I'd rather be called King than other things I've been called.

Following his loss Petty stated "If I had known I wasn't going to win I wouldn't have run. The year 1975 was another historic year for Petty as he won the World 600 for the first time in his career one of 13 victories en route to his sixth Winston Cup. (A 1972 rule change eliminated races under 250 miles (400 km) in length reducing the schedule to 30 [now 36] races.

Richard Lee Petty (born July 2 1937) is a former NASCAR driver who raced in the Strictly Stock/Grand National Era and the NASCAR Winston Cup Series. "The King" as he is nicknamed is most well known for winning the NASCAR Championship seven times (Dale Earnhardt is the only other driver to accomplish this feat) winning a record 200 races during his career winning the Daytona 500 a record seven times and winning a record 27 races (ten of them consecutively) in the 1967 season alone. Petty is a member of the inaugural class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame.