NASCAR legend Richard Petty, age 77, at his shop in the community of Level Cross on Friday, October 17, 2014, in Randleman, N.C. Petty lost his wife in March. He and Lynda Petty had been together for almost their entire lives. The five years before her death he cared for her. Now Petty is focused on Petty's Garage. A modern hot rod shop where a team of mechanics build cars for people who love fast cars. Petty, nicknamed The King, is a former NASCAR driver who raced in the Strictly Stock/Grand National Era and the NASCAR Winston Cup Series. He is most well known for winning the NASCAR Championship seven times, winning a record 200 races during his career, and winning the Daytona 500 a record seven times. He also won a record 27 races, ten of them consecutively, in the 1967 season.