
Memorable No. 43 drivers, paint schemes through the years
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Jonathan Ferrey | Getty Images
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ISC Archives & Research Center | Getty Images
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ISC Archives & Research Center | Getty Images
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ISC Archives & Research Center | Getty Images
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ISC Archives & Research Center | Getty Images
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ISC Archives & Research Center | Getty Images
Petty made 15 starts in the Convertible tour in the late '50s, posting his first NASCAR win with the No. 43 in 1959 at Columbia Speedway in South Carolina.
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ISC Archives & Research Center | Getty Images
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ISC Archives & Research Center | Getty Images
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ISC Archives & Research Center | Getty Images
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ISC Archives & Research Center | Getty Images
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ISC Archives & Research Center | Getty Images
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ISC Archives & Research Center | Getty Images
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ISC Archives & Research Center | Getty Images
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ISC Archives & Research Center | Getty Images
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ISC Archives & Research Center | Getty Images
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ISC Archives & Research Center | Getty Images
Petty's season, however, was a success, with 16 more wins added to his total.
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ISC Archives & Research Center | Getty Images
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ISC Archives & Research Center | Getty Images
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ISC Archives & Research Center | Getty Images
His 1973 Dodge became a Daytona 500 winner that year, winning by two laps over runner-up Bobby Isaac's Ford.
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ISC Archives & Research Center | Getty Images
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ISC Archives & Research Center | Getty Images
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ISC Archives & Research Center | Getty Images
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ISC Archives & Research Center | Getty Images
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ISC Archives & Research Center | Getty Images
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ISC Archives & Research Center | Getty Images
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ISC Archives & Research Center | Getty Images
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ISC Archives & Research Center | Getty Images
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Racing Photo Archives | Getty Images
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ISC Archives & Research Center | Getty Images
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ISC Archives & Research Center | Getty Images
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Mike Powell | Getty Images
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ISC Archives & Research Center | Getty Images
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ISC Archives & Research Center | Getty Images
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ISC Archives & Research Center | Getty Images
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ISC Archives & Research Center | Getty Images
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ISC Archives & Research Center | Getty Images
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ISC Archives & Research Center | Getty Images
By 1995, Petty introduced Bobby Hamilton, right, as his driver, starting a three-season partnership. Hamilton scored two wins during that time, becoming the first person not named Petty to win with the No. 43 since Jim Paschal in 1963.
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Craig Jones | Getty Images
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Jonathan Ferrey | Getty Images
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Darrell Ingham | Getty Images
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Rusty Jarrett | Getty Images
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Rusty Jarrett | Getty Images
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Jerry Markland | Getty Images
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Rusty Jarrett | Getty Images
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John Harrelson | Getty Images
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John Harrelson | Getty Images
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Tyler Barrick | Getty Images
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
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Sean Gardner | Getty Images
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Sean Gardner | Getty Images