RICHMOND, Va. — NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty will serve as the Grand Marshal for Richmond Raceway’s Clean Harbors 250 on Aug. 10, the track announced Wednesday.
Amid the Petty Family’s 75th year in NASCAR, Petty will say the most famous words in motorsports prior to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series regular season finale.
“An event as significant as this deserves to have one of the most prominent figures in sports history give the command to start engines,” said Richmond Raceway President Lori Collier Waran. “We’re thrilled and honored to have ‘The King’ Richard Petty serve as the Grand Marshal for the Clean Harbors 250 in what should be an electrifying race under the lights.”
As the most successful driver the sport has ever seen, Petty’s legendary 35-year career sets the standard for greatness across all motorsports. The Level Cross, N.C. native has the most NASCAR Cup Series wins (200), most poles (123), most wins in a season (27), most Daytona 500 wins (seven), most consecutive wins (10), most starts (1,185), and tied for the most championships with Dale Earnhardt and Jimmie Johnson (seven).
The Petty legacy will be well-represented on-track in Saturday’s Clean Harbors 250, with Richard Petty’s grandson Thad Moffitt driving the No. 46 Young’s Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado RST.
“Clean Harbors and the Petty family have maintained a successful partnership for decades and we couldn’t pick a better person to start the race than ‘The King’ himself!” said Clean Harbors Marketing Director Buddy Judy. “We’re looking forward to seeing everyone in Richmond for what’s sure to be a memorable event this summer.”