Richard Petty to be honored by NASCAR leaders and legends at Petersen Museum

The Petersen Automotive Museum, along with Hostetler Companies and Ford Performance, will honor “The King” Richard Petty, on March 23, 2017. The event will feature an all-star panel including Jeff Gordon, Kyle Petty, Rusty Wallace and Mike Helton with NASCAR. Also Mike Joy, lead race announcer for FOX NASCAR, will MC the event. As part of the tribute, the Petersen will also honor Petty with the museum’s Robert E. Petersen Lifetime Achievement Award.

“Stock car racing is one of the most uniquely American forms of motorsport and nobody casts as big of a shadow in that world as Richard Petty,” said Terry Karges, Executive Director of the Petersen Museum. “His larger than life persona and incredible talent behind the wheel have done more for the sport than just about anyone else and we’re thrilled to help him celebrate his 80th birthday.”

The evening will also feature a live auction hosted by Barrett Jackson with Joseph Mast as the auctioneer. Among the items being auctioned are a 2017 Ford Mustang Richard Petty 80th Tribute Edition styled by The King himself, a one of a kind Disney Pixar custom drawing with Lightning McQueen and Petty, a signature custom designed Charlie 1 Horse cowboy hat worn by Richard Petty and a custom painted Tennessee Electric Guitar which was created and painted to celebrate The King’s seven championship-winning cars. There will also be a mobile silent auction beginning on March 9th through March 23rd, 2017, which can be accessed through the Petersen’s website. The charity auctions will benefit both the Petersen Automotive Museum and the Petty Family Foundation.

The Petersen will also recognize the American icon with its highest honor, the 2017 Robert E. Petersen Lifetime Achievement Award, for his contributions to motor racing. Previous winners of the Petersen Award include Dan Gurney, Art Chrisman, Carroll Shelby, George Barris, Andy Granatelli, The Ford Family, Vic Edelbrock, Jack Roush, Ed “Isky” Iskenderian, “Speedy” Bill Smith, Alex Xydias, Wally Parks and Ed Pink.

This event honoring Petty is being presented by a number of incredible sponsors including Smithfield Foods, Barrett Jackson, BASF, Canepa, Charlie 1 Horse, Goody’s, Heidi Mraz, Hendrick Motorsports, Jeff Gordon Cellars, Magnaflow, NASCAR, Omix ADA Rugged Ridge, Petty’s Garage, Pixar, SEMA, Standard Tool and Equipment, Greenworks and Tito’s Handmade Vodka. Tickets for this event are open to the public and may still be available for purchase via https://petersen.org/petty/.

— Richard Petty Motorsports —