People, Feb. 26, 1979

When lanky Kyle Petty, 18, asks, "Dad, can I have the car?" that familiar request acquires a special meaning. Dad in this case is "King" Richard Petty, 41, stock-car racing's winningest driver. Richard, in turn, is the son of Lee Petty, 64, who won on everything from dirt tracks to superspeedways. The family car is likely to be a souped-up $50,000 Dodge Magnum. Kyle has opted to follow in the family tire tracks. In his first race he gunned to a half-car-length victory at 131.964 m.p.h. "He drove a hell of a race," said one Petty pit-stop partisan. "Just like his...

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