The Intimidator—who won 76 Cup races and seven championships—made his black No. 3 a larger-than-life symbol in NASCAR with an aggressive driving style that rattled competitors and enamored fans. Shares the record for most Cup series championships (seven) with Richard Petty. Won his first title in 1980, his second full season. Won the 1998 Daytona 500. Died in an accident on the last lap of the 2001 Daytona 500.

Richard Petty won 200 NASCAR races, seven championships and has achieved just about all there is to accomplish in stock car racing. The surefire NASCAR Hall of Famer has done it all—except qualifying for the Chase for the Sprint Cup as an owner. Kasey Kahne, who’s eighth in the points, is on the brink of giving the King that spot in the 10-race sprint for the title.

Twenty-five years after his final victory, Richard Petty has forgotten much about the race. He remembers the important stuff, though. The last few laps. The post-race celebration. The presidential visit. The impromptu picnic.

Brian France defended NASCAR’s drug testing policy as the toughest in professional sports, despite a federal judge’s ruling that overturned driver Jeremy Mayfield’s suspension. Mayfield was indefinitely suspended May 9 for what NASCAR said was a positive test for methamphetamines. He sued to be reinstated, and a federal judge issued an injunction Wednesday that allowed Mayfield to return to competition based on Mayfield’s argument that NASCAR’s testing system is flawed.

SONOMA, Calif It took eight winless seasons for Richard Petty to realize he was no longer NASCAR’s best driver. He spent the last decade once again ignoring the obvious, refusing to accept that his race team wasn’t any good. No matter how bad things got at Petty Enterprises, The King always believed he had another trip to victory lane in his near future.

SONOMA, Calif.—Kasey Kahne gave struggling Richard Petty Motorsports a much-needed boost yesterday, holding off Tony Stewart at Infineon Raceway to snap a 37-race winless streak. Kahne was met in victory lane by Richard Petty, who made his first trip as a car owner in more than a decade. A Petty-owned car had not won a race since John Andretti’s victory at Martinsville in April 1999.

Robbie Loomis, director of racing for Richard Petty Motorsports, said yesterday that Bristol Motor Speedway isn’t big enough for 43 cars. So, those qualifying up front in today’s Food City 500, he says, have a better shot at victory today, especially considering the resurfaced .533-mile racetrack is even more challenging. “You’ve got to first finish to finish first,“ Loomis said. “Track position is a big [key], so it’s nice to qualify well.“

NASCAR announced yesterday how it plans to choose the five people to be inducted each year into its new Hall of Fame and said stock-car racing fans would be among those voting. The hall, in Charlotte, N.C., is scheduled to open next year, and the inductees will be selected by a panel that consists of NASCAR industry leaders, manufacturer representatives, former competitors, the media and fans.

CONCORD, N.C.—Richard Petty’s race team has been absorbed in a merger, but Petty’s name and the car number he made famous are still around. The new team created by the merger of Petty Enterprises with Gillett Evernham Motorsports has been renamed Richard Petty Motorsports (RPM), capitalizing on the seven-time champion’s marketability.

CHARLOTTE, N.C.—Petty Enterprises has reached a merger agreement with Gillett Evernham Motorsports, creating a four-car stock car racing team that will ensure the Petty racing team’s storied No. 43 competes in NASCAR Sprint Cup events in 2009. However, the merger marks the end of the Petty team as a stand-alone operation. Several sources have indicated many of the struggling team’s remaining employees will be laid off at the completion of the merger.

NEW YORK—Petty Enterprises is in discussions to merge its storied franchise with Gillett Evernham Motorsports, The Associated Press has learned. Multiple people familiar with the talks told the AP Thursday that the two teams were discussing a deal that would merge Petty’s famed No. 43 Dodge with GEM to become a four-car operation. They requested anonymity because the negotiations are ongoing.