"I guess you just look at it from the standpoint that whatever I did while I came along, racing was just a hobby for me," Petty began. "Working on the car was my job, more or less from when I started. If I have a hobby, and people appreciate that hobby by doing that (wearing t-shirts), it just makes you feel good that you did something that not only you enjoyed, but a lot of other people did also."

To this day, thousands still line-up for the King of NASCAR. This week he was honored with a marquee plaque at the Dover Downs Monster Monument in Victory Plaza. Race fans did not disappoint. People of all ages began lining up long before the dedication was made. "That was a big crowd of people out there yesterday," Petty noted. "I really appreciate all those people coming out. That was a neat deal. I don't sign with my fingers or hand, I sign with my whole arm." Petty's intention is to make it big and legible so that fans can share their autograph once they leave the racetrack.

Petty graciously talked with Dover CEO Denis McGlynn and ESPN's Allen Bestwick on stage, and reflected on his first impression of the track. "I talked to Bobby Allison, who did this in the spring," said Petty, "and he thought this was a pretty big deal." Both Petty and Allison each have seven wins on the monster mile at Dover. Miles the Monster stands tall at the grandstand opening in the back of the racetrack. "It was the first time I'd seen that monstrous looking thing," said Petty. "You don't realize how big that deal is until you see a full-size car just sitting up there five or six stories up."

"When we first came up here, this was a cornfield," Petty continued. "All these buildings and shopping centers, there wasn't anything here. This was all farmland (1958). And I thought, "why in the world did they build a racetrack way out in the country like this?" Ten years later, Petty recalls Dover as the middle of town.

"Back in the day, it was a Southern sport. This was kind of an invasion of the North," Petty added. He went on to reference Pocono Raceway and the thousands of fans that support the sport, and how far they travel to watch racing.

Only a slim few of the men on the racetrack today ever raced against Richard Petty. "There's three or four of these guys who could go back and compete with us. The rest of them, wouldn't even be in the race," he said. "As far as me running against these guys, I did my thing 20 years ago so it's really hard to compare different eras. It's never been the fastest gun" there's always somebody just a little bit better. And that's they way it is today." Not only have the competitors changed, but so have the tracks and machines.

Another big change for Petty, was the relocation of Petty Enterprises. "Where our shop was before we moved, was right beside the house that I was born in," he noted. "For 60 years, my dad worked on the car, me and my brother came along, Kyle came along, Adam came along. We all worked out of that shop." In essence, he never left home for 60 years. "All of the sudden, you say OK, to keep up with the times, that's the only way you can make it work is move," Petty added. "I didn't make a snap decision about it. It was probably the hardest thing in racing that I've ever done."

Changing the landscape of Petty Enterprises is the partial sale of majority interest to Boston Ventures. At this point, there is no new management in place, while Petty believes that will change once the two parties can sit down in the off season. The partnership took place in July, with hopes of new money to invest in people and equipment closing the gap with the competition.

"It's like any kind of business," Petty began. "Our investors are coming in and we're trying to figure them out and they're trying to figure us out, because they really don't know a whole lot about racing and we don't know a whole lot about figures." Petty Enterprises is looking for middle ground. "The beginning of the year, we should have all our stuff together to find out if we made the right decision or not." Petty added.