Petty celebrates 65th birthday by going racing

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Ten years after his retirement, Richard Petty is still "The King" of the race track. He walks quickly through the garage, a big cowboy hat on his head and a brash gold belt buckle touting his seven Winston Cup championships.

Fans still chase after him for an autograph, his three Winston Cup teams still bring problems to him and drivers don't hesitate to stop him for advice.

So there's no place Petty would rather be than at Daytona International Speedway to celebrate his 65th birthday. The date was actually Tuesday, but he was presented with a cake and one of his trademark hats signed by all the current Winston Cup drivers during a party before Saturday night's race.

"It's really just the 26th anniversary of my 39th birthday," Petty said, dipping into a fresh can of chewing tobacco and tucking a pinch in his cheek.

A little tobacco spills out onto his chin and his shirt, but he doesn't wipe it away. He's The King and in NASCAR, that means he can do anything he wants.

"Richard Petty has been one of our leading stalking horses, or whatever it is," NASCAR CEO Bill France Jr. said. "He helped move the sport along."

Robbie Loomis spent 11 years learning under Petty before asking permission to leave in 2000 to become crew chief for Jeff Gordon. It was the hardest decision he ever made and said he would have stayed if The King asked him to.

"You look around and everything we have here, The King led us to it," said Loomis. "From nice bathrooms to paved lots to the level this sport has grown to, he started it. He is racing, his word is the gospel. My last day working for him, I drove out the front gate and cried all the way home."

There's no denying it, Petty built NASCAR.