It’s the drivers who usually get the spotlight in NASCAR but one of the first non-drivers who became incredibly famous was Maurice Petty. He wasn’t as popular as his father Lee or his brother Richard. However, the seven-time Cup Series champion had stated in the past that there wouldn’t have been a Richard Petty or a Lee Petty or a Dale Inman without Maurice, the man everyone called “Chief.”
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Maurice was an engine builder primarily for his family’s racing team, Petty Enterprises. He is credited with a whopping 212 race victories, including 198 of his brother’s 200 race wins. He has also built engines that helped the likes of Buddy Baker, Jim Paschal, and Pete Hamilton achieve race wins. In 2014, he became the first-ever engine builder to be inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
The younger Petty brother had to overcome polio early on in his life. He managed to beat the disease but it left him with a limp and occasional tremors. But that never stopped him from becoming a legend in NASCAR folklore. While his father and brother were out on the track winning championships, Maurice was the king of the garage. He helped build the iconic Chrysler Corp 426-cubic-inch Hemi engine which dominated the sport.
His crowning moment came in 1964, the same year which saw the Hemi make its NASCAR debut. It was the year in which Richard won the first of his seven championships with his brother’s engines. He earned nine victories, 37 top-fives, and 43 top-10 finishes that year. Just think about how astronomical those numbers are. Maurice’s engines were consistently that good for decades.
Maurice was more than just an engine builder
Engine building is not the only thing he did for his family’s race team. As and when required, the “Chief” did not hesitate to jump inside a race car or take up crew chief duties. He started 26 races in his career and earned seven top-five and 16 top-10 finishes. To this day, no single engine builder has achieved the level of success he did. The fascinating part is that Maurice did it all with limited resources when he first started.
The racing legend passed away at the age of 81 in 2020, drawing tributes from every corner of the country. NASCAR CEO Jim France called him “one of the most talented mechanics in NASCAR history”. When he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2013, the veteran was filled with joy as all four members of the Petty family had been inducted — him, Richard, Lee, and Dale (crew chief and cousin).
It must have been a collective dream as the three young ones grew up watching Lee Petty race. Several decades later, that dream was realized and the Petty family became the most iconic in the sport’s history. And each of them contributed to that legacy in the best possible way.
