With the birth of NASCAR came the birth of one of the first families of NASCAR, the Pettys. Saturday, Oct. 16, Lee Petty will join his son Richard in the Talladega/Texaco Walk of Fame, becoming the second father-son duo to be voted in by the fans.

Compared to today's rookies, Petty got a late start in the sport at the age of 35. Teaming up with his brother, Maurice, Petty entered his first race in 1948 and won. But with the dawn of NASCAR came changes to the sport and Petty was determined to keep up. He borrowed a car and headed off to Charlotte, N.C. to compete in the first NASCAR race.

Although Petty didn't finish that first race, the next 10 years brought victory after victory. Between 1949 and 1959 Petty finished no lower than fourth in the NASCAR Grand National championship, now known as the Winston Cup. Petty claimed three series titles, in 1954, 1958 and 1959.

One of Petty's career highlights came when he took the checkered flag in the first Daytona 500 in 1959. It was such a close race that NASCAR officials researched the photographs of the finish for three days before declaring a winner. Petty's driving career ended at Watkins Glen, N.Y. in 1964. But not before Petty nailed down 54 career wins and raced in over 400 races.

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