Kyle Eugene Petty was born on June 2nd in 1960 into the Petty driving family in Randleman, North Carolina.
His father is Richard Petty and he is also the grandson of Lee Petty.
To say that racing is in Petty's blood would be an understatement as the young Petty's only dream as a child was to follow closely into the footsteps of his father and grandfather.
When he was younger, Petty would be hanging around race tracks, stock cars and knew the drivers in the circuit.
It did not come as a big surprise when Petty jumped into retired '78 Dodge Magnum car and won the ARCA Daytona International Speedway in 1979.
That car was the same car that his father used during the previous season.
Although he was not allowed to join the Winston Cup after his first win, he did qualify for the '79 Talladega race and finish at 9th place.
The next year, he did not have many wins and was driving as his father team mate.
He joined the Wood Brothers in 1985 which proved to be a wise business decision as he won his first Winston Cup in 1986 at the Richmond International Raceway.
In 1991 during a race at the Winston 500 at Talladega, Petty was involved in a 21-car wreck that left him with a broken leg.
He came back that season in the Southern 500 at Darlington.
In 1992, Petty finished at 5th place which was his career best in the NASCAR Winston cup and brought home more than $1 million.
He repeated the same feat in 1993 when he finished at 5th spot again at the NASCAR Winston Cup.
The next year he won the pole at the Daytona 500.
Petty went on to start his own team in 1997 which later became part of the Petty Enterprises family.
The same year that he joined his father, Richard Petty in Randleman, he brought back nine top-fives and also celebrated 50 years of Petty Enterprises existence.
Petty was also proud of his young son Adam Petty but the young Petty's career was short-lived when he was tragically killed in the year 2000 during a practice accident at New Hampshire International Speedway.
Petty finished up the season in Adam Petty's car.
Petty, unlike other drivers, keeps the window on his car blank to honor his late son's memory and drives in a black paint scheme every time he competes at New Hampshire.
Petty founded the Victory Junction Gang Camp for terminally-ill children in the memory of his late son which he is very active in.
Besides this, Petty also organizes annual motorcycle rides for charity purposes.
This annual event named, Chick-Fil-A Kyle Petty Charity Ride across America was established in 1995.
Hundred's of Petty's fans and other drivers with their crew members join Perry on his campaign.
They visit many local children's hospital and charities to contribute where they can.
Because of his philanthropic activities, Perry was recognized as the NASCAR Winston Cup Illustrated "Person of the year" in 1999 and 2000.
He was also awarded the 2000 and 2004 Myers Brothers Award and not forgetting his 2002 True Value Person of the Year Award for all his efforts.
It is truly inspiring to witness both the humane and racing side of Petty as he has taken us on a journey throughout all these years.
Once can only imagine good things to come in the future from Perry and his talented team at Perry Enterprise.