tool name
closeRichard Petty to be honored at Dover
The Associated Press
Wednesday, Jul. 02, 2008
Dover International Speedway's 40th anniversary celebration will include a tribute to the first driver to win a race at the Monster Mile, Richard Petty.
He took the first checkered flag on the high-banked racetrack on July 6, 1969, driving Petty Enterprises' No. 43 Ford. He led 150 of 300 laps in the inaugural race, then called the Mason-Dixon 300.
Forty years and seven Dover wins later, Petty will be honored with a marquee plaque on the Monster Monument at Victory Plaza. The four-foot high granite plaque, which will include Petty's career and Dover highlights and an engraved image of the Hall of Famer, will be added to the monument Sept. 20.
Petty joins Bobby Allison as the only drivers with plaques on the monument.
The king of stock-car racing, with 200 career NASCAR Cup Series wins, notched the 199th win of his career at Dover on May 20, 1984.