I'm an Earnhart guy, no doubt about it, and most people consider him to be a greater driver than Richard Petty. Earnhart: 84 Wins. Petty: 200. Yeah Dale was cooler and more exciting and would make you stuff your own car into a wall (The Intimidator, remember?) and if that didn't work he would do it with his front bumper. Did that make him "Greater?"
2006-06-15 17:23:27 · 17 answers · asked by luthierick 2 in Sports ➔ Auto Racing
My opinion is a little biased, as I was, and still am, a huge follower of all things Earnhardt. Richard Petty's 200 wins will never be broken, but that number is largely inflated due to the lack of competition he faced in his early days. From 1967 to 1971, he won a total of 92 out of 233 races. He finished in the top 10 185 times out of those 233 races. Just from reading up on the history of NASCAR, races back in those days were won by laps, not seconds like they are currently. It was not uncommon to see a race winner win by 6, 8, even 10 laps back in the 60's and 70's. So, I believe competition, or the lack of it, is why I believe Earnhardt was a better racer than Richard Petty.
2006-06-15 21:38:35 · answer #1 · answered by Hoff 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
a majority of Petty's wins were back in the day's before all the rules NASCAR made to close the gap for competition, I don't mean to take anything away from Petty, I mean the man is a legend, but he always had the best equipment on the field, MOPAR gave him major support, he would put a brand new engine in before the race(you could do that back then) while most other teams could barley afford the tires for that weekend
Earnhardt also was famous for getting in a car that was junk and getting a top 5 or 10. He had more heart than any other driver, he refused to lose. Also his impact on the sport as a whole was enormous, he marketed himself and the sport with great class, he was the go to guy in the garage, he was the one who would go face to face with the officials if he or the rest of the drivers didn't like something. Most of all he was the intimadator
2006-06-16 03:24:55 · answer #2 · answered by ERRRRRR 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
First of all, it is Earnhardt not Earnhart. Well, Richard Petty raced for 35 years when Dale Sr only raced for 25 years. You can get a lot of wins in ten years. He wouldn't have gotten 200 wins, but he would have had a lot more. I agree though Richard Petty was greater. I mean he had 200 wins, 555 top fives, and 712 top tens, You can't argue with that.
GO DALE GO!!!!!!#8
Iâ¥#20
2006-06-15 17:54:48 · answer #3 · answered by Becca 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The reason why is Petty got his 140 wins in a time where no rules about motors were in effect. This was before the "modern era" If you go to Nascar.com it will show the modern day era race winners which actually has ol DW in first with all time wins with 80ish. When Dale won his championships the sport was sactioned better. Back when Petty won like his first 3-4 championships you could run at you local fair grounds and get points towards your championship. 1 year he ran like 85 races. Thats not nascar, Dale won it was nascar.
2006-06-16 02:31:39 · answer #4 · answered by big dog 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Actually, i'm not an earnhardt guy at all, but i definitely respect his career. My dad was a richard petty fan, i still pull for the #43, but i will always think Richard Petty is the greatest driver of all time. 200 wins in Nascar is a sports record that will never be broken unless they run races every week of the year.
2006-06-15 17:29:14 · answer #5 · answered by Nate d o double g 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Most of Petty's career he raced more than once a week. Sometimes more than once in a single day. Petty had a full time crew when most guys were driving their race cars to the track. He had "high dollar" (STP) sponsorship when most guys were simply running for that weeks purse. Petty was a full time professional race car driver when most of the guys worked during the week and raced on weekends.
He was the factory Plymoth and drove a Superbird. While he was a great driver, in my opinion his legacy will be in ushering in the "professional" aspect of stock car racing. He was in a league of his own (money and technology wise) at a time when they raced nearly 50 races in a season and most of the competition couldn't afford to race at every venue.
As Petty himself will admit, he won more races than anyone else, but he also lost more races than anyone else.
Having said that, I would argue that Dale Sr's death has cast a very favorable light on his talent. He was great but his talent was no greater than that of David Pearson, Cale Yarborough, or dare I say it,... Jeff Gordon's.
2006-06-16 18:34:10 · answer #6 · answered by jamesedge 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Petty did most of his winning before ESPN and cable TV, He did not have the chance to be seen like Earnhart.
2006-06-15 17:50:40 · answer #7 · answered by chuck012561 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Because Dale won most of his races during a much MORE competitive time frame than Petty.
2006-06-16 08:59:36 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
No Question about it Earnhardt becuase petty's first 4 championships were not winston cup so i would have to say earnhardt is the best!!
2006-06-15 23:37:07 · answer #9 · answered by k_lecureux_1999 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Larger fan base. cars were more equal in Earnhardts prime, came down to skill and intimidation
2006-06-16 10:48:17 · answer #10 · answered by warsaw003 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