Biography
Kyle Petty was born on June 2, 1960 in Randleman, NC, to Richard Petty and Lynda Petty. His father is a legendary stock car driver who has won the Daytona 500 a record 7 times, the points championship a record-tying 7 times, and had 200 career victories, the last coming on July 4, 1984 in front of then-president Ronald Reagan. His grandfather is the legendary three-time NASCAR champion Lee Petty. He has three sisters, Sharon, Lisa, and Rebecca, who are all younger. Kyle graduated from Randleman High School in 1978. In 1979, he announced that he wanted to race Winston Cup cars. Although his father tried to change his mind, he was determined, and turned down a football scholarship to do so. He didn't regret his decision. Just after marrying Pattie (whom he met while his family was looking at some horses that her family were selling) on February 4, 1979, he flew down to Daytona, Florida to race at Daytona International Speedway. He won that race. He then began his NASCAR career. That year, he raced five Winston Cup races for Petty Enterprises, and also became the first third generation driver in the sport. In 1980, Kyle's first child, a boy, Adam Kyler Petty, was born on July 10, 1980. Kyle had his second child, also a boy, Austin Kemp Petty, on March 24, 1982. In 1984, he decided to leave Petty Enterprises and race for a different team. He would race for the Wood Brothers, Felix Sabates, and a number of different sponsors (including Peak, Mello Yello, and Coors Light) before starting his own team in 1997. Also, in that time, he recorded 8 NASCAR victories, the most recent coming in the spring of 1995. In that period of time, he also had his third child, Montgomery Lee Petty, on December 17, 1985. In 1997, he started his own team, PE2, in conjunction with the team his father owns, Petty Enterprises. He took #44, and the hot-wheels sponsor for the season. He resides in High Point, NC.
