The car number most associated with Richard Petty’s NASCAR career is 43.
Petty drove the famous No. 43 for much of his career with Petty Enterprises, turning the number into one of the most recognizable symbols in motorsports. The car was commonly associated with Petty Blue paint, a distinctive color that became part of his public identity and helped make his cars instantly recognizable.
The number’s history actually began before Richard Petty’s full-time prominence. His father, Lee Petty, expanded to a two-car operation in 1954 and used No. 43 for Bob Welborn. After brief interruptions, Lee placed Richard in the No. 43 in 1959, establishing the pairing that fans remember today.
Petty’s No. 43 became linked to extraordinary achievements: seven Cup Series championships, seven Daytona 500 victories and 200 premier-series wins. The number was not exclusively his—other drivers later raced No. 43—but Richard Petty made it famous. That is why numbers such as Dale Earnhardt’s 3 or Jeff Gordon’s 24, although iconic in their own right, are not the canonical answer to this question.