Kyle Petty’s first victory came in his first start during an ARCA event at Daytona Int’l Speedway in February 1979. That same year, he entered five Cup Series races before joining the full schedule in 1981 for Petty Enterprises.
Petty earned his first Cup Series victory for Wood Brothers Racing at Richmond (Va.) Raceway in February 1986. Petty was fifth when Dale Earnhardt and Darrell Waltrip tangled while battling for the lead, collecting Joe Ruttman and Geoff Bodine as well.
“We didn’t think we won,” Petty remembered. “I got there, slowed down, down shifted, not hustling at all, just trying to get through the carnage. I came around and Eddie Wood was talking to me on the radio. There were no scoring loops back then. We ran a lap or so and he said, ‘I think we just won the race.’ I said, ‘You’ve got to be kidding.’
“He started counting the cars and sure enough, we were in the lead. Of all the times you dream of winning your first race, that’s not the way you’ve dreamed it,” Petty continued. “That’s not the way it came to you. It was a big day for me because Kyle finally won a race. The win at Richmond was a team win. All of us won on the race track that day, but I think all of us won in a personal way that day. I was overjoyed.
“I was at Wood Brothers Racing because Eddie and Len Wood took a chance on me,” Petty added. “I laugh when I think of how they had A.J. Foyt and Cale Yarborough and David Pearson and Neil Bonnett and, ‘Oh yeah, let’s put Kyle in the car.’ And I’m like, ‘What? That doesn’t make any sense.’”
Two races stand out as Kyle Petty’s favorites, but he didn’t win either one.
“The first is the 1979 Daytona 500 my dad won,” he said. “I was in high school and working in the shop what seemed like all the time. Richie Barz and Steve Hmiel let me help them do fabrication work on that Oldsmobile. I was a part of building that car. Not a huge part but a part of it. That was the first car I could stand beside and say I helped build. Then, my dad goes out and wins the biggest race. It was a huge moment for me because I loved fabricating. That has stood forever as my favorite race.
“The second race was when Adam won the ARCA race at Charlotte in a PE2 (Petty Enterprises 2) car in 1998,” Petty continued. “That was originally a Cup car and he backed it into the wall. We had to beat the fenders out in the ARCA garage and got parts off of another PE2 car and repainted it purple out in the parking lot. He went out and won that ARCA race. To be a part of your father’s win on one side and then a part of that night at Charlotte and be a part of Adam’s win on the other side, those are the greatest wins of my life. The greatest victories for me were not Kyle Petty wins.”
Petty’s seven other victories came while driving for Felix Sabates.
“Driving for Felix Sabates was a life-changing moment,” Petty said. “I learned more from him about business, about life, about things. … He is so smart and he always knows there is more to life and more to business than just the numbers. There’s more to life than just the money. It’s about enjoying life and experiencing life. He loves this country. Looking back to when we were together as driver and team owner, it was the highlight of my life.”