HOW GOOD WERE THEY?
Fellow member Bumpertag's recent post about Tim Richmond got me wondering about some of the others that left us too soon, and I would like to hear from you guys on who would have been race winners or even champions.How good was Larry Smith? How much potential was in Robbie Moroso? Even Ernie Irvan if he hadn't gotten hurt?Comment on these or submit your own, I'm interested in anybody that might have had the skills to make it in the top league.
Just a quick add....Include those who made it to Cup but for whatever reason never got a front-line ride.
Great subject, Bill. Another point to consider is the impact the deaths of these guys had on the sport.One that comes to mind...from more recent times... is Adam Petty. His death had a tremendous impact on the future of Petty Enterprises.I also think about Fireball Roberts and what he might have accomplished...along with the fact that his death probably influenced Ned Jarrett to retire.Joe Weatherly seemed to be hitting his stride at the time of his death.
We have all heard of these gentleman, but the real sleeper in what might have happened is Dave MacDonald.A very talented driver from California who was on the "Ford" fast track program after having huge success drag racing and in sports cars with Corvettes and the Shelby Cobra and King Cobra program.Actually competed in numerous NASCAR events and finished second to Glenn Roberts in the "Augusta 510".Ford was pushing Dave to move from his sports car success and he had made the decision to go NASCAR big time after his 1964 commitments.We lost him at the 1964 Indy.The year 1964 was horrible for our sport and motorsports on a global basis. So many young drivers were lost.Dave MacDonald was truely one of those gentlemen with Cale Yarborough stature that could drive anything.The mention of Rob Morosso gets me thinking about the Jack Pennington fiasco......................don't get me started on that one again!
Touching back on Adam Petty, there was not only a tremendous talent lost, but also a tremendous person. I was lucky enough to be at Adam's first professional race, which was an ASA event held at what was then called Peach State Speedway in Jefferson, Georgia. One day, I'll repost that story about the meeting between myself, my grandfather, and the majority of the Petty clan.But think about it - how many 19 year olds are trying to figure out a way to build and open a camp for sick kids? How many would go out of their way to visit kids in hospitals, and do what they could to bring a little happiness in what must be a terrible situation?When we lost Adam, we didn't just lose a promising race car driver. We lost a personality that, just as his great-grandfather, his grandfather and his father, would have shaped the face of the sport and been such an incredibly positive force for the future.And he still is, though he's not with us. You can see it in the faces of every camper at the Victory Junction Gang camp, and you can hear it in the voices of every person, like myself, whose Adam's spirit touched in some way.Dadgum, I miss that kid.......
Although a few years apart, the combo of losing Adam and Davey meant NASCAR races without a Petty or an Allison in the field, and somehow that didn't seem right.Henry brought up a good one with MacDonald. That guy seemed to be another A.J. or Mario, just drive anything with wheels and do it well.
Steve Park is another who was never the same after his freak accident . When I first saw him he qualified on the front row in a truck,busch car and a modified all in the same day at Loudon.
Fireball and Fred Lorenzen come to mind. Won races but never a championship. I hear rumors that Fireball was near retirement at the time of his wreck, but don't know for sure. Seems he should have won a championship. Fred was in and out of retirement several times, seems he didn't go after a championship.Adam was truely a future winner and possibly a champion. Loaded with talent and the Petty charisma. For us Ol Petty fans, it would have been wonderful to see Adam mature and take over RPM.