One of the interesting things about sports is the constant controversy over
the term "all time great." In baseball, true students of the game will
mention names like Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio,
Pete Rose, and a dozen others as players deserving of the title.
In football, excellence is a bit tougher to define.
Unlike America's pastime, where all players hit, field, and run the bases,
football is far more specialized.
Some players run, others block, others throw and catch, and yet others kick
and tackle. To compare categories is difficult if not impossible.
How does one compare quarterback Joe Montana to running back Jim Brown?
Or center Jim Otto to defensive back Lem Barney?
Basketball of course brings it's own set of difficulties.
Is a towering seven footer like Wilt Chamberlain who scores, rebounds, and
intimidates, a more valuable player than a sleek guard like Jerry West,
who seemingly never misses a jump shot, passes with precision, and defends
by creating masses of turnovers?
The answers to those questions are timeless.
What about auto racing though? Are there sub fields
where excellence can be measured? Is the best short track driver different
than the best superspeedway driver? Who's the coolest customer under
pressure? The best qualifier? The most consistent?
In this edition of "Beyond the Grandstand" we will explore those issues
and many more.
In fact we'll dissect every facet of driving a Winston Cup car,
and rate the sport's all time greats, not by overall excellence,
but by expertise in that specialty alone.
To begin let's look at qualifying.
One consistent among Winston Cup's All Time Greats
(see "NASCAR's 'Real' 50 Greatest Drivers") is their ability to
drive the racetrack alone, as well as in traffic.
In this regard we see many of the same drivers on the all time list and
the best qualifiers list.
Best Qualifiers:
1) Fred Lorenzen- The "Golden Boy" won 31 poles in 112 attempts from 1961 to
early 1967, driving his Holman-Moody Ford.
That's a pole winning percentage of 27.67. Enough said.
Best Road Course Drivers:
1) Jeff Gordon- The most gifted driver of the modern era, Gordon is a fast
shifting, smooth mover on a multiple turn track.
Watching Jeff battle Dan Gurney in equal cars at Riverside would have been a
classic.
Best Short Track Drivers:
1) Richard Petty- The winningest driver in NASCAR history did it mostly on
short tracks. The "Randleman Rocket" could bump and bang, protect his car,
and still come out on top.
Best Superspeedway Drivers:
1) Fred Lorenzen-"Stock Car Racing" magazine once published a
photograph of Lorenzen with the caption, "King of the Superspeedways."
In his first 42 superspeedway starts as driver of the number 28 Holman-Moody
Ford, he placed his car in victory circle eleven times to set an all time
Grand National (Winston Cup) record. He would win number 12 at
Rockingham in 1966 to become the first driver in Cup history to win races
at all five of the south's original superspeedways. It would take Richard
Petty year's to complete the perfecta.
Hardest charger:
1) Junior Johnson- If all race winners were determined by taking the
fastest lap that each driver turned during his 500 mile run, Junior
Johnson would be the greatest driver who ever lived. Junior could push a
car beyond any limits. Sadly he often pushed them too far.
Coolest under pressure:
1) Tie
Most consistent:
1) Richard Petty- Nobody did it better for longer than Richard.
Short tracks, road courses, or superspeedways, number 43 was always
a threat to win.
Toughest drivers:
1) Dale Earnhardt- Physically durable and mentally tough, Dale Earnhardt
passed away before his time. Forget injuries. Nothing kept this man out
of the cockpit on race day.
Well there you have it, eight categories of excellence, with a multitude of
quality drivers in each one.
Just like other sports, no one is the best at everything, and on race day
these skills and many others combine to decide who wins.
Don't forget though-- just plain good luck can often be the difference
between victory and defeat.
2) Bobby Isaac- The dominant qualifier of his era, Isaac once won twenty
poles in a single season (1969).
3) Tim Flock- As good in qualifying as he was on race day, the Carl
Kiekhaefer Chrysler 300 that Flock piloted was usually the car to beat on
Friday.
4) David Pearson- The "Silver Fox" got the most from his car, even if it
was a short ride. Betting against David setting his Wood Brothers Mercury
on the pole was usually unwise
5) Cale Yarborough- A tough guy on and off the track, the "Timmonsville
Flash" could get every ounce of speed from his vehicle in qualifying as
well as on race day.
Honorable Mention: Richard Petty, Glenn "Fireball" Roberts, Junior Johnson,
Bobby Allison, Darrell Waltrip, and Buck Baker.
2) Dan Gurney- Driving for the Wood Brothers, Gurney won Riverside four
years in a row breaking Fred Lorenzen's
1964 record for most consecutive 500 mile victories on the same track.
Equally adept in an Indy car, Dan was one of the sport's best downshifters.
3)Hershel McGriff- Never noted as a great all round driver, Hershel could
manuver a road course with rare precision and skill.
4) David Pearson- Taking off where Dan Gurney left in the Wood Brothers
Ford/Mercury, Pearson never missed a shift,
and was usually in contention at the end.
5) Richard Petty- Easily the most underrated road course driver in
NASCAR, Richard was as good at Riverside as anyone, except Gurney.
Honorable Mention: Ricky Rudd, Darrell Waltrip, Cale Yarborough,
Tim Richmond, Bobby Allison, and Kyle Petty.
2) Rex White- The 1960 Winston Cup champion, Rex was tough to beat on short tracks.
His career average finish of 8.9 establishes him as number three all time.
