Stock car racer extraordinaire Richard Petty enjoyed not one but four distinct careers. In addition to chalking up a remarkable series of racing honors that included winning a Sprint Cup seven times and winning the Daytona 500 seven times (among countless other laurels), Petty parlayed his celebrity from these events into a lucrative and highly visible stint as a corporate spokesperson for brands including Goody's Headache Powder, Pepsi, and the STP motor oil company. Petty also embarked on a political career and -- as early as 1965 -- enjoyed periodic film roles, including many cameos as himself. Features included the sports dramas Thunder in Dixie (1965) and Corky (1972), a biopic of his own life and racing career starring himself and entitled 43: The Petty Story (1974) and (appropriately enough) the Disney-Pixar CG-animated family film Cars (2006), in which he voiced an automobile named The King. In 2008, Petty cameoed as himself to the Kevin Costner political comedy Swing Vote.
Stock car racer extraordinaire Richard Petty enjoyed not one but four distinct careers. In addition to chalking up a remarkable series of racing honors that included winning a Sprint Cup seven times and winning the Daytona 500 seven times (among countless other laurels), Petty parlayed his celebrity from these events into a lucrative and highly visible stint as a corporate spokesperson for brands including Goody's Headache Powder, Pepsi, and the STP motor oil company. Petty also embarked on a political career and -- as early as 1965 -- enjoyed periodic film roles, including many cameos as himself. Features included the sports dramas Thunder in Dixie (1965) and Corky (1972), a biopic of his own life and racing career starring himself and entitled 43: The Petty Story (1974) and (appropriately enough) the Disney-Pixar CG-animated family film Cars (2006), in which he voiced an automobile named The King. In 2008, Petty cameoed as himself to the Kevin Costner political comedy Swing Vote.