by Art West

Created on: February 03, 2009

In the 1930's and 1940's Moonshiners became popular in the southeast. Guys would drive their cars through the mountains being chased by police. Little did they know that was the beginning of one of the most popular forms of auto racing in the world today.

The National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) began in 1948. In over 60 years there have been many drivers race in NASCAR. Today when people think of popular NASCAR drivers, they think of Dale Earnhardt, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Tony Stewart.

There are many legendary drivers in NASCAR. The Flock brothers were the first brothers to win races and Tim Flock won 2 championships. In the 1960's "Gentleman" Ned Jarrett was one of the most popular drivers. Jarrett won 50 races and 2 championships before retiring after the 1965 season during his prime. Jarrett wanted to spend time with his family. Ned found his way into the ESPN broadcast booth in the 1980's and 1990's. His oldest son, Glenn Jarrett did some racing but made his mark as an announcer. Ned youngest son was part of one of my most memorable NASCAR moments. With Ned Jarrett in the broadcast booth, his son Dale beat Dale Earnhardt to win his first race. It was real neat to see the pride Ned had in his son. Ned was so choked up he couldn't speak for a minute until he regained his composure. Dale Jarrett became very popular in his own rite winning a championship in 1999.

Darrell Waltrip may have had one of the most unusual stories. DW was hated when he arrived on the NASCAR scene in the mid 1970's. A brash arrogant kid he began to prove himself. In the process he also grew and matured. In the 1980's DW won 3 championships and by the end of the decade was one of the most popular and respected drivers on the circuit.

I also have to mention Bill Elliott. Bill holds the record for most times voted Most Popular Driver. He was more than just a popular driver. Bill won the championship in 1988 and has over 50 career wins.

I feel obligated to mention one other driver. He was not as popular as the drivers I have mentioned, however, he is the only driver that can really compete with Richard Petty as the best NASCAR driver ever. David Pearson won 107 races in the 1960's and 1970's. He also won 3 championships while only driving 4 COMPLETE seasons. The rest of the time he did not drive in every race of the season.

The most popular and important family has to be the Petty family. Lee Petty was a popular driver in the 1950's and was the first driver to win 3 championships. He also won the first race on the now famous Daytona Speedway. But The King of NASCAR is and always will be Richard Petty. Not only did Richard Petty win 7 championships, he also won 200 races! He holds the record with 7 Daytona 500 wins. While doing this, with his laid back personality, Richard Petty did an outstanding job of promoting NASCAR racing. Just by being himself and winning races. Richard's son Kyle has carried on the tradition of being a popular driver, however, he has not had the success on the track that his dad and granddad had. Kyle has not won a championship and has only won 8 races. He still has that great Petty personality.

While there have been many popular drivers in NASCAR, there is only one King...Richard Petty.

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