The Legends of NASCAR is approximately a 720 car collection depicting the best race car driver�s in NASCAR history since its inception in 1948. Over the years, all of these drivers have competed in races sanctioned by NASCAR all over the country. Sometimes driving in only a few events. Others have driven many types of automobiles for a number of years. Some, winning races and Championships, some finishing in the top ten. These racing events where held at various race tracks around the country, some quarter mile to half mile ovals. Others would be one-mile racetracks at local Fair grounds or Speedways. Over the years Super Speedways have evolved around the country, 1�, 2 & 2� mile ovals and tri-oval facilities were constructed for speed and the many race fans that attended automobile racing.
To be considered for my Legends collection, a driver must have won a race or have placed consistently in the top ten of any racing program he or she was entered in, or a Championship. In my opinion, (40 years of stock car racing involvment), a Legend of Stock Car Racing is someone that has displayed tremendous effort in racing. Some Legends may never have won a race, but they placed 2nd, 3rd, 5th or 10th in most races as long as the equipment was still operational at the end of the race. Effort and consistency are the key to a great race car driver. Super drivers like Tim Flock, Herb Thomas, Lee & Richard Petty, Curtis Turner, Joe Weatherly, Fireball Roberts, Buck Baker and A.J. Foyt. Men that where considered unbeatable like David Pearson, Cale Yarborough, Bobby Allison, Darrell Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt. You could see the determination and hunger these drivers displayed.
When you really pay attention you�ll see the hard chargers coming up through the pack. The ones on the move, passing cars and rarely getting passed themselves. Races that started 35 to as many as 50 or 60 race cars in the old days. The truly visible and unrelenting efforts of drivers like Jack Smith, Bill Blair, Hershel McGriff, Ed Samples, Junior Johnson, Paul Goldsmith, Ned Jarrett, Dick Hutcherson, Bobby Isaac and Harry Gant. Always on the move, constantly charging to the front. Consistency! Race after race, week after week, always there, striving to get ahead, never content with 2nd or 22nd place. As long as someone was ahead of them, they had to advance.
To be a good race driver was best described by Parnelli Jones in an interview during the early 60�s. �A race driver has to be on the verge of loosing control at all times or you�re not going fast enough.� That perfectly describes the phrase ( on the edge ). That means if you are not on the edge, you are not driving hard enough. Competitors that would never finish 20th or 32nd unless something was wrong with their car. Among those drivers where Jim Paschall, Fred Lorenzen, Elmo Langley, Dave Marcus, Neil Bonnett, Dick Brooks, Benny Parsons, Joe Ruttman, Ricky Rudd and Richard Childress.
It's true competitors like these that make up the heart of stock car racing. True Legends, All! I don�t believe you�ll find a more accurate display of Stock Car Racing�s hero�s anywhere. My collection honors these people by stating their names and displaying the cars they drove from 1948 through the present day. I'm proud to be a racer, and I know people interested in racing would enjoy seeing a collection of Stock Car Racing's Hero's