Top Of The Ladder
So many, many times throughout the past 50+ years of following NASCAR Racing, I have heard the phrase "When a driver reaches the height of his career, there is only one place left that he can go, DOWN!" And, all too often during this span of time, I have to say, regretfully, that I have witnessed this as being all too true. I could name several examples, but I'd rather not do so. It's kind of' like going to a party, you have to know when to leave.
But now I'm beginning to see something that is even more saddening than that. I think that NASCAR has reached the very top of the ladder, so to speak, and the only way left to go is........well, I won't use that word.
I can remember when they ran 70 races per year and half of those were on small dirt tracks. The drivers only had one car and if they tore it up, they fixed it in time for the next race and were there to race when the green flag waved. It may have a few battle scars, but they drove it anyway. The pit crews consisted of 2 or 3 family members or relatives. The only shops were backyard garages or a spot in the yard under a maple tree. The hauler was a flat trailer behind a pickup truck. (This was in the "modern days.") Before that, they drove the car to the track. In 1949, Johnny Mantz won the Southern 500 with a '49 Plymouth 4 door sedan. He drove it to Darlington from California and left S.C. and drove it to Washington State and raced it again. The 1st of the seven Championships that Richard Petty won, the sponsors name on his car was a local car wash. That sponsor and later a restaurant and a tire store stayed on his car until STP came along.
When Ned Jarrett retired from racing his car owner was Betty Lillie and his sponsor was Bondy Long Ford. That was one of the better teams on the track. When Freddy Lorenzen (the Golden Boy) raced, his car was owned by Holman-Moody and had Lafayette Ford as a sponsor and he was considered the "Hot Dog" of racing.
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