June 16, 2009
By Allen Madding
For all the glitz and glamour, for all the media exposure and large financial prizes that drivers can win in the upper divisions of racing, for the majority of the time, racing can be a lesson in humility. On any given weekend, one driver wins and 42 lose. For a driver to have a long-term career, the desire to win is not enough to sustain them. A driver has to be able to find enjoyment in the side-by-side competition and the adrenalin rush of racing, or the highs and lows of the sport will wear them down.
A driver that becomes frustrated every time they crawl through the window of a racecar and do not win will burn out in this sport rather quickly. There are levels to the humility dished out in every event which a driver competes. If a racer cannot win an event, they definitely desire a top-ten finishing position. Finishing second is first loser, but it is certainly better than finishing in the back 20 positions. Most drivers will tell you that they would rather be punched in the gut than be lapped by the leader.
Finishing an event a lap down is a humiliation that will haunt a driver for their career, because it is recorded in the annals of history.
Many drivers can accept a top-five finish with their head held high, because they are focused on the pursuit of the series championships. But, a season barren of wins coupled with not being in the hunt for a championship title can be a huge hit to a driver’s morale.
Even the best careers have their fair share of opportunities to gain another lesson in humility. Richard Petty recorded 200 wins in what is known today as the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Petty retired at the end of the 1992 season and still holds the title of most wins in the series. He also obtained seven NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championships. He is tied with the late Dale Earnhardt for the most championships in the series.
Even with such an amazing career, Richard Petty endured 984 Cup Series races where he did not win and 28 seasons when he was not crowned the champion. 472 times, Petty did not finish in the top-ten in Cup Series events. 629 times, he did not finish in the top-five. But Richard Petty crawled out of his racecar after each of 1184 races in the Cup Series and was ready to talk to any member of the media and to sign an autograph for any fan.
When NASCAR asked the drivers finishing in the top three positions each week in the Cup Series to be available in the media center, several drivers have opted to ignore the request on particular occasions and quickly head for an awaiting helicopter or jet. Richard Petty on the other hand was around when the series was hurting for national exposure and media attention and was happy to meet any of NASCAR’s requests for Public Relations events and media opportunities.
Petty also knew that without the fans, the tracks would have very little money to payout in purses, so his earnings were directly impacted by how many people paid to watch a race. So, he did anything possible to help promote the sport and pack the grandstands on any given Sunday.
Petty saw his role as not only a driver but an ambassador for the sport that he loved. His humility and love for the sport carried him through 35-year career in NASCAR’s premier series and sustained him through the peaks and valleys for racing. And Richard Petty was a big part of the growth of NASCAR to the level it currently enjoys.
Many of today’s drivers and upcoming stars could take a lesson from Richard Petty. His appreciation for NASCAR, the fans, his humility, his willingness to be available to the media, and that big toothy grin even after a bad day at the track are qualities many of today’s drivers should strive to assume.
The thoughts and ideas expressed by this writer or any other writer on Insider Racing News, are not necessarily the views of the staff and/or management of IRN.
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