DARLINGTON, S.C. – NASCAR Hall of Famer and seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Richard “The King” Petty, will serve as the honorary starter for Sunday’s Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway.
“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.
