Richard Petty Named Honorary Starter For The Goodyear 400 At Darlington Raceway

Richard Petty Named Honorary Starter For The Goodyear 400 At Darlington Raceway

by May 4, 2022 0 comments

DARLINGTON, S.C. – Darlington Raceway and Goodyear, the “Official Tire of NASCAR,” announce that NASCAR Hall of Famer (2010) and seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, Richard “The King” Petty, will serve as the honorary starter for the Goodyear 400 on Sunday, May 8.

“Richard Petty is an icon in the sports world, so we are proud to add one more accolade to his legendary career as the honorary starter for the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway,” said Kerry Tharp, Darlington Raceway President. “’The King’ will join many of his fellow NASCAR Hall of Famers and legends as part of the Official Throwback Weekend of NASCAR at the track Too Tough To Tame on May 6-8.”

“Darlington Raceway has always been too tough for me as I only conquered it three times,” said Richard Petty, NASCAR Hall of Famer and chairman for Petty GMS Motorsports. “I generally ran good, but did not always finish well. The last time I drove around the track at Darlington in 2017, I got black flagged. This time as the honorary starter, I’ll be holding the flag!”

Petty, one of greatest drivers in motorsports history, is no stranger to leading the pack at the track Too Tough To Tame. Of the 17,120 laps that Petty turned on the famed 1.366-mile egg-shaped oval during his illustrious career, he has led 2,391 of those. Along with three wins and four poles at Darlington, he leads all other drivers with the most starts, 65 to be exact, at the track.

Petty, who began his career in NASCAR in 1958 at the age of 21, would go on to win two Grand National Series titles and five Winston Cup Series championships. Along with holding the all-time record for wins in the Cup Series with 200, Petty holds the record for most Cup victories in a season with 27 and most consecutive Cup Series checkered flags in a row with 10. Petty serves as chairman for Petty GMS Motorsports, which competes in the legendary No. 43 with Erik Jones in the Cup Series.

To learn more about the career of Richard Petty, visit his webpage on the NASCAR Hall of Fame or www.richardpetty.com.

Tune in to watch the Goodyear 400 on Sunday, May 8 at 3:30 p.m. ET on FS1, Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, where Goodyear will provide aerial coverage of the race.

2022 NASCAR Season

Darlington Raceway will host the Official Throwback Weekend of NASCAR on May 6-8, featuring all three national series with the Dead On Tools 200 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race on Friday, May 6 at 7:30 p.m., Mahindra ROXOR 200 NASCAR Xfinity Series race on Saturday, May 7 at 1:30 p.m. and Goodyear 400 NASCAR Cup Series race on Mother’s Day, Sunday, May 8 at 3:30 p.m.

The Tradition Continues at Darlington Raceway with the Labor Day Race Weekend on Sept. 3-4, featuring the Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help A Hero 200 Xfinity Series race on Saturday, Sept. 3 at 3:00 p.m. and start of the Cup Series Playoffs in the 73rd running of the crown jewel Cook Out Southern 500® over Labor Day weekend on Sunday, Sept. 4 at 6:00 p.m.

NASCAR tickets are available for purchase via phone at 866-459-7223 or online at darlingtonraceway.com.

Stay connected to Darlington Raceway on FacebookInstagramTwitter and the all-new NASCAR Tracks App.

About Darlington Raceway

Darlington Raceway, nicknamed The Lady in Black and the track Too Tough To Tame, is home to the award-winning Official Throwback Weekend of NASCAR and annually hosts two NASCAR Cup Series race weekends, along with the NASCAR Xfinity Series and/or NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Opening in 1950, Darlington Raceway is “A NASCAR Tradition” and NASCAR’s original superspeedway with its famed 1.366-mile egg-shaped oval, challenging the sports best in one of the most iconic NASCAR races, the Southern 500®. For more information about Darlington Raceway, visit darlingtonraceway.com.

About The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company

Goodyear is one of the world’s largest tire companies. It employs about 72,000 people and manufactures its products in 57 facilities in 23 countries around the world. Its two Innovation Centers in Akron, Ohio, and Colmar-Berg, Luxembourg, strive to develop state-of-the-art products and services that set the technology and performance standard for the industry. For more information about Goodyear and its products, go to www.goodyear.com/corporate.

About NASCAR

The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) is the sanctioning body for the No. 1 form of motorsports in the United States and owner of 16 of the nation’s major motorsports entertainment facilities. NASCAR consists of three national series (NASCAR Cup Series™, NASCAR Xfinity Series™, and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series™), four regional series (ARCA Menards Series, ARCA Menards Series East & West and the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour), one local grassroots series (NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series) and three international series (NASCAR Pinty’s Series, NASCAR Peak Mexico Series, NASCAR Whelen Euro Series). The International Motor Sports Association™ (IMSA®) governs the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship™, the premier U.S. sports car series. NASCAR also owns Motor Racing Network, Racing Electronics, and ONE DAYTONA. Based in Daytona Beach, Florida, with offices in eight cities across North America, NASCAR sanctions more than 1,200 races in more than 30 U.S. states, Canada, Mexico and Europe. For more information visit www.NASCAR.com and www.IMSA.com, and follow NASCAR on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat (‘NASCAR’).

Source: Darlington Raceway

Photo Credit: Hunter Thomas/TheFourthTurn.com

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