Lee's sons, Richard and Maurice Petty, would also make a few starts in their father's cars in the early part of their careers.

Petty left to drive for the Wood Brothers in 1985, taking the sponsor with him and causing the team to shut down.

He finished second in NASCAR Grand National Series points, scoring his first career win at Charlotte Fairgrounds Speedway.

1971 was a year of "threes" for Petty, he won his third Daytona 500 and third championship, edging over Virginia driver, James Hylton.

This paint scheme would become the one of all STP sponsored race car, most notably Gordon Johncock's 1982 Indianapolis 500 winning automobile.

1975 was another historic year for Petty, as he won the World 600 in Charlotte for the first time in his career, en route to twelve more victories and his sixth series title.

The team could not get their Dodge Magnum to handle the way they wanted, even though they spent countless hours trying to improve the car's performance.

Unhappy with his 1978 results, Petty decided to part ways with Chrysler, and began racing General Motors vehicles.

He kicked off the season with winning the Daytona 500, the sixth of his career, and the first live flag-to-flag broadcast of a NASCAR race.

He ran most of the remaining races that season in a Chevrolet, winning four additional times, and his seventh and final NASCAR championship, beating Darrell Waltrip by eleven points.

Richard would leave Petty Enterprises after the 1983 season, moving to Curb Racing in hopes his statistics would improve.

Petty's final top ten finish came in the 1991 Budweiser at the Glen, which is the same race that claimed the life of veteran driver JD McDuffie.

[2][3] Legacy Motor Club and Daytona International Speedway unveiled the first of 28 unique statues featuring Petty’s famed hat.

In 1998, journeyman John Andretti was hired and he gave the team three Top 5's in his first year, and another win at Martinsville the following.

The #43 team began a noticeable downward slide, and would not win another race in Cup competition until 2014 as Richard Petty Motorsports.

In 2006, the team brought in 2000 Winston Cup champion Bobby Labonte and former Hendrick Motorsports crew chief Robbie Loomis.

Late in the 2007 season, Petty Enterprises moved its shop into the old Robert Yates Racing facility in Mooresville, North Carolina.

Labonte fell back to 21st in points in 2008, posting just two top-10 finishes Earlier in the year, General Mills announced they would leave the team to sponsor Richard Childress Racing's fourth cup car in 2009.

Rumors surfaced in early December 2008 that Petty Enterprises may cease operations and liquidate its assets, since Boston Venture was unable to secure sponsorship for the No.

CEO David F. Zucker was reassigned to the Richard Petty Driving Experience, which Boston Ventures also controlled.

Petty Enterprises hired several substitute drivers including Jerry Nadeau, who nearly led the team to victory at Sonoma in June, and Greg Biffle, who ran the last three races.

For 2007, with the passing of Benny Parsons, Petty would join TNT for six races, dubbed their "Summer Series".

During this time, John Andretti returned to the team for four races, and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver Chad McCumbee made his debut at Pocono Raceway.

After the Centurion Boats at the Glen, Kyle injured his hand in the team's hauler due to punching a desk.

45 car posted no Top 10s and went through multiple sponsors and drivers, it was announced in early December 2008 that Petty Enterprises may cease operations and liquidate its assets since Boston Venture was unable to secure sponsorship for the No.

Combs earned new career bests of 6th at Myrtle Beach and Atlanta, and tacked on a 10th at Dover International Speedway and a large 16 other top-20s to boot.

On May 12, 2000, in a practice session for the Busch 200 race[7] at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, which would have been his 48th career Busch Series start, Petty's throttle had stuck wide open going into the third turn of the track, causing the car to hit the outside wall virtually head on, killing Adam instantly as he developed a basilar skull fracture.

44 Hot Wheels-sponsored Pontiac Grand Prix Winston Cup car at the time of his son's fatal crash at New Hampshire, chose to take over Adam's No.

In 1995, Petty Enterprises made their Craftsman Truck Series debut with Rodney Combs drove the No.

According to Richard, the color was created by accident when they didn't have enough white or dark blue paint to cover the entire car.