Prior to the modern era, many of NASCAR’s top drivers only competed in major races, meaning that some of the sport’s greats – Fireball Roberts, Junior Johnson, Curtis Turner and Fred Lorenzen, among them – never won a championship at NASCAR’s top level. “Cherry picking” the top races went out of vogue in 1972, when the season was shortened and Winston’s entry as corporate sponsor made it more economically rewarding to compete in every race.