The once and future king - The Fans Speak Out - Letter to the Editor

Auto Racing Digest, Oct-Nov, 2003

What?! How could Dale Earnhardt have been named the greatest driver in NASCAR history over Richard Petty ["Field of Dreams," September 2003]? "The King" should have easily won in a landslide victory the likes of which we have not seen since the days of former president Ronald Reagan.

I hereby request a recount to ensue that there were no voting irregularities.

Joseph Daudish

Naperville, Ill.

I was pleased that you placed Jeff Gordon in the top five in your countdown of the 43 greatest stock car drivers of all time ["Field of Dreams," September 2003], but I was shocked that Dale Earnhardt finished in front of Richard Petty. I'm sorry, but they didn't call him "King Richard" for nothing. Earnhardt may have been the "Richard Petty of his time," but he wasn't a better driver than "the King." Petty was the greatest: End of discussion

Brian Essick

Lexington, N.C.

I hope you people didn't pay Barry Wilner for that article on the 43 best drivers of all time. He simply put Dale Earnhardt as the best because he was the most popular in the Southeast. Dale was certainly not the best by any stretch of the imagination. If you want the best ever, you simply look at who has won the most money and who has the won the highest percentage of his starts. That would indicate that Jeff Gordon is the best driver that there ever was or ever will be--bar none.

William Berry

Via e-mail