A new star on the horizon

For the first 15 years of NASCAR's existence, the annual battle for the championship was a wide-open affair. A decade and a half of racing produced a total of nine different champions, including such legendary racers as Joe Weatherly, Buck Baker, Herb Thomas and Tim Flock. And while all of the aforementioned drivers won the title twice, none emerged as the dominant driver of the series.

Until Richard Petty came along.

	Richard Petty and his famous No. 43. Credit: Autostock

The Petty name wasn't exactly new to the NASCAR world. Richard's father, Lee, was also on the list of two-time champions, and Lee's victory in the inaugural Daytona 500 in 1959 was stock car racing's first photo finish, an electrifying event that helped put NASCAR on the map as a rapidly growing force in the world of auto racing.

But Richard separated himself from his father and the rest of the pack immediately after he arrived for the 1964 Daytona 500. Petty grabbed the lead on the second lap and proceeded to hold it for a remarkable total of 184 of the 200 race laps, including an uninterrupted stretch in which Petty led the final 149 laps en route to the checkered flag.

Not only did Petty win convincingly, he lapped the second-place car of Jimmy Pardue. As contenders such as Fireball Roberts, Fred Lorenzen and Bobby Johns dropped out, Petty's resounding victory established him as an early favorite in the championship hunt.

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Petty would go on to win nine races that year, dominating one of NASCAR's most unusual and difficult seasons. The 1964 campaign was a transition year in which the series started to move toward the modern era. A record total of 61 races were run in 1964, as superspeedways and longer tracks grew in popularity and many of the numerous short tracks on the circuit began to fall by the wayside as a result.

None of that seemed to matter to Richard, who ran well regardless of venue or distance. Not only did Petty land in the winners circle nine times, but he also finished second 14 times and third 12 times, which meant that he drove his Plymouth into the top three in an astounding 35 of 61 races that year.

Petty clinched the championship with seven races remaining on the schedule. By the time he closed the campaign, finishing second to Ned Jarrett at Jacksonville, Petty's margin of victory in the championship race was 5,302 points, which remains second-largest in NASCAR history.

As dominant as Petty was statistically, it was the way he won that changed the sport forever.

ALSO  •  Countdown to Daytona: 1964  •  Season Recap: 1964  •  Families of NASCAR: The Pettys  •  NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers: Richard Petty

Many of NASCAR's most popular drivers of the day were essentially Southern daredevils, former moonshine runners who found a new home for their thrill-seeking skills in the wild and woolly world of stock car racing. Others were transplants from regional short track circuits who climbed the ladder of stock car success when Bill France and NASCAR came along to offer a broader showcase for their racing talents.

Petty was a consummate professional whose style transcended that of drivers in both groups. Make no mistake about it -- Petty was a tough, take-no-prisoners driver in his own right who relished the fender-bending contact that came with short track racing.

But he combined nerves of steel with calculating strategy to win on the superspeedways and other venues that were becoming an important part of the circuit. And ultimately it was Petty's attention to detail with regard to engine building, setups and pit-stop strategy that transformed his team into a full-blown NASCAR dynasty.

Perhaps more importantly, Petty was the spokesman NASCAR needed to interest a national audience. Few of the drivers of his era had much media savvy, but Petty had the personality to win over the media and the charisma to get sponsors to choose him to represent their products. NASCAR needed a hero, and Petty was the one to step into the spotlight.

Finally, Petty's landmark campaign came during one of NASCAR's most emotionally difficult seasons. Pardue, Weatherly and Roberts all lost their lives that year in tragic accidents on the race track.

While Petty's first of seven NASCAR championships couldn't erase the effect of those losses, it did represent a bright beacon of hope for a sport in which much bigger and better things were soon to come.