Nascar Race News!» Richard Petty

Petty Sold His Soul To Save RPM

T.C. — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 02:16:37 +0000

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Richard Petty Remains King of NASCAR

David Whitley — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 15:42:00 +0000

Filed under: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Petty Enterprises, Daytona Int'l Speedway

Why is Richard Petty the King? Let us count the ways.

He won 200 races. He's signed at least a million autographs. He's 73 years old.

As impressive as those feats are, what makes Petty the greatest driver in NASCAR history isn't numbers. The King was good enough to win, but wise enough to know you don't win at all costs.

That's the big difference between Petty and Dale Earnhardt Sr. Sure, we could point to about total victories, win percentage and other arithmetic. But statistics can make any point you want.

Petty and Earnhardt each won seven NASCAR championships, but Petty won 137 more races. He did it pre-NASCAR boom, so Earnhardt fans will argue that it was easier to rack up checkered flags.

There's some truth to that, but it's also like saying Babe Ruth wouldn't have been Babe Ruth if baseball had been integrated and he'd had to play night games.

Petty won 27 of 48 races he entered in 1967, including 10 in a row. I don't care if he was racing against Danica Patrick's grandmother, that's astounding.

The King's critics will even say that 200th win wasn't legit. It was a premiere event, the Firecracker 400. Ronald Reagan was in the press box, making him the first sitting president to attend a NASCAR race.

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New Book Tackles NASCAR’s Greatest Debates

Jerry Bonkowski — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 16:30:00 +0000

Filed under: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Kasey Kahne, Petty Enterprises, Sprint Cup, FanHouse Exclusive, NASCAR

EDITORS NOTE: When you start talking about Richard Petty's rightful place in NASCAR history vs. Dale Earnhardt vs. Jeff Gordon, you're going to get in an argument.

In his first book, Trading Paint: 101 Great NASCAR Debates, recently published by John Wiley & Sons Inc., motorsports writer Jerry Bonkowski tackles these questions and provides his unique viewpoint. Prior to joining FanHouse over a year ago as an editor, Jerry Bonkowski was National NASCAR Columnist for Yahoo! Sports and ESPN.com and wrote for USA Today.

Here are several excerpts from Bonkowski's book, which is available at Barnes & Noble, Borders and other book stores, as well as online at Amazon.com.

WHO'S THE GREATEST NASCAR DRIVER EVER?

This debate always gets passionate fans going, with typically mild-mannered individuals turning into raving, obsessed fanatics if someone dares to challenge the superiority of the guy they so proudly call "their" driver. Think of a 140-pound, Woody Allen-looking dweeb who lives and breathes Kasey Kahne suddenly getting a surge of testosterone, puffing out his chest while forgetting common sense, and stupidly trying to take on a hulking, 300-pound redneck who takes great offense if you say anything bad about Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Then watch the punched-out Woody Allen-esque fan suddenly wind up doing a frightening, almost cartoonlike barrel roll through the air like the great Rusty Wallace did more than a few times during his career at places like Talladega Superspeedway.

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Does NASCAR Need a Drivers Union Like IndyCar and Formula One?

Holly Cain — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 13:50:00 +0000

Filed under: Carl Edwards, Dale Jarrett, Talladega Superspeedway, IRL, NASCAR

No way. Won't happen. No need.

That's the prevailing consensus on whether NASCAR drivers will ever create the type of drivers organization formalized in the IZOD IndyCar Series a couple weeks ago and that has long existed in Formula One and even the National Hot Rod Association.

There have been concerted efforts over the years by some of NASCAR's biggest names, like Richard Petty, and even a rarely-talked-about effort in 1997 by the late seven-time champ Dale Earnhardt, but nothing sustainable. More often, it was a hush-hush, backroom suggestion that a committee or association was even necessary. The idea of anything resembling a union, pure blasphemy.

And that's from current and former drivers, not just the sanctioning body.

"It's pretty simple, NASCAR is the destination of choice for almost every driver in the world so if you don't like it, there's someone that will be right there on your heels ready to take your place,'' driver Carl Edwards said this week. "Maybe that's why they (NASCAR) have been able to do their own thing for so long.''

Or as 1989 champion Rusty Wallace puts it, "Having some sort of committee like that would just screw everything up.''

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TNT’s Disappointing Summer Series

Journo — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 07:09:28 +0000

After six weeks, TNT’s turn at the helm of the Cup Series broadcasts is over. And if you ask me, it couldn’t have come any sooner. From missed stories, to commercial overkill, TNT’s races were lackluster at best. Thanks to the wonders of technology (the DVR) and Speed’s Wednesday re-broadcast, TC and I usually catch [...]

