Few argue about Richard Petty's nickname. They call him "The King," which is what winning 200 races will earn you. Here's some information on the man who has become synonymous with stock-car racing.

Like Father, Like Son

Richard Petty's father, Lee, was one of the founding fathers of stock-car racing in the United States. While Richard Petty was underage and ineligible to race, he worked on his father's racing team as a mechanic and dreamed of someday becoming a Chief Mechanic for his father and other racing teams.

When he was old enough to race, however, his dreams immediately shifted. His first attempts at getting his father to allow him to race were met with a firm "no." As with all great performers, however, Petty soon found himself where he wanted to be -- behind the wheel of a race car.

That was in 1958. In 1959, Petty was honored as NASCAR's "Rookie of the Year."

An Unprecedented Legacy

It took 34 years to get Petty out of the driver's seat, and in that time, he won an unprecedented and likely untouchable 200 times. Driving the blue, No. 43 car sponsored by STP, Petty was to NASCAR as Babe Ruth was to baseball -- maybe their sports would have succeeded without them, but with them, they thrived.

Looking at modern-day NASCAR, one is struck full-force by Petty's accomplishments. Of his 200 victories, seven were in NASCAR's biggest race, The Daytona 500. He won the Winston Cup (now Nextel) Championship a record seven times. In 1967, Petty won 10 consecutive races, a record that still stands. And not only did Petty win a lot, the fans loved him for it, as he was named the most popular driver in NASCAR in nine separate years.

The Legacy Continues

Inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1997, Petty did not become a shrinking violet on the NASCAR scene following his retirement. He is still the owner of Petty Enterprises, which fields two to three cars in the prestigious Nextel Cup, as well as one car in the Busch Series and one in the Craftsman Series truck. His son, Kyle, is still an active racer on his father's team.