Lee Petty truly was one of the founding fathers of NASCAR racing. He began competing during that debut 1949 season and continued through 1964. During that time, he not only found success in racing, but also laid the groundwork and established what would become one of the most legendary teams in all of racing. Petty clearly deserves to be in the NASCAR Hall of Fame, and here are five reasons why

Petty competed in NASCAR from the start, gaining ground in the standings quickly. He missed a few races each season, but in 1954 he snared his first title in what is now the Cup series. He followed that with the championships in 1958 and 1959 to become the first driver to win three.

Petty won the first-ever running of the prestigious Daytona 500 – and he did so in historic fashion. On the final lap of the 1959 race, Petty and Johnny Beauchamp stormed toward the finish line in what is still one of the closest finishes at the track. How close? Officials put the final results on hold for three days until a photo snapped at the finish line confirmed that Petty was, in fact, the race winner.

Petty was often tough for the competition to match. He won easily on the dirt tracks on the schedule in those days, and was often tough to match on the short tracks as well. He earned 54 wins in his career, a number that was unmatched by any driver at the time and a record that stood until it was broken by his son, Richard Petty. Lee Petty’s mark still stands at ninth on the all-time winner’s list.

Petty not only found success for himself, but he laid the groundwork for his family to follow with it in establishing Petty Enterprises in Level Cross, N.C. The family’s cars would later be driven by Richard Petty, then Kyle Petty and a host of others. The group has 10 career driver championships to its credit, with seven for Richard Petty and three for Lee Petty.

Petty didn’t just excel in what would become the Cup series, either. He also ran a handful of races in the NASCAR Convertible Series, winning a pair of races there to highlight his versatility on the track.