the sport – he never looked at it that way,” Kyle stated. “He didn’t care if he was a legend or a no-name.”

Lee Petty, however, wasn’t a nameless face. He was a pioneer in the sport who not only founded NASCAR’s most successful race team but also poured his life’s blood into it. Kyle says his grandfather’s fingerprints were all over the family business and that he played a crucial role in its daily operations until his death in 2000.

“Even back in the ‘60s when I was a kid, my grandfather probably was more involved then because he had more time after his accident (in a qualifying race at Daytona) in 1961 and sat out the rest of the year, so he wasn’t as busy driving,” Kyle recalled. “When he came back, he spent most of his time on the business side of the team. In the early ‘70s when he started getting sponsors like STP, that model changed and my father and uncle took over. My grandmother always looked after the books. It was a family business. I always compare Petty Enterprises to a family farm. Just because the guy that started the farm, my grandfather, became too old to farm, it didn’t mean he wasn’t part of the business. He still was a big part of the business. He, my uncle and father owned the place until my father bought it in the early ‘90s. My grandfather came to the shop every single day and did so until he passed away.”

While Lee’s work ethic impressed his grandson even as a youngster, Kyle says he revered the family patriarch most for his philosophical approach to racing.

“I was most proud of the way my grandfather viewed and approached the sport,” Kyle said. “For all those years, Petty Enterprises really was an extension of Lee Petty. The overriding motto was ‘do the best you can and win the race but don’t beat yourself.’ If you look at The King’s record, especially in the ‘60s and ‘70s, that was the mantra. They didn’t blow up; they didn’t get in wrecks; they didn’t break stuff or tear up stuff. They won races because they outlasted people as much as they outdrove them. Those guys raised the bar every time they got in the car.”
Kyle Petty is a former NASCAR Sprint Cup driver. (Photo: SHOWTIME Sports)

When Lee Petty is inducted into the 2011 class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame on May 23, his life and career will be recalled with praise and adoration. According to his grandson, Lee’s greatest legacy in the sport isn’t measured by the races and championships he accrued but by those whose careers he influenced.

“There were so many great drivers that came out of that era but he was as good as or better than they were,” Kyle explained. “But at the same time, think of the eventual Hall of Fame drivers that drove for Lee Petty -- Marvin Panch, Jim Paschal, Tiny Lund, Pete Hamilton, Richard Petty, all those guys. That’s his biggest contribution – the guys that came through and drove for him and worked for him and went on to be a factor in the sport. Today you can look at Tony Glover, Mike Beam, Steve Hmiel and guys like that. Lee Petty was there when they came through and he was their boss at some point in time. The way he established Petty Enterprises and the parameters he set forth for that team still have an impact on the sport 11 years after his death and 60-plus years after he started the company.”

About SPEED™
SPEED, anchored by its popular and wide-ranging coverage of NASCAR, is the nation’s first and only cable television network dedicated to automotive and motorcycle racing, performance and lifestyle. Now available in more than 82 million homes in North America, SPEED, a member of the FOX Sports Media Group, is among the industry leaders in interactive TV, video on demand, mobile initiatives and broadband services. For more information, please visit SPEED.com, the online motor sports authority.

About FOX Sports Media Group
FOX Sports Media Group (FSMG) is the umbrella entity representing News Corporation’s wide array of multi-platform US-based sports assets under Chairman & CEO David Hill. Built with brands that are capable of reaching more than 100 million viewers in a single weekend, FSMG includes ownership and interests in linear television networks, digital and mobile programming, broadband platforms, multiple web sites, joint-venture businesses and several licensing partnerships. FSMG now includes FOX Sports, the sports television arm of the FOX Broadcasting Company; Fox’s 19 regional sports networks, their affiliated regional web sites and FSN national programming; SPEED and SPEED2; Fox Soccer Channel and Fox Soccer Plus; FUEL TV; and Fox College Sports. In addition, FSMG also includes FOX Sports Interactive Media, which comprises FOXSports.com on MSN, whatifsports.com and scout.com, reaching over 20 million unique visitors monthly. Also included are Fox’s interests in joint-venture businesses FOX Deportes, Big Ten Network and STATS, LLC, as well as licensing agreements that establish the FOX Sports Radio Network, FOX Sports Skybox restaurants and FOX Sports Grills.
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