3) Curtis Turner- Forget his 17 career Cup victories. Curtis won over 300
races, mostly on short tracks in the 1940's and early 50's. He abused
equipment and frequently failed to finish 500 milers, but for a hundred
laps on dirt, the 'ol man was tough to beat.
4) "Tiger Tom" Pistone- Long past his prime before he reached NASCAR,
"Tiger" outdrove 'em all on quarters and halfs.
5) Fred Lorenzen- The "Elmhurst Express" dominated Martinsville and
Bristol in the early and mid 60's, and added short track wins at Augusta,
North Wilkesboro, West Virginia International, Ashville-Weaverville,
and a host of others.
Honorable Mention: Tim Flock, Herb Thomas, Darrell Waltrip, Buck Baker, Ned Jarrett,
Junior Johnson, Bobby Allison, Jeff Gordon, and Rusty Wallace.
2) Glenn "Fireball" Roberts- Prior to the emergence of Lorenzen, "Fireball"
was the sport's all time superspeedway winner.
His victory total (as are many records of his era) is disputed.
Some publications list nine wins, while others list ten. In any case it is
noteworthy to mention that cars in Glenn's era only finished about half
the races. With today's technology, and a career not cut short by a fiery
crash which took his life, "Fireball" would have seen victory circle many
more times.
3) David Pearson- Stock car racing's second all time leading winner was
not second to anyone on the big racetracks. Had he had better equipment
earlier in his career, Pearson may have set records that could never be
broken.
4) Bobby Allison- Perhaps no one in racing history had better
superspeedway success in a greater variety of cars than Bobby Allison.
Smart, skilled, and driven to succeed, Allison won 'em all over a long
career.
5) Cale Yarborough- Always able to find a way to win, Cale was one of the
most physically talented driver's in NASCAR history. A master of the
draft, he was at times unbeatable on the big tracks.
Honorable mention: Darrell Waltrip, Richard Petty, Leroy Yarbrough, and
Jeff Gordon.
2) Curtis Turner- Add ten points to Junior's IQ and the result was Curtis
Turner. Ego driven like no one before or after him, Curtis wanted simply
to lead every lap of the race until his car expired. Ending the race
behind the wall, or in victory circle was of no consequence.
3) Glenn "Fireball" Roberts- Glenn was a smart charger, who did not like
to run second. If the car could lead-- "Fireball" was in first place.
4) Buddy Baker- Cut from the mold of his famous father, Buddy had
driving skill and the demeanor to go with it.
A better ride for most of his career would have produced many more wins.
5) Dale Earnhardt- The modern era's version of Johnson, Roberts, and
Turner, Dale Earnhardt never met a lap he didn't want to lead.
Talented behind the wheel, he won 76 times, often exhibiting the
bravado of Junior Johnson in the process.
Honorable mention:
Donnie Allison, Jimmy Spencer, Cale Yarborough, Tim Richmond,
Bobby Allison, Charlie Glotzbach, and Leroy Yarbrough.
Jeff Gordon- Combining the driving skill of "Fireball" Roberts,
the savvy of David Pearson, and the intellect of Fred Lorenzen,
JG is the undisputed best stock car driver in the world today.
In a three car run to the checkers, if the cars are close to equal-- bet
on Gordon to bring the number 24 home first.
1) Fred Lorenzen- Curtis Turner, "Fireball" Roberts, Richard Petty, A.J. Foyt,
and Junior Johnson all saw
number 28 in their rearview mirror as races drew to a close, only to see
the same white Ford in front of them as the checkered flag fell.
3) Dale Earnhardt- Often thought of as a muscle driver who charged
and never looked back, Dale
was a heady chauffeur who seldom erred under pressure.
4) David Pearson-The "Silver Fox" gave a few driving lessons to his
competitors as races drew to a close, including one to "The Golden Boy"
at Daytona in 1961 (albeit with a little assistance from his Pontiac
Pack teammates).
5) Bobby Allison- As gifted as anyone who ever piloted a Winston Cup car,
Bobby was smooth, steady, and adept at finding a way to win.
Honorable Mention: Darrell Waltrip, Buck Baker, and Terry Labonte.
2) David Pearson- Seldom running a full schedule in his early career,
Pearson may have won over 200 had he entered the number of races that
Petty did.
3) Bobby Allison- His long career produced wins in every decade.
Clearly one of the sport's greatest drivers.
4) Darrell Waltrip- Junior Johnson once said, "If Darrell had run all those
little races Petty ran, he might have won more than Richard."
Not a bad endorsement.
5) Cale Yarborough- Like the aforementioned drivers in this category,
Cale was tough from qualifying through race day. He never missed a day's
work, and frequently beat all comers when the day was through.
Honorable Mention: Fred Lorenzen
2) Cale Yarborough- Although small in stature Cale was tough as nails.
For 500 miles in searing heat, no one was more alert and harder to beat
at the finish.
3) Fred Lorenzen- A combination of mental and physical toughness,
Lorenzen was back in the driver's seat three weeks after major surgery
following a crash at Daytona in 1964.
4) Lee Petty- An underrated driver who was smart, hard nosed, and nearly as
good as his son. Of course being nearly as good a driver as Richard Petty,
is like being almost as good a painter as da Vinci. Don't mess with Lee
though. He was one tough customer.
5) Curtis Turner- Pops Turner was old school.
He didn't feel pain, and if he did you didn't know about it.
The word risk was not in his vocabulary.
Honorable Mention: Buck Baker, Jack Smith, Larry Frank, Nelson Stacy, and
Ricky Rudd.
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