Hard to wrap my mind around it being a stretch of the truth. People have pecked at Richard Petty's wins, saying some came on dirt tracks against small fields and lesser competition.
DaleJr says that's "disgusting. It's insulting. Ultimately, yes. At first, my idea was to only count mile races. But if all road courses are counted, should a mile race between 14 cars in at a makeshift road course in an airfield count? Instead of overall victories, look at Modern Era victories. Instead of saying Petty has the most top fives of any other driver, say Gordon has the most Modern Era top fives of any driver.
NASCAR has a set point in its history where the sport evolved from its humble beginnings into something at least somewhat similar to its current product on the field… er, track. The highest Hendrick driver in points is Chase Elliott in 12th.
Busch in particular has had a great start to the season, running in the top 10 for seemingly the entire year so far. Not on par with even Hendrick, but certainly enough to where you can blame the engine department. It seems more and more like the problems at Hendrick have absolutely nothing to do with their engines, but rather, something to do with the body or chassis.
Martinsville, with aerodynamics not really playing a factor there, will be a good indicator as to if the problem at Hendrick has to do with handling. Ratings are slightly up, but there have been a multitude of competition problems, the biggest of which is the new rules package leading to worse racing by the week.
Fun fact: Martinsville used to be a dirt track, and it was one of the worst on the schedule when it came to dirt just going everywhere. Anyway, after being paved in , the racing at Martinsville has largely been the same regardless of what year and what generation of car is being used. The Cup champion was leading on the final lap before receiving a bump and run from Joey Logano , who won the race and eventually the championship.
A daily email update Monday through Friday providing racing news, commentary, features, and information from Frontstretch. Your email address will not be sold or shared with anyone else. Comparing stats of different eras is always complicated.
So now the elephant in the room is how do we compare Championships? No drivers have ever been eliminated from being in contention to win the race because they were outside the top 10 or 12, or 16 at any specific point during the race. Positions at the end of stage 2 are guaranteed no worse than a top See, I feel championships are a little easier to compare. Bobby Hamilton Wins for Petty Enterprises: 2 Total career wins: 4 Notable: Hamilton's first two Cup Series wins both came in October, both at roughly mile-long tracks: at Phoenix, and the following year at Rockingham.
In his best season , Hamilton prevailed in the Daytona with Petty's No. That win total included a victory on the Daytona Beach-Road Course in and in the first Daytona five years later. Clearly, the potential was there … if not the results. That potential finally bloomed in February on the half-mile dirt Southern States Speedway near Charlotte.
Just 22 and still honing his skills, Petty qualified seventh among 21 entrants. There is controversy and confusion about the race, not least of which involves lap leaders, lead changes, contact, and intentional teamwork. One version has No. That allowed Richard to pass cleanly and drive off to his first career victory. Two leaders, one lead change, and nothing particularly untoward.
I do remember the track was unbearably rough, but not much else about what went on. There were potholes and bumps and ruts all over the place, and Rex got into one of them. I guess I got though the holes and rough spots better than he did. I think only about seven of us were still running at the end. White, now 91, well remembers Lee knocking him aside in the latter laps, ruining his chance of winning. As much as I raced with Richard through the years, I never had any confrontation or disagreement with him.
No, sir. Car Life. Type keyword s to search.
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