August 22 - This day in Petty history

1969 - Richard Petty wins his 100th career NASCAR Grand National race. He wins the pole and leads only 9 laps in the Myers Brothers 250 at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, NC.

The race is significant enough to merit its own Wikipedia entry!

Petty's accomplishment nearly had to wait until another event. After starting on the pole, Petty spun on lap 1 after nudging the back end of of Bobby Isaac's car. However, he was able to get it headed in the right direction without losing a lap. Isaac then proceeded to dominate the race by leading 241 laps. He and Petty had to make a final pit stop for fuel. Isaac ran out of gas after he had passed the pit road entrance. He lost a 2-lap lead as he coasted around. Petty too ran out of gas; however, he ran out before the pit road entrance. He was able to coast into his pit stall, get some fuel, and take the win.

Petty's milestone win is almost twice the total of the second winningest driver, Lee Petty. Lee finished his career with 54 wins. And for those who have only become NASCAR fans (or media members) in recent years, Richard's 100 wins were all in the Grand National/Cup series vs. accumulated through three series as accomplished by Kyle Busch.

Interestingly, Richard earned his 100th win in the single season he raced Fords rather than his traditional Plymouths and Dodges.

Article courtesy of Jerry Bushmire

A few years ago, WIX Oil Filters released a collectible die-cast of Petty's car to commemorate the 100th victory.

TMC