Tom Copeland | CIA Stock Photo

In the 50 years since his racing debut, Richard Petty has come to represent an era of racing to which few can relate. He and Dale Earnhardt, the only drivers to win seven NASCAR championships, are icons in a sport nurtured in the South before it expanded across the country

Associated Press | File 1979

Richard Petty's 1979 championship, which he clinched with a fourth-place finish in the Times 500 at the Ontario Motor Speedway, was only one of his record seven series titles. Even at age 71, he still maintains a strong presence in the sport of NASCAR.

Associated Press | File

Richard Petty recently sold the controlling interest of Petty Enterprises, the team he started and for which his son Kyle Petty (right) races.

A cowboy hat his crown; sunglasses his jewels.

This is The King's outfit.

No majestic robe -- just boots, jeans and a button-down shirt. Anything more would not suit the man who embodies the South like Andy Griffith, barbecue and sweet tea.

Richard Petty embraced the role long ago, but deep down he's just a kid from Randolph County, N.C., who, no matter where he traveled, always returned home. Often with a trophy. Nobody won more races in NASCAR's top series. Or ever will.

His success lured fans. His grace and humility made them loyal subjects. His autograph -- he's signed about a million in a career that celebrates 50 years on July 12 -- is his calling card.

Middle-aged men still run to Petty seeking his looping signature. Children born after Petty retired are fans, their passion passed down like a treasured family heirloom.

Sixteen years after Petty last raced -- and 24 years since he won one -- he remains visible through commercials and movie appearances. Two years ago, he voiced a character in "Cars," and next month he makes a cameo in a Kevin Costner film.

"When Richard Petty walks in a room," fellow driver Jeff Burton said, "nobody says, 'Who is that?' "

They likely did when Petty made his racing debut in 1958 at Columbia (S.C.) Speedway. He finished sixth in that convertible race. Gradually, Petty improved, won and grew into The King. He went on to oversee the sport's most successful operation, Petty Enterprises, until recently selling a controlling interest of the team to Boston Ventures, a private equity company.

Petty represents an era of racing to which many cannot relate. He and Dale Earnhardt, the only drivers to win seven NASCAR championships, are icons in a sport nurtured in the South before it expanded across the country. The car that Petty drove to his 200th and final NASCAR win spent seven years in the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.

It's hard to imagine when Petty wasn't part of NASCAR. Even today the lanky 71-year-old with tan skin from a lifetime spent outdoors goes to most races. He watches over the Petty team, signs autographs and offers folks a "Hey buddy" and a smile.

Why is he at the track? Why not?

"How many farmers you know that is retired?" Petty said. ""How many preachers you know is retired? Since I was 11 years old, [racing] has been my life."

A Southern icon

A portrait of Robert E. Lee hangs in Petty's spacious Level Cross, N.C., office at the former home of Petty Enterprises.

One Southern icon admiring another.

"He done the very best he could with what he had," said Petty, who is well-read on Lee.

Petty lives the philosophy that he admires in Lee. It guided Petty from his North Carolina roots to Europe, Australia and Japan and to audiences with five U.S. presidents. That Petty can mingle with lords and laborers enhances his appeal.

Dan Pierce, chair of the history department at UNC Asheville, marvels at how "Petty for President" bumper stickers appeared in the late '60s and early '70s.

"There are very few people who kind of transcend the popular imagination ... and have that kind of status, that deep and emotional attachment," said Pierce, who has written about NASCAR and its Southern ties. "It's like you know this person. It's like they're a part of your family."

Raymond Rizzo wanted to be a part of the Petty family, or at least the pit crew, years ago. The 49-year-old Franklin, Tenn., resident became a Petty fan watching him race at Dover and Rockingham.

He's never met Petty, but he came close once. A chaplain with Motor Racing Outreach Association, which ministers to drivers, crews and others, Rizzo watched last fall's Richmond Sprint Cup race from behind the Petty pits. Petty stood by Rizzo a few times during the event.

It was too loud to talk and Petty was working, so Rizzo said nothing. Yet, Rizzo wanted to scream; he was standing next to his hero.

Maybe next time.

"I'm going to hope that the Lord will arrange a meeting some other time," Rizzo said.

What Rizzo missed, others can't forget.

Scott Hall's first meeting with Petty remains vivid 26 years later. Hall, 38, met Petty when The King came to Eden, N.C., for a grand opening.

Hall received Petty's signature and said, "thank you." He was mesmerized as Petty bent down to look squarely at him.

"No, thank you," Hall said Petty told him. "Without fans like you, Richard Petty couldn't do what he loves to do and that's drive race cars."

One million autographs

Samantha Hobbs is a third-generation Petty fan, yet she's never seen him race. The Roseboro, N.C., native is 8 years old.

Hobbs' father, Hugh, became a fan through his father and passed it on to Samantha.

"She knew who The King was when she was 3," Hugh Hobbs said with pride.

The 44-year-old Hobbs met Petty once, about 30 years ago. The autograph sealed Hobbs' devotion.

It could be a one-in-a-million signature. Literally. At an average of 55 a day for every day of his 50 years in the sport, Petty might have already given out a million autographs.

Petty didn't set out to reach that number. He competed in a simpler time. Drivers didn't have a motor home to retreat to or a private plane to catch after races, and often were available to fans.

After a race, crew chief Dale Inman, Petty's brother Maurice and maybe a few others loaded the car and equipment. Petty would grab a rag to clean up with, a Coke and find a place to sit and sign autographs until no more fans remained.

"You can be a winner when you're a winner, but you've got to be a winner when you're a loser," Petty said. "That's what I tried to do."

That signature, which has as many curves as a mountain road, binds fans to Petty. They long for a personal connection, no matter how brief, with a driver. The sport's explosion in popularity during the 1990s made that impossible. So fans buy T-shirts, hats and die-cast cars of their favorite driver, but many lack the evidence of being near greatness. An autograph.

Petty fans have such souvenirs.

Winning personality

New drivers. New rules. New cars. Sometimes NASCAR comes too fast for some fans.

For them, Richard Petty provides relief. His wrinkles run deeper than before, but when he wears his Charlie 1 Horse cowboy hat and sunglasses, he looks as if he could climb back into a Dodge one more time. He makes people daydream about yesterday, a gift to those who long for the past.

"Why does TV Land show four episodes of 'The Andy Griffith Show' every night? Because people watch it," said Pierce. "Richard Petty is the same way. He is this link to the roots of the sport."

Petty's father, Lee, drove in NASCAR's first race in 1949. Richard's debut came before the first Daytona 500 was run on the 2.5-mile track that fans still visit today.

The grandfather of 12 saw the sport grow from dirt tracks to tracks with condos.

He's also watched his family's team -- which his son Kyle still drives for -- struggle in recent years to attract sponsors and remain competitive. So, in June the Petty family decided to bring in outside investors.

Although Petty plans to have a large role with the team, Boston Ventures now maintains control.

"Everything has changed so much from where we first started, and as time progressed, it really got away from us," Petty told The Associated Press after the announcement. "We finally sat down and said, 'OK guys, if we're going to play this game, we've got to get in the game.' The only way we could get in the game was to get new moneys coming in."

The real impact of that sale won't be clear for months or even years. No matter what, though, Petty will remain an icon of the sport.

"He's almost mythological," Pierce said of Petty's persona and impact upon the South. "He's not only a guy that won ... [but] there's something in the South that you like about a nice guy winning."