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Move over fool, I'm winning this one.......


NASCAR rivalries, rules changes, and the Pennsylvania 500 from Pocono Raceway.





The Backbone of NASCAR.........

What would NASCAR racing be like without a competition rivalry? Probably pretty boring for the most part, but I cannot see that happening. At least, not in our lifetime.

A good, spirited, competitive rivalry goes back as far as NASCAR racing itself does. In fact, that is what has made the sport of stock car racing what it is today, and it would be very difficult to even imagine racing without the existence of at least one rivalry. I’m not talking about a flare-up between two drivers involving a difference in opinion about something on the race track with a little bit of yelling and shoving attached. No, not at all. I am talking about a good solid hardcore racing rivalry that lasts for years, and that is ever present no matter where they race.

All the way back into the late 40’s and early 50’s there were Lee Petty and Buck Baker, Curtis Turner and Speedy Thompson and also the Flock brothers, who kept their own rivalry going from week to week. Then in the late 50’s along came Richard Petty and Junior Johnson, with Fireball Roberts and Freddy Lorenzen (and believe me, these two could keep one going). In reality, this was what made good hard competitive racing. Then in '59 or '60, along came David Pearson, and probably the best competition rivalry of all time was born between him and Richard Petty. As far as I can remember, they got along sort of okay, but when they got on the race track nobody ever raced harder than they raced each other. The records still show proof of that until this day. There are still David Pearson fans who will say that he was the best, and Richard Petty fans who will argue that he was the best. Keep it up, because this is what makes racing what it is. This thing between Petty and Pearson lasted about 20 years until Pearson retired, and if I remember right he won his last Southern 500 in 1979 filling in for Dale Earnhardt, who was injured at Dover, Del.

Then to add spice to the Petty and Pearson saga, along came Cale Yarborough. Cale was such a competitor that he could stay in a rivalry with somebody for ages, but in time to come, this culminated in a lasting feud involving the Allison brothers, Bobby and Donnie. Also, ol’ DW seemed to always keep a pretty good fire going with Cale. It wasn’t
The copyright of the article Move over fool, I'm winning this one....... in NASCAR is owned by Thomas M. Sampson. Permission to republish Move over fool, I'm winning this one....... in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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