Richard. ...said in victory lane We Out Thunk em today !!!!..... Dale was so emotional...he didn't want to leave. He was so cool under fire Sooo classy !!
Yeah we all know the king but most people away from the racers general public probably heard his name enuf or not but behind the king of stock cars there s great people u need to be a racer to figure that part out,ok was just trying to get myself back together after a auto accident while working my business and physically my body was not getting any better,so I started thinking about what matters most to me and what I really like to do more than anything if I had to give up my own business,after getting a NASCAR video for Christmas history of the Daytona 500,a race the king had one a couple of times....but more importantly it was how they one it that impressed me.They were in the right position at the right time like magic every time and I said these guys know some special,not just racing.So on a wing and a prayer I with no expectations of ever even getting thru to the right person or channels,I started working on getting a job at Petty Enterprises and from 20 plus years of watching NASCAR I knew dale Inman was name I needed to speak with to get a shot at getting a job,first thing I did was seek out the phone number thru TNN tv station and they were really help full,I forgot petty has there driving school for anyone interested,so armed with the number I made the call to get a job some where at the bottom,not expecting to go to the races just some spot at the race shops sanding parts or anything,well miraculously the call when they to a very nice lady,but the team was down at Daytona testing the new car....second call a week later they where at the wind tunnel,ok 3rd call a week later,drama builds nice lady giggles because were old friends by now,she says hang on ill very him,huh,for real,ok now I'm stunned that I'm going to actually talk to the party I was seeking,so I wait patiently,and Dale picks up the phone,being respect ful of his time I tried to keep my conversation short and direct because I figured I would be mostly just wasting his time but it went a little better than that....we had a conversation and I told him I was looking for work at the race shop and not expecting to be part of pit crew,now,but my timing was off the team was already full with Daytona only 5 weeks away,but Dale was very professional and told me to keep my chin up,in essence keep trying,don't give up,which I thought was real cool,funny thing about after the call i was pulling the engine out of my Chevy truck and paint the frame white so I could spot any cracks in the frame,I realized my work ethic was the same I don't ever rest on my laurels I'm always looking at what I do to see if it can be done better or more effectively....some thing I know they must have done to win a cham pianship or two,funny part is I was in 7/11 looking at Circle Track magazine,this month we talk to Guess who,Dale Inman from petty racing,so I bought a copy,seems every big name crew chief worked at the Kings shop when they were teenagers,well I know I called the right phone number.....Thanks guys.
WT Hendrix no question to me by far and the Championships speak for itself Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt are the two Greatest Stock Car Drivers of all time but overall Mario Andretti is the Greatest Driver of all time
jesusjr millan that’s a bit of a stretch. Andretti is probably the best American driver to date, but best driver of all time? I don’t think there is one, nor should there be, especially given the era of the respected drivers. A strong argument could be made for Juan Manuel Fangio, Jim Clark, John Surtees, Dan Gurney, Michael Schumacher, Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt, Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna, Walter Rohrl, Kunimitsu Takahashi, Keiichi Tsuchiya... it’s a long list.
Looks to me like racing was a lot simpler back then and it was a lot more enjoyable also. Why can't it be more like that now. I realize racing has become more expensive and more technical but it doesn t have to be as far from its roots as it has become. It's just my opinion but it seems to me that a lot of current drivers feel the sport doesn't need and will continue to go on without the fans. Good luck with that. PS. To all the old school drivers and teams , thank you, what an awesome ride it was for me. just as a fan.
Have you guys notice that Dale is a very common name in NASCAR there are 3 HOFers first name Dale. Jarrett, Earnhardt and Inman wow all contribute incredibly in the sport