by Debbie Lester

Created on: March 01, 2009

The roar of the engines. The smell of scorching rubber. The thunder of the crowd. Stands filled with fans. These are the sites and sounds of NASCAR. One of today's most successful sports. But, NASCAR didn't become popular just because people wanted to see cars flying around the track at over 200mph. It became famous because of the men who drove those speeding bullets. People wanted to know them, to hear their stories. They wanted to root for the underdog or yell for the favorite.

There are ten drivers that have won more races and captured more hearts than all the rest. They came from different backgrounds, drove with different styles and each appealed to a different group of followers. Their stories captivated the minds of the multitude of fans that came out in record numbers to see them. These men became legends.

Richard Petty has won 200 races in his career, a record that is not likely to be beaten in many years. Why was Richard so successful? He came from a racing family. He started out working in the shop, learning about the cars, how they worked and how to get more speed out of them. He had the benefit of experience gleaned from his father, Lee Petty. He was able to do things with a race car that no else would even attempt and that's why he won so often. The crowd loved him and he became known as the "king" of stock car racing.

David Pearson, the silver fox. He won the championship three times in his career, the only three full time seasons he raced. He has over 105 wins to his credit. This number would probably have been much larger had to competed in NASCAR full time. He faced Richard Petty many times and was able to beat him more times than not. Between August of 1963 and June of 1977 Pearson and Petty finished one-two on sixty three occasions. He is also second in all time pole positions. He won $13 in his first race and the rest was history.

The name Bobby Allison is synonymous with three things in NASCAR. Fights, restrictor plates, and tragedy. Bobby won 74 races in his career and 1 championship. But, he will be remembered for the huge fight after the 79 Daytona 500 with Cale Yarborough, the 1987 wreck at Talladega, which ushered in the new advent of restrictor plates, and tragically the deaths of both of his sons in NASCAR related accidents. Bobby Allison was from a racing family from Alabama. Before he became a driver he was a mechanic and an engine tester.

Darrell Waltrip with 84 wins under his belt was successful for number of reasons. In the early

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