NASCAR need not apply - Uncovering the Past - Editorial

Auto Racing Digest, August-Sept, 2003

IN THIS ISSUE WE RANK THE greatest stock car drivers of all time [see our story beginning on page 34], and one man near the top of our list is "the King" of NASCAR: Richard Petty. Over the past 40 years, Petty has been one of the most beloved, decorated; and respected figures in racing. Yet in 1979--when we ranked the five greatest drivers in the history of motor sports--Richard Petty only earned a passing mention:

In our January 1979 issue, we selected the greatest drivers of all time. The five chosen were Juan Manuel Fangio, Stirling Moss, Jim Clark, A.J. Foyt, and Mario Andretti. That's a fine group, and it's difficult to argue with any of their inclusion. The most striking absence was Petty, who at that time had seven championships and more stock car wins that any two drivers combined. He must have just missed, right? Well, not exactly. After conceding that some cuts were going to be difficult, the first driving legend who we axed was "the King."

In that issue, we used four criteria to determine the best drivers of all time: "statistical success, versatility, durability, and virtuosity." It was "versatility" that served as the bugaboo to Petty. We said that you can toss out Richard Petty "simply because he rarely strays from the Grand National circuit." And ... that was that. Jackie Stewart was eventually dismissed because he did little outside of the Formula One circuit, but he received more consideration. In short, F1 was considered to be a more skillful form of racing than NASCAR was.

Well that seems like a long time ago. NASCAR's mechanics, safety, popularity, and quality have increased exponentially in the past quarter-century, and nobody would now dispute that its drivers are among the world's best--or that Petty was one of the all-time greats.