A Brief History of NASCAR King Richard Petty’s Political Career

With 7 Cup Series champions to his name, Richard Petty is one of the founding pillars on which the US motorsports stands today. Though after retiring from full-time racing in 1992, Petty turned his attention to politics, a path that many before and after him have followed. And unlike in his career in racing, Petty failed to make an impact in this new field.

Petty’s first and final run for the statewide office came in 1996, a year after he proclaimed that he wasn’t yet ready to give up on racing in favor of politics. Facing the elections as the Republican candidate of the Grand Old Party, Petty and his fellows were completely confident of his win. Dismay came around after a flawed electoral campaign filled with autograph sessions and an untimely hit-and-run charge. Petty lost the election to Democrat Elaine Marshall and said, “If I knew I was going to lose, I wouldn’t have run.”

The words have since become a popular phrase in North Carolina politics. Though he wasn’t exactly new to the political scene, having served as the Republican on the Randolph County Board of Commissioners from 1978 to 1990, it wasn’t a credential that helped him a lot in 1996.

Petty also famously batted for the 2012 Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney in Iowa and said, “You go to the racetrack, and the majority of the people I associate with are conservative because they make their own decisions on what to do on the racecar when to make pit stops. They’re very individual people.” As for an elected office for himself, he never ran again.

Richard Petty lends voice to Republican Christian Castelli ahead of primary elections

With the Republican Party candidate Christian Castelli running for the 2024 election to represent North Carolina’s 6th Congressional District, Petty has refreshed his allegiance to the party. He said, “I know a leader and fighter when I see one. And believe me, Colonel Christian Castelli is a leader who will fight for North Carolina values.”

“He’s a Green Beret who has served our country in uniform. He knows how to keep us safe and will stand with law enforcement.”

Petty had previously supported Castelli in 2022 when the retired colonel won the Republican primary in N.C. 6 but lost in the general elections.

The expectations from his political affiliations never really finding bullseye in the past, there is little to say that votes would sway by Petty’s words in the future.