Richard Petty: Growing up poor, racing legends & 200 wins | Full Interview (2016)

NASCAR icon Richard Petty — "The King" — opens up like never before. From growing up without electricity or running water on a North Carolina tobacco farm, to moonshining, broken necks, 200 victories, and eating Kentucky Fried Chicken with President Reagan — this is the full, unfiltered story of one of the greatest athletes in American sports history. #podcast #racing #nascar 0:00 – Introduction & Welcome 0:31 – Growing Up on a Tobacco & Dairy Farm 1:08 – Work Ethic Lessons from His Parents 1:47 – The Reality of Tobacco Farming 2:46 – Life Without Electricity or Running Water 5:04 – The House Fire That Changed Everything 8:47 – Brothers, Rocks & Childhood Scars 9:47 – Why Richard Never Dreamed of Being a Driver 10:48 – His Dad Made Him Wait Until Age 21 11:51 – Working on Lee Petty's Race Team as a Kid 12:56 – Sneaking Into the Pits (The Pit Pass Trick) 14:53 – Driving Dad's Wrecked Car Home at Age 13 16:07 – Riding on the Hood During a Race 17:50 – Lee Petty Protests Richard's First Win 20:28 – Lee Petty's Moonshining Days 23:10 – How the Pettys First Discovered NASCAR 24:53 – First Trip to Daytona — First Time Seeing the Ocean 26:08 – What Early NASCAR Was Really Like 35:04 – Richard's First Professional Race 38:06 – The Role of Attitude & Confidence in Racing 41:00 – Fate, Peak Performance & When Athletes Decline 42:30 – The Mental Toll of Knowing You're Past Your Peak 44:58 – Racing with Broken Ribs, a Broken Neck & Concussions 48:33 – Why Half of His Stomach Was Removed 50:07 – Breaking His Neck at Pocono — Then Racing the Next Week 53:55 – Lasting Effects of 8–10 Major Concussions 54:42 – The 1965 Drag Race Tragedy That Haunted Him 57:18 – Losing Grandson Adam Petty & the Letter That Changed Everything 59:31 – The Role of His Wife in His Success 1:05:36 – Why the 1967 Southern 500 Matters Most 1:07:13 – Almost Eaten by Alligators After a Crash 1:08:29 – The Famous Daytona 500 That Took 3 Days to Decide 1:11:00 – The 200th Win at Daytona with President Reagan 1:15:21 – His Last Race Was Jeff Gordon's First Race 1:17:52 – His Honest Take on Danica Patrick 1:21:33 – The Biggest Change in NASCAR Over His Lifetime 1:25:52 – What He'd Change If He Could Go Back 1:27:16 – Closing Remarks Become a member to watch full episodes and get exclusive access to content: https://bit.ly/3q4TjAb Subscribe to watch the latest interviews: http://bit.ly/1R1Fd6w Episode debuted nationwide in 2016.