By alley - Mar 22, 2017, 7:40 PM ET

Daytona 500 champ Pete Hamilton passes at 74

Pete Hamilton, winner of the 1970 Daytona 500 while driving for Petty Enterprises, has passed away at the age of 74.

Hamilton won four times during a six-year career in NASCAR. He won the series' Rookie of the Year title in 1968, but is best remembered for his runs with Petty's team with the awesome Plymouth Superbird.

NASCAR issued the following statement on Hamilton's passing Wednesday afternoon:

"NASCAR extends its deepest condolences to the friends and family of Pete Hamilton. Hamilton’s career may seem relatively brief at first glance, but a careful study of the gentleman racer makes it abundantly clear that Hamilton achieved excellence during his extraordinary tenure in NASCAR. Hamilton captured the NASCAR National Sportsman championship in 1967, the premier series Rookie of the Year Award in 1968 and an abundance of victories throughout a variety of NASCAR-sanctioned series. But, of course, he will be remembered most fondly for his stirring victory in the 1970 Daytona 500 while driving for the iconic Petty Enterprises race team. And for that, his legend will live forever."

Richard Petty said:

"We ran two cars in 1970, and Plymouth helped introduce us to Pete. They wanted us to run a second car with him on the bigger tracks. 'Chief' (Maurice Petty) led that car and started in the Daytona 500. Pete and 'Chief' won the race, and it was a big deal. Pete won both Talladega races that year (pictured above, Racing One/Getty Images photo). It was great to have Pete as part of the team. He was a great teammate. We send our prayers to his family."

Maurice Petty, who ran the team at the time, added: "Pete was as fast as anyone on the superspeedways in 1970. We had support from Plymouth to run two Superbirds, and they connected us with Pete Hamilton. He was a good match for us, and we won three races together. I enjoyed being around him and will miss him."