Bristol is where the legends win. Darrell Waltrip won a dozen times there. Cale Yarborough, Dale Earnhardt, and Rusty Wallace each had nine. Then there is Kyle Busch, who’s victory on Saturday night pushed him to six, one more than his brother Kurt and David Pearson. Each one in the Hall of Fame, or will be. No exceptions.
Did his lack of success over recent years stunt NASCAR's growth? Maybe, it was his continued presence that kept it from sliding further down the tubes. In fact, the champion has only taken the Most Popular Driver award six times in the season they won the championship. The last was Bill Elliott nearly 30 years ago. So much for Harvick's theory.
Money, it makes the world go round. So I’m told, anyway. While you and I might remain in perpetual financial darkness, the stock markets would seem to indicate that those on top of the heap are reeling it in.
Pocono. What a nice name. What nice scenery. That one straightaway with all those trees on the other side of the fence reminds me of the Daytona backstretch. Okay, one is forest, the other is pavement, but neither have a grandstand.
Richard Petty may be called The King because of his achievements on the track but it is his actions off the track that make him NASCAR royalty in the hearts of the fans.
But did you know that the first summer race at Daytona International Speedway was called the Firecracker 250? The 250-miles race was held on July 4, 1959, and was won by Fireball Roberts. He dominated the caution-free event, leading 84 of 100 laps and finishing ahead of the second-place finisher, Joe Weatherly, by 57 seconds.
There have been 94 Cup races with 35 different winners at Dover. The first Cup Series race was held on July 6, 1969, and was won by Richard Petty. David Pearson captured the inaugural pole and leads all drivers with six poles. But did you know that he also holds the record for most consecutive poles at Dover? From 1973 to the spring of 1974, he scored three straight poles.
Some things are just not like the others. May featured the World 600 and the All-Star race at Charlotte, the spring derby at Talladega, events a fellow can get excited about. This week. Dover.
Nevertheless, I was pleased to drive Ona because I'd heard that The King himself, Richard Petty, had raced there in the 1960's. So naturally, when Petty showed up at last week's Mecum auction in Houston (which I co-host for NBCSN), I asked him if he remembered racing at “West Virginia International Speedway,” as it was then known.