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Nobody To Blame In Petty/Allmendinger Spat

T.C. — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 02:59:41 +0000

Last weekend at the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona, Richard Petty and RPM driver AJ Allmendinger had a short confrontation in the garage area after the race. During the race, Allmendinger was involved in a wreck with Kyle Busch that sent him spinning off the track and into the inside wall. AJ went on to finish the race, [...]

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Richard Petty Trace Adkins Contest

Vinny — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 15:54:39 +0000

You guys and gals know I love bringing you contest where you can win something. Here is a cool contest that should be a lot of fun. BC and Goody’s Online “Pick A Powder” Contest Kicks Off Starring Trace Adkins and Richard Petty Humorous Collection Of Short Videos Showing Them In Each Other’s World Is [...]

Richard Petty Trace Adkins Contest is a post from: Awesome Race Fans

NASCAR Hall of Fame Inducts First Class

Holly Cain — Sun, 23 May 2010 19:36:00 +0000

Filed under: Dale Earnhardt Jr., NASCAR Awards, Sprint Cup, NASCAR Hall of Fame

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Nearly two weeks after first opening its doors, the NASCAR Hall of Fame in downtown Charlotte hosted more than 2,300 people - from overall-clad moonshiners to champion drivers to fans dressed in souvenir t-shirts and flip-flops - who came together Sunday afternoon to induct the Hall's first five members.

A Who's Who list of the sport's royalty gathered to celebrate Richard Petty's legend, Junior Johnson's iconic status and to honor the legacies of the late seven-time champion Dale Earnhardt and NASCAR founder Bill France Sr. and his son Bill France Jr., who guided NASCAR into its "modern era."

The accolades and primary focus were clearly on the five first-time inductees. It was, however, very clear this day was a celebration of the sport in general and the crucial role this inaugural class played in launching it beyond a regional pastime and into the American mainstream.

"Today, everybody was on the same team,'' said champion team owner Rick Hendrick, who delivered the induction speech for Bill France Jr.

"Today everybody is celebrating our sport. We all won today.''

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As Richard Petty Becomes Duke Fan, His Wife Talks About Her Cancer

Bob Zeller — Thu, 13 May 2010 16:20:00 +0000

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The Duke Blue Devils -- nowhere more loved or reviled than here in their home state -- gained a big new fan this year in North Carolina's own Richard Petty, but not for any athletic accomplishments.

Since early February, Petty and his wife, Lynda, have been traveling back and forth from their home in Level Cross to the Duke University Medical Center in Durham, where Lynda has been receiving chemotherapy treatments for a brain tumor at the Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center.

"If I was never a Duke fan before, I'm a Duke fan now," Petty said at the NASCAR Hall of Fame Tuesday when asked about how his wife was doing. "Not that I wasn't, but it's brought me that much closer to Duke, that's for sure."

Meanwhile, Lynda Petty spoke out for the first time, telling WGHP Fox 8 News in an interview aired Thursday night, "I thought, 'Lord, give me the strength to get through this,' because I knew it was going to be the battle of my life."

Lynda told reporter Bob Buckley of the High Point, N.C., station that she first began having problems while the family was on vacation at their Wyoming ranch home.

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Gala Opening for NASCAR Hall of Fame

FanHouse Newswire — Tue, 11 May 2010 13:16:00 +0000

Filed under: Petty Enterprises

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- The rumble from a pair of motors interrupted the opening ceremony at the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

Nobody seemed to mind, though, when Richard Petty pulled his 1974 Dodge Charger onto the ceremonial plaza, with Junior Johnson trailing in a 1940 Ford. The two members of NASCAR's inaugural Hall of Fame class climbed from the cars they are most associated with to a rousing ovation.

"This is the greatest thing that's ever happened to me," Johnson said of being part of the first induction class.

Started in 1948, the National Association of Stock Car Racing finally opened its Hall of Fame on Tuesday with a star-studded ceremony.

North Carolina Gov. Beverly Perdue joined Charlotte area dignitaries and representatives of NASCAR's past and present on a stage outside the Hall for the hour-long opening ceremony. After Johnson and Petty's arrival -- Petty in a replica of his No. 43 STP Dodge, and Johnson in a No. 3 Ford that read "Carolina Moonshine" -- several past champions scanned their entrance cards to officially open the doors.

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