6 replies to this topic

[Lantern]

This has bugged me for quite some time and now I would like to hear some of your opinions on the subject.

Since the AP Greatest driver poll came out it has brought me to wonder what your thoughts on overrated "Greats" are. The one in particular that I don't think too highly of is "The King" Richard Petty. Granted I know that the man won 200 races(the last race being a little bit of a shady one) but he never drove a car that wasn't head and shoulders above the rest and also had several races counted in his total that would NEVER be counted today(They weren't really Nascar races). I just can't, with good conscience, rank him above such great drivers as David Pearson,Cale Yarborough(nod to Don's relative ;)), and Dale Earnhardt. I know that I just used other Nascar Drivers in my list but I am just trying to make a point. How can you be considered the best of all time when your not the best in your version of the sport? I'm not saying that Petty wasn't great, just NOT THAT GREAT.

Your thoughts are greatly appreciated and feel free to list others that you believe are overrated. But, lets just try to steer clear of modern comparisons on this one.

[RainMan]

I agree with you that Richard Petty did spend most of his career in superior equipment to his competition, and gets credit for a lot of wins against practically no competition. I definitely think that Earnhardt is a better pure driver because Earnhardt has spent much of his career winning wthout always having the best car. Now, in the NASCAR world, we usually hold Petty as the greatest just out of love for the man, but most of us would readily admit that he wasn't really the best. In NASCAR, this out-of-whack ranking is accepted. However, I can see how on a list covering all sports, people might not want him held in as high of a regard, and would prefer rankings based more on actual ability. I really don't know what to tell you as far as how to fix it though. I agree with the voters putting Earnhardt in the top-5 in rankings, and would be disappointed had he not been there, but I would have understood leaving Petty out if not for his reputation.

P.S. I would also consider Petty's 200th win to be suspect had it not been Cale Yarborough that he beat, because I don't think you could talk Cale into throwing a race for anything in the world.

[Todd]

RainMan,

The reason Petty's 200th win is considered suspect relates to post-race inspection. It has been said that his engine was over-sized. The accusation is that Petty knew that France wouldn't risk the back-lash of stripping his biggest star of a popular win in front of the fans, God, and Ronald Reagan. Petty is said to have cheated most-blatantly, comfortable in the knoweledge that NASCAR wouldn't have the nerve to poison the well. NASCAR paranoids would also say that France kept him from ever being competitive again as a pay back. I don't know the details for facts, but I'm convinced that they found something illegal and performance-enhancing under his hood. I don't know if it was really a 366ci engine.

[RainMan]

That is very possible for he won a race at Charlotte a year or two before that in which his engine was largely oversized. Of course, the win at Charlotte was allowed to stand, but he had to forfeit all of the points he earned and I bleive most, if not all of his prize money. With President reagan having been there the day of that race, perhaps NASCAR did let an infraction slip by, although if the engine was that large, i wonder how Cale was able to hang with him even with the effect of the draft. I guess its one of those things that only a few people know, and will ever know. All I can say is that for all of the heat he takes, I'm so glad that Gary Nelson is now NASCAR's chief inspector because, as a former crew chief, he knows all of the tricks and doesn't take any crap.

[Joe Fan]

I disagree that Richard Petty was overrated. He definately had great equipment throughout most of his career but you have to give him some of the credit for getting that great Chrysler support and keeping it. Richard was a great ambassador for the sport of stock car racing and he would spend hours after the race signing autographs for fans. It has been said that the most plentiful autograph in the world is a Richard Petty autograph for these reasons. And if you have ever seen Richard's autograph, it looks like a piece of artwork. The autograph you see on his merchandise is what you get in person, not the usual fast scribbles. A stock car driver is seen as a spokesman for their sponsor and Richard Petty set the standard for everyone else. He was a sponsor's dream. I believe he deserved and earned the great equipment he was provided. I do agree that David Pearson was probably a better driver that never really had the outstanding factory support that Petty had but he didn't race full time or as long as Richard Petty to own the NASCAR record book. I give Petty credit for his dedication to the sport and his longevity.

As far as Richard's 200th career win being suspect, Richard was the Daytona King winning the most Daytona 500's ever with seven and it wasn't like he came out of nowhere to win this race. He had won two races the year before and one of which was at Talladega.

Seriously, I can't rank Dale Earnhardt over Richard Petty or David Pearson. Both of these drivers were better all around drivers. Dale Earnhardt has only won one road course race in his career at Sears Point in 1995. Richard Petty won six road course races in his career and Pearson won four and they were equally as good as Earnhardt on the big tracks.

P.S. On friday night the weekend of the last NASCAR race in Atlanta this year, I was sitting in a NASCAR-themed bar that was located in the hotel that I was staying at for the race. About 10:30 PM, I was sitting there drinking a beer and talking with some friends and my family, when all of sudden I looked up and guess who walks into the bar? David Pearson with his wife. We waved at him and he smiled and waved back, looked around for a few minutes as if he was trying to find someone and then headed out to the hotel lobby. I thought WOW, there is one of the greatest drivers in motorsports history and one of my all-time favorite drivers right there and I bet few people in the bar recognized him.

[This message has been edited by Joe Fan (edited 12-16-1999).]

[RainMan]

I agree that Petty and Pearson were better on road courses than Earnhardt, but I can't agree with you that they were better on the big tracks. Earnhardt is the all time win leader at Talladega with 8, and has about 30 or so victories at Daytona, more than twice his closest rival, whom I believe is Bobby Allison. Also, I never said that Petty wasn't a great ambassador for the sport. That is a category in which he is unrivaled. In addition to this, I never said that he did cheat to get his 200th win. All I said is that it is possible because he had been caught cheating in the past.

[Lantern]

P.R. is how Petty got and kept the Factory rides. Once you're in a great ride and are a good racer all you need is time to build a legend. AT least if we're going by stats and P.R. to judge "Geats" and "Legends".