Lee Arnold Petty (March 14, 1914 – April 5, 2000)[2] was an American stock car racing driver who competed during the 1950s and 1960s.

With son Richard watching, Petty lost control of the car and rolled it in turn three.

After a side-by-side duel with his father, Richard passed Lee with less than 10 laps to go and went on to win the race.

During the second race of the Twin Qualifying Events of the 1961 Daytona 500, Johnny Beauchamp lost control and caught Petty's bumper, sending both cars through the guardrail and out of the track.

B. Kelley who suffered multiple cuts but still helped evacuate Petty from the twisted metal.

Petty and Beauchamp were no strangers to each other as they were previously involved in the first Daytona 500 finish which took place two years earlier.

[8] The crash ultimately led to the end of Petty's regular driving career, though he sporadically competed in later events; his final race took place in 1964 at the Glen.

He was the father of Richard Petty, who became NASCAR's record holder for race wins.

His nephew Dale Inman worked for Petty Enterprises as Richard's crew chief from the early 1960s until 1981 and during the 1990s.

Petty died at 4:50 a.m. on April 5, 2000, at Moses H. Cone Memorial Hospital in Greensboro, North Carolina, three weeks after his 86th birthday, several weeks after undergoing surgery for an abdominal aortic aneurysm—a tear in the aorta vessel near the stomach that grows until cardiac arrest.

He was buried at the Level Cross United Methodist Church Cemetery in Randleman, North Carolina.