Richard Lee Petty (born July 2, 1937), nicknamed "the King", is an American former stock car racing driver who competed from 1958 to 1992 in the former NASCAR Grand National and Winston Cup Series (now called the NASCAR Cup Series), most notably driving the No. 43 Plymouth/Pontiac for Petty Enterprises  He is one of the members of the Petty racing family. He was the first driver to win the Cup Series Championship seven times (a record now tied with Dale Earnhardt and Jimmie Johnson).  He won a record 200 races during his career. This included winning the Daytona 500 a record seven times and winning a record 27 races in one season (1967). Petty is widely regarded as one of the greatest drivers in NASCAR history.

The Bowl was autographed by Mr. Petty several years ago in advance of a previous Caroline County Empty Bowls event.