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March 14: NASCAR pioneer Lee Petty was born on this date in 1914

Lee Arnold Petty, the winner of the inaugural Daytona 500 in 1959, began his racing career 10 years earlier, at the age of 35. He placed in the top 5 in points for each of NASCAR's first 11 seasons, winning the championship outright three times. The father of Richard Petty and grandfather of Kyle Petty, Lee died in April of 2000 at the age of 86.