Richard Petty Set to Make North Carolina History With Prestigious Honor
· Yahoo Sports
Richard Petty has collected just about every honor the racing world has to offer. His next one will extend well beyond NASCAR.
North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein announced that Petty will receive the North Carolina Award, the state’s highest civilian honor, during a ceremony at the Lenovo Center in Raleigh on Nov. 17.
Visit grenadier.co.za for more information.
Petty is one of six North Carolinians selected for the honor in 2026, but his inclusion comes with another distinction: The seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion will become the first motorsports figure ever to receive the North Carolina Award.
For a man whose career and life have become almost inseparable from the state’s racing identity, it is a fitting piece of history.
Richard Petty will become first motorsports recipient of North Carolina Award
Created by the North Carolina General Assembly in 1961, the North Carolina Award recognizes significant contributions to the state and nation in literature, public service, science and the fine arts.
More than 300 people have received the honor since its inception, including some of the state’s most accomplished authors, artists, scientists and public servants.
Now, “The King” is joining them.
Petty was selected in the public service category alongside retired Lt. Gen. Kevin Vereen and former North Carolina State University Chancellor Randy Woodson. Author Jason Mott was selected for literature, paleontologist Lindsay Zanno for science and artist Beverly McIver for fine arts.
“Over the past six decades, the North Carolina Award has been awarded to many remarkable North Carolinians,” Stein said in announcing the recipients. “Our 2026 recipients represent the best of our state, and it is a privilege to honor these outstanding individuals.”
Petty’s selection recognizes far more than the numbers that made him one of the defining figures in NASCAR history.
The Level Cross, North Carolina, native won a record 200 Cup Series races and seven championships during a career that stretched from 1958 through 1992. His 200 victories remain the most in Cup Series history, while his seven championships are tied with Dale Earnhardt and Jimmie Johnson for the all-time record.
Petty also won the Daytona 500 seven times, another mark no driver has matched.
Those accomplishments made the No. 43 one of the most recognizable cars in American motorsports. But the award Petty will receive in November also reflects what he has done away from it.
Petty’s impact in North Carolina extends far beyond NASCAR
Petty’s connection to North Carolina did not end when he climbed out of a race car for the final time.
His charitable work has included the creation of Victory Junction, the camp established in honor of his late grandson, Adam Petty. Located in Randleman, North Carolina, Victory Junction serves children living with serious illnesses and medical conditions.
The 89-year-old Petty has previously received national recognition for his contributions outside racing as well. President George H.W. Bush awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1992, and Petty received the Secretary’s Award for his contributions to organization from the Department of Veterans Affairs in 2003. The American Legion presented him with its Good Guy Award in 2014 for his contributions to the community.
The North Carolina Award carries a different kind of significance.
Petty’s career unfolded during NASCAR’s transformation from a largely regional Southern sport into a national powerhouse. Through it all, his identity remained rooted in North Carolina, the state where the Petty racing dynasty began and where its presence remains today.
His selection as the award’s first motorsports recipient also gives racing a place in a tradition that has existed for more than six decades.
That feels particularly appropriate in North Carolina, where NASCAR’s history runs through communities, race shops and families across the state.
Petty will officially receive the honor alongside the other five recipients on Nov. 17 in Raleigh.
Sixty-eight years after Petty made his NASCAR debut, North Carolina is preparing to recognize The King for something even bigger than what he accomplished behind the wheel.