Petty Family Line of NASCAR Racers Could Be Nearing the End

• The Pettys of central North Carolina have been fixtures in stock car racing since the inaugural Cup Series event at Charlotte in 1949.

• They share the podium with the Andrettis and the Unsers as the first families of American motorsports.

• Thad Moffitt—Richard's grandson—is out to extend the NASCAR-Petty connection as long as he can.

Is Craftsman Truck Series racer Thad Moffitt the last link to the Petty family’s iconic 75-year presence in NASCAR?

He might be, at least deep into the foreseeable future. Maybe even for several decades.

The Pettys of central North Carolina have been fixtures in stock car racing since the inaugural Cup Series event at Charlotte in 1949. They share the podium with the Andrettis and the Unsers as the first families of American motorsports. It’s hard to imagine anyone trying to dislodge any of them.

Moffitt is the 24-year-old great-grandson of Hall of Fame driver/owner the late Lee Petty and grandson of Hall of Fame driver Richard Petty, arguably NASCAR’s most important figure. He’s the eldest son of Brian and Rebecca Petty Moffitt, one of Richard and the late Lynda Petty’s three married daughters.

All told, Richard has nine grandsons and seven great grandsons from son Kyle and daughters, Rebecca, Lisa, and Sharon. Except for Thad and Harrison Moffitt—the latter only briefly around North Carolina before playing college football—none of the surviving grandsons raced.

The late Maurice Petty raced briefly, before his Hall of Fame career for building brother Richard’s championship-winning engines. His sons—Timmy, Richard, and Mark—raced briefly without notable success.

It rests with Moffitt to extend the NASCAR-Petty connection as long as he can. Or will another of Richard’s eight grandsons or seven great grandsons eventually carry on? (Most of them are much too young to even begin speculating).

Moffitt started well enough, progressing through various grassroots go-kart and quarter-midget series carrying the pressure of being “the King’s grandson.” Despite a limited schedule, he finished ninth and fourth in ARCA points in 2020 and 2021. His record there was acceptable: nine top-5s and 26 top-10s in 45 starts. He struggled in four Craftsman Series starts in 2022, then did well last year in Trans-Am T2, recording seven top-10s – including a second in Detroit – and seventh in points. When another NASCAR door opened for 2024, he ran through it.

In December, he committed to a full 2024 in the No. 46 Chevrolet supported by the Oklahoma father-son team of Lane and Landon Moore. Full of optimism and confidence early-on, the Moores bailed in mid-season, citing “financial constraints.” Moffitt skipped the June race at Nashville and returned July 7 at Pocono with Young Motorsports.

“This is the reset I need,” he said at the time. “I’ve raced for” (driver-turned-owner) “Tyler Young and we have a great relationship. He’s made this transition easy. This was a quick move for everyone, but I feel good about it. This new team gives me hope for some great finishes the rest of the season.”

But things haven’t gone well. Moffitt finished in the 20s and 30s in his first eight CTS starts with the Moores. He broke out—relatively, at least—with an 18th in the spring at Darlington. He was back to the 30s his final two start with the Moores and has been in the 20s and 30s in four starts with Young. His average starting and finishing positions this season are almost identical: 29th.

He doesn’t duck the hard truth: “It’s definitely not the season we thought about in December” (at the team’s unveiling), he said recently. “I’m lucky to be here and we’re trying to make the most of it. It hasn’t been anything specific, any one thing; it’s been a combination of a lot of things, a lot of bad circumstances, a lot of failures including mess-ups on my end.”

But like most young racers he remains optimistic. “Yes, absolutely I can see gains and a change with Young Motorsports,” he said. “It was a last-minute deal” (when the Moores quit), “but we’ve grown as a team with Tyler Young. We’ve been decent, we’ve been respectable with good speed, and that’s given me something to build on as a driver.”

Perhaps surprisingly Richard has kept his distance. “They’re on their own over there,” he said of his grandson’s travails. “I haven’t been involved at all and won’t be until he gets settled in with a better team. I don’t know how good this one is. Right now, he’s just learning and making laps.”

Sort of like the he did as a 20-year-old … about 67 years ago.