bob jennings' WORLD O' RACING  10/30/99

Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt at Michigan International Speedway in June 1988

 Bob Jennings

I need to check to see how much history NASCAR carries on their official website or I need to go to Borders or Barnes & Noble and buy one of the zillion NASCAR books they have, that contains statistics and history.

Without it, I have to rely on memory when I recall the day this photo was taken, at the place owned by Roger Penske and known as Michigan International Speedway. Today, of course, the track is owned by Bill France and the International Speedway Corporation. Sometime within the past few seasons, Penske renamed the track Michigan Speedway.

My first trip to the Michigan two mile oval was, in July 1971, to see a 200 mile USAC Indy car race. I was living in Port Huron, Michigan, at the time. I went to Michigan, with a Port Huron acquaintance, and we met my good pal, John Dailey, and another boyhood chum, from Carmel, Indiana, named Ron Ehrgott.

I remember that Mark Donohue won that particular race, driving Penske's deep blue Sunoco McLaren - Offy number 66. Mark was coming off his first Indy car win, a few weeks earlier, at the inaugural 500 miler, at Pocono International Raceway. Does that seem like a long time ago or what?

Counting quickly, I calculate I've seen something like 33 Indy car races, at Michigan, but only six NASCAR events. The day I took the photo, on this page, was the most recent time I went to Michigan for a NASCAR race. It was also the final time I saw Richard Petty race.

Earlier, in 1988, I made my only trip to the "Daytona 500" and saw Richard Petty somersault end over end directly in front of me and it scared me like nothing I've seen before or since.

This race followed the crash, at Pocono, that ended Bobby Allison's career, by one week. I remember that Darrell Waltrip said some prayers, over the public address, for Bobby, who was in critical condition, at the time, I believe.

The race started under cloudy skies, but the sun came out after awhile.

I don't recall how either Petty or Dale Earnhardt did in the Michigan race. I do recall, however, that the race came down to a fight between Bill Elliott and Rusty Wallace.

Elliott was in the midst of his 1988 Winston Cup championship season, in which he won six races. Elliott's closest challenger, in 1988, was Rusty Wallace, who beat Elliott to the checkered flag, at Michigan. I believe it was one of Rusty's earliest NASCAR "Superspeedway" wins, if not the first.

Of course, the following season, Wallace won his only Winston Cup title.

I wish I could've captured more of Earnhardt's number 3 in the photo; sort of - the two seven time Winston Cup champion thing. The photo would have more significance.

Richard Petty will probably always have his name all over the record books as NASCAR's all time most successful competitor. It's doubtful anyone will ever again win take seven "Daytona 500" victories, and it's even more unlikely anyone will win anything close to 200 Winston Cup races. Many of Petty's wins, including his record 27 wins in 1967, came before the schedule was trimmed to the low thirties. Prior to 1972, the NASCAR schedule might include something like 70 races each season.

Petty's 200th win was that famous photo finish, over Cale Yarborough, in the 1984 "Firecracker 400." President Reagan's helicopter landed in the Daytona infield and the President was in the winner's circle to hand Petty the trophy.  On a recent WIBC program, National Speed Sport News columnist Dave Argabright credited Petty's 200th win, and Reagan's arrival, with starting the big push by Madison Avenue to become involved with NASCAR.

Argabright is probably correct.

After that, Petty still showed flashes of his old competitive self, from time to time, but after another three or four seasons, car 43 sort of faded from the front. Off the top of my head, the final time I can recall Richard Petty looking especially strong, in a NASCAR race, was the 1987 "Daytona 500." If I recall, Petty and Buddy Baker were winner Bill Elliott's strongest pursuers during the first half of the race and I think Petty finished third behind Elliott and Benny Parsons.  

By the time of his farewell tour, during the 1992 season, Petty was running something like Darrell Waltrip is running in 1999.

I recall when Richard Petty was the man  to beat though, especially, in the "Daytona 500." Year after year, Petty would find a way to win that race, while my favorite, David Pearson would find a way to lose.  I also remember a NASCAR 400 miler, at Michigan, in August 1975. I was living in Battle Creek, at the time. During the first half of that race, someone like Buddy Baker or Cale Yarborough  ran at the front, while Pearson and Petty laid back a few positions. Then it started raining and the race was stopped. During the break, I told my buddy Dave Willmuth, who had driven up from Carmel, that I thought the race would come down to a Pearson - Petty contest. I turned out to be right. Pearson was leading through corner three, on the final lap, but Petty got inside and beat the Wood Brothers Mercury car 21 to the checkered flag.

NASCAR wasn't nearly as popular in those days, as today, but I liked the old Pearson - Petty days better. I guess I am getting old!

One last thought about the Petty, Earnhardt photo. Look how loose they are coming out of the second corner, where I took this photo. I wouldn't have even thought about that before. I have the Sierra/Papyrus NASCAR 94 game, on this computer, and to get going fast, at Michigan, I had to run a loose setup too.