Maurice Petty facts for kids

Maurice Petty (born March 27, 1939 – died July 25, 2020) was a very important person in NASCAR racing. He was an American crew chief and engine builder for a famous racing team called Petty Enterprises. He was also a part-owner of this team. Maurice Petty was honored in the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2011. Later, he was also added to the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2014. He was the very first person known mainly for building engines to be put into the NASCAR Hall of Fame!

Growing Up in Racing

Maurice Petty was born in Level Cross, North Carolina, on March 27, 1939. When he was a kid, he loved to go to the race track with his dad, Lee Petty. Maurice was really good with machines. His amazing mechanical skills helped his father become a very successful racer. Maurice himself raced 26 times in the NASCAR Cup Series between 1960 and 1964. But he soon decided that building powerful engines was what he loved most.

A Career in Racing

The Petty Racing Team

The famous Petty Enterprises racing team was started by Maurice's father, Lee Petty, and his two sons. The Petty family worked together as a team. Because of their teamwork, they won over 250 races! Maurice's main jobs were building engines and being a crew chief. A crew chief is like the coach of a race team.

Maurice raced in 26 competitions from 1960 to 1964. His best finish as a driver was third place. This happened at the Piedmont Interstate Fairgrounds in Spartanburg, South Carolina, in 1961.

Engine Builder Extraordinaire

In 1970, Maurice Petty was the crew chief for a driver named Pete Hamilton. Pete won three races for Petty Enterprises that year. These wins included the famous 1970 Daytona 500 and two races at Talladega Superspeedway.

Maurice was especially known for building engines. He built the powerful engines that helped his brother, Richard Petty, win a record 200 races! Richard also won seven Cup Series championships thanks to Maurice's engines.

Hall of Fame Honors

In 2011, Maurice Petty was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in Talladega, Alabama. This was to celebrate his amazing career. He was honored for being a team owner, an engine builder, a crew chief, and a driver.

Just three years later, he was also put into the NASCAR Hall of Fame. He made history by becoming the first engine builder to join this special Hall. He was also the fourth person from the Petty Enterprises team to be inducted.

Family and Later Life

Maurice Petty was the younger brother of racing legend Richard Petty. Richard relied on Maurice's engines throughout his amazing career. Maurice was also the uncle of Kyle Petty and Trent Owens. He was the great-uncle of Adam Petty.

Maurice was married to his wife, Patricia, for 52 years. She passed away in 2014. When Maurice was a child, he had an illness called polio. This illness made it harder for him to move around as he got older. This played a part in his decision to retire from the Petty Enterprises team.

Maurice Petty passed away on July 25, 2020, at the age of 81.

Honors and Awards

• 2011: Inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame
• 2013: Nominated for the NASCAR Hall of Fame
• 2014: Inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2014