Maurice Petty

Maurice Petty
Born(1939-03-27)March 27, 1939
Level Cross, North Carolina, U.S.
DiedJuly 25, 2020(2020-07-25) (aged 81)
AwardsInternational Motorsports Hall of Fame (2011)
NASCAR Hall of Fame (2014)
NASCAR Cup Series career
26 races run over 5 years
Best finish57th (1962)
First race1960 Race 28 (Dixie)
Last race1964 Joe Weatherly 150 (Occoneechee)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 16 0

Maurice Petty (March 27, 1939 – July 25, 2020) was an American NASCAR crew chief and engine builder for Petty Enterprises, of which he was part owner. He was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2011. He was subsequently enshrined into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2014. He was the first engine builder to be inducted into that Hall.

Early life

Petty was born in Level Cross, North Carolina, on March 27, 1939. As a child, he would follow his father, Lee Petty, to the race track. The younger Petty's mechanical skills were credited as having played an "integral part" in his father's success. Although he himself started 26 times in the NASCAR Cup Series between 1960 and 1964, he soon elected to focus on engine building.[1]

Career

Petty Enterprises was founded by Lee Petty and his two sons. The Petty family, working together as a team, corporately won over 250 races. Maurice primarily served the organization as engine builder and crew chief. He raced for the organization in 26 competitions from 1960 to 1964. As a driver, his best finish was third place at the Piedmont Interstate Fairgrounds in Spartanburg, South Carolina in 1961.[2] In 1970, Petty was the crew chief for Pete Hamilton, who won three races for Petty Enterprises, including the 1970 Daytona 500 and both races at Talladega Superspeedway.[3] As an engine builder, Maurice built the motors that helped his brother Richard win a record 200 victories, along with seven Cup Series championships.[2]

In 2011, Maurice Petty was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in Talladega, Alabama, in recognition of his career as a team owner, engine builder, crew chief, and driver.[4] Three years later, he was enshrined into the NASCAR Hall of Fame. He became the first engine builder to be inducted into that Hall,[1] as well as the fourth member from Petty Enterprises.[5]

Personal life and Death

Petty was the younger brother of Richard Petty,[2] who depended on his engines throughout the latter's career.[1] He was also the uncle of Kyle Petty and Trent Owens,[1] and the great uncle of Adam Petty.[6] Maurice was married to Patricia for 52 years, until her death in 2014.[1][6] Maurice had three sons: Timmy, Mark and Ritchie.[7] Maurice Petty suffered from polio as a child, and ongoing effects of the illness resulted in him becoming less mobile, which played a role in his retirement from the Petty Enterprises team.[8]

Petty died on the morning of July 25, 2020, at age 81. The cause of death was undisclosed.[1][9]

Honors and awards

Motorsports career results

Source:[11]

NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Grand National Series

NASCAR Grand National Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 NGNC Pts
1960 Petty Enterprises 44 Plymouth CLT CLB DAY DAY DAY CLT NWS PHO CLB MAR HCY WIL BGS GPS AWS DAR PIF HBO RCH HMS CLT BGS DAY HEI MAB MBS ATL BIR
8 		NSV AWS PIF CLB SBO BGS DAR HCY CSF GSP HBO MAR NWS CLT 94th 304
42 RCH
9 		ATL
1961 43 CLT JSP DAY DAY DAY PIF AWS HMS ATL GPS HBO
15 		GPS
7 		59th –
42 BGS
14 		MAR NWS CLB HCY RCH MAR DAR CLT CLT RSD ASP CLT PIF
3 		BIR GPS
7 		BGS
13 		NOR HAS STR DAY ATL CLB MBS
18 		BRI NSV HBO
4
44 BGS
21 		AWS RCH SBO DAR HCY RCH CSF ATL MAR NWS CLT BRI
1962 43 CON
26 		AWS DAY DAY DAY CON 57th 1278
41 AWS
4 		SVH HBO
6 		RCH CLB NWS GPS MBS MAR BGS BRI
19 		RCH HCY CON
5 		DAR PIF CLT ATL BGS AUG RCH SBO DAY CLB ASH GPS AUG SVH MBS BRI CHT NSV HUN AWS STR BGS PIF VAL DAR HCY RCH DTS AUG MAR NWS CLT ATL
1963 42 BIR
14 		GGS
6 		THS
5 		RSD DAY DAY DAY PIF AWS HBO ATL HCY BRI AUG RCH GPS SBO BGS MAR NWS 74th 944
43 CLB
20 		THS DAR ODS RCH CLT BIR ATL DAY MBS SVH DTS BGS ASH OBS BRR BRI GPS NSV CLB AWS PIF BGS ONA DAR HCY RCH MAR DTS NWS THS CLT SBO HBO RSD
1964 41 CON
5 		AUG JSP
DNQ 		RCH
7 		BRI GPS
7 		BGS ATL AWS
6 		HBO
22 		PIF CLB NWS MAR SVH DAR LGY HCY SBO CLT GPS ASH ATL CON NSV CHT BIR VAL PIF DAY ODS OBS BRR ISP GLN LIN BRI NSV MBS AWS DTS ONA CLB BGS STR DAR HCY RCH ODS HBO MAR SVH NWS CLT HAR AUG JAC 61st 1760
42 SVH
4 		RSD DAY DAY DAY

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Skretta, Dave (July 25, 2020). "Maurice Petty, Hall of Fame engine builder, dies at 81". Associated Press. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Maurice Petty". Nascar.com. March 27, 1939. Retrieved April 13, 2013.
  3. ^ "Pete Hamilton Interview". Archived from the original on March 24, 2017. Retrieved April 14, 2013.
  4. ^ "Patricia Petty, wife of Maurice Petty, dies". Motorsport.com. May 12, 2014. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
  5. ^ Gluck, Jeff (January 29, 2014). "Maurice Petty completes family portrait in NASCAR Hall of Fame". USA Today. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
  6. ^ a b Estrada, Chris (May 12, 2014). "Patricia Petty, wife of Maurice and sister-in-law of Richard, died on Sunday". NBC Sports. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
  7. ^ "Eldest son continues Maurice Petty's legacy". NASCAR. Retrieved September 4, 2023.
  8. ^ Freedman, Lew (2013). Encyclopedia of Stock Car Racing. United States: Pitstop Publishing. p. 596. ISBN 978-0313387098. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  9. ^ Maurice Petty, NASCAR Hall of Fame engine builder, dies
  10. ^ "Maurice Petty". Archived from the original on August 12, 2013. Retrieved April 26, 2013.
  11. ^ "Maurice Petty NASCAR Statistics". NASCAR Driver Averages. Retrieved July 25, 2020.