Mr BioFile Interviews by Scoop Malinowski
By Scoop Malinowski
Status: NASCAR legend and owner of Petty Enterprises.
DOB: July 12, 1937 In: Randleman, NC
Childhood Heroes: If I had any, it’d have been my dad (Lee). You gotta figure, we grew up in the 40s and there was no TV, no radio, didn’t read newspapers. So you didn’t even know there was an outside world out there. Growing up in rural North Carolina, you didn’t know about a Mickey Mantle, a Babe Ruth or none of that kind of stuff. You learned that after you got a little bit older.
Hobbies/Interests: You know, back when we were growing up, I was big on whittling. I used to like to make model planes and stuff like that. I used to like to take a block of wood and make a car or an animal out of it. Again, we didn’t have nothing to do, so that’s what we did.
Favorite Movies: We didn’t go to the movies back then [laughs]! I was before the movies. The first movie I’d ever seen was Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs when I was in the fifth grade. When that movie came out, they took classes from school downtown to the movie theater. First time I’d ever seen a movie. I liked Dr. Zhivago because I like the theme song. And John Wayne movies.
Musical Tastes: Country music. That’s all we listened to back then. That’s all we listen to now. Hank Williams. Alabama.
Favorite TV Shows: I watch a lot of the History Channel.
First Job: Probably sweeping floors at the shop. Really, when I was growing up, my uncles were all in the tobacco business. But as far as having a job, working in the tobacco field hoein’ the tobacco, suckin’ it, gettin’ out the worms. And then primin’ it and puttin’ it in the barns. That was the first time anybody ever gave me money for doing anything.
Early Racing Memory: I have a memory of the first Winston Cup race – in Charlotte in 1949. We drove the car over to the racetrack. Then we crashed the thing. Then we had to ride him with my uncle to get home.
Favorite Meal: Pinto beans and onions, cornbread and a big glass of milk.
Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: Butter pecan.
Funny Racing Memory: [Laughs]… probably these questions you’re asking me [laughs]. I don’t know about that.
Pre-Race Feeling: Just another deal to do. As far as adrenaline flow or any of that stuff, if they’re gonna have a race, it’s gonna start at 1 o’clock. And as long as I get in the car, we’re OK. Some of the bigger races, like Daytona, being down there for two to three weeks, we’d say, This is what we’re running, these are the people that we gotta run against, how we gonna beat them? But the majority of the races, you just got in the car and whatever was in front of you, you made reflexes and thoughts off of that.
Greatest Sports Moment: [Laughs]… that’s a good one. Probably winning the 200th win (1984). I can still remember that one. A lot of the other ones, I can’t. The biggest deal in my life – besides getting married and having kids – was the Presidential Medal of Freedom. That was a high, high honor. And I was one of the very few people in the United States to get that.
Most Painful Moment: [Laughs]… well some of them was wrecks. They’re always painful. I’ve been in a lot of hard crashes. Some of the deals where you lost races on the last lap and stuff like that, they were pretty painful foo. But you overcome them. Probably just getting hurt. Maybe here at Pocono, probably I got hurt as bad as I did anywhere … broken neck. And that bothered me for a couple weeks. That was pretty painful.
Favorite Vacation Spot: Alpine, Wyoming. We got a place out there. That’s my favorite place, ’cause it’s so laid back. It’s sort of like going to Las Vegas, they don’t use clocks [laughs]. I mean, sun comes up, sun goes down, everybody’s laid back. There’s not a lot of people. 200,000 people in the whole state. The deal is that people don’t bother Richard Petty there. I can go to town, they throw their hand up like I’m a neighbor. That’s what part of the allure is. It’s my getaway.
Closest Racing Friends: I don’t know if I had any real close. In fact, I know I never had any close friends who were racers. Hopefully, we got along, we got along with everybody. That was probably good enough.
Toughest Competitors: Pearson, Allison, Yarborough. The crowd that I came through with, they were real, real fierce.
Favorite Athletes To Watch: Well, Kyle Petty (son) is my favorite racer. Michael Jordan. NFL football. I’m a fan of the Washington Redskins. My grandson likes the Green Bay Packers. And we take them up to Green Bay for one game a year. Kind of like a Christmas present. We got to meet Brett Favre.
People Qualities Most Admired: Common sense. That takes care of everything.
(Note: This Biofile was done at Pocono Raceway in 2004 and was originally published in NASCAR Scene weekly magazine)
