By Sam Atwell 

What a wonderful weekend at Chicago for Richard Petty.  It was an awesome celebration of the 50 years Richard Petty has been in NASCAR racing.  It was really satisfying to see a real hero be celebrated by the sport. I really enjoy looking back at the past to see where we came from.  If you have listened to the radio show at all you will know that I am very much a traditionalist, I don’t care for a lot of changes.  That is what I like about The King.  He was a great racer and he is now a great ambassador for the sport.  No one will ever match the number of wins he amassed in his career.  Only one man has matched the number of championships by Richard Petty.  Until recently I thought that only one current driver would even have a shot at reaching the number of championships that he has, but now I am not so sure. 

Back in the day Petty and the other first generation drivers would run two to three times a week. They didn’t make   money that these drivers today make, they didn’t have the sponsorship money that the teams today have, but they built this sport to what we have today.  We should celebrate all the first generation drivers.  We wouldn’t have the sport today we have if it weren’t for Cale, Bobby, Donnie, David, Tiny, Fireball and the list goes on and on. 

Not only was The King a great racer, he and his family are just incredible human beings.  What Richard and his family (Linda, Kyle & Patty) have done with the Victory Junction Gang Camp is beyond amazing.  The number of children that they have served are in the thousands, the happiness that they have spread, from the tragedy of losing a grandson and a son is beyond amazing.  They have used what NASCAR gave them to touch people in a very personal way.

I can only hope that with the new investors that Petty Enterprises can return to their past glory.  If you reap what you sow, then when the Petty’s harvest what they have sown will see the #43 car back in victory lane in the near future. 

So from one fan, Thank you, King, job well done.

Well Daytona testing is over for this pre-season and this was probably one of the most important tests at Daytona in recent memory.  This was so important that even Tony Stewart showed up to work with his new team.  One of the biggest surprises to me was the results from Toyota.  I thought that Gibbs Racing would show up well for Toyota, but all the other teams had great results too.  Toyota dominated the overall testing speed chart, with the cars from Michael Waltrip racing in the top ten.  Those cars haven’t shown up in the top ten in their history!  This was the kind of testing session Toyota wanted last season, but didn’t get.  Toyota news last season was occupied by the cheating scandal for the #55 NAPA Auto Parts team.   I haven’t quite figured out what the difference is, but I think the addition of the Joe Gibbs Racing engine department has had to help. 

I was also glad to see the fastest lap by a single car for both sessions was turned in by the number 88 team of Dale Earnhardt, Jr.  I really believe that Junior is focused, like a laser beam, this season.  I think he knows that this is the time to put up or shut up.  I think he will.  Junior and his new team will make it to victory lane this season, maybe multiple times.  I also believe that he will be in the chase and I know for sure his biggest competition will be from his teammates Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon.

Sam

By Sam Atwell

With two races left in the chase for the cup, it is time for the 24 team to take it to the next level.  They are 30 points behind Jimmie Johnson, but 30 points can be erased during qualifying Friday in Phoenix.  Depending on where they qualify can change the points significantly when they roll off the line on Sunday.  If the chase were to end now Jimmie would win, but the chase doesn’t end now or on Sunday it is next week.  Jeff Gordon can still win the 5th championship of his career, but they must pick it up beginning with qualifying today.  Gordon has run well at Phoenix, finally getting a win in the cup series earlier this season.  Qualifying begins at 3 PM eastern time.  Be sure to check out all the qualifying news and results right here at www.racereportradio.comSam