Ben White - NASCAR Then and Now

Richard Petty, Speedy Thompson, and Tiger Tom Pistone dressed in race gear from 50 years agoopen-face helmets, short-sleeve shirts, and blue jeans.

Todays drivers wear colorful multilayered fire suits that match their cars elaborate paint schemes. Shown here are three of the drivers who made up Rick Hendricks 2009 superteam: (from left) Jimmie Johnson, Hendrick, Jeff Gordon, and Dale Earnhardt Jr.

As is the case with any endeavor, image is everything. Part of NASCARs appeal comes from its storied past, created by the rugged men who battled door handle to door handle each Sunday, often in hastily organized races in open pastures, driving hopped up cars without seatbelts, let alone roll bars or any other safety equipment.

Its no longer a secret that many of these first stock car drivers learned the art of driving fast running moonshine through the North Carolina and Georgia mountains. The skills honed on winding dirt roads would translate well to driving on high-banked speedways such as Daytona and Darlington. Slowly, over time, a sport that was thought by some to be rough and undesirable transformed itself into something more sophisticated and professional. Corporate sponsorship expanded the drivers roles beyond the cockpit into product endorsements and public relations appearances. Yes, image is everything, and a drivers image is crucial to his long-term career. Despite the sports many changes, NASCAR drivers throughout the decades all share one trait: the talent, skill, and relentless desire to go fast, race hard, and win.

In 2004 NASCAR launched a new championship system, the Chase for the Sprint Cup. After the seasons first 26 races, the top 12 points finishers become eligible to compete for the title in the final 10 events. Shown here are the 2008 title contenders: (front row, left to right) Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart, Kevin Harvick, Clint Bowyer, Kyle Busch, (back row, left to right) Matt Kenseth, Greg Biffle, Denny Hamlin, Carl Edwards, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Jeff Burton.

By 1965 Ford Motor Company had assembled a Whos Who list of motorsports greats to wheel their Galaxies. Dressed in sharp fire-retardant drivers suitsattire relatively new to the sport at this timeare Dick Hutcherson, A. J. Foyt, Fred Lorenzen. Cale Yarborough, Ned Jarrett, Curtis Turner, and Junior Johnson. On Johnsons left are powerhouse team owners Ralph Moody and John Holman.

Its the age-old question in racing: Is it the driver, or is it the equipment? History is filled with stories of great drivers who never had the cars to reach the pinnacle of their sport. And there are many examples of so-so drivers who had the luck or the smarts to latch on to a winning team and deliver results that exceeded their talent levels. But the truth is that the greatest drivers almost always end up with the best equipment. Occasionally, its the driver himself who builds and leads his own winning team. In most cases, its a matter of their talent attracting bids from the best teams.

Regardless of circumstances, it takes a special blend of talent, skill, determinationand maybe just a bit of luckto make a champion. And it takes all of these qualities in spades for a driver to earn multiple championships and achieve legendary status. Here are eight of NASCARs greatest champions from the 1950s to the present.

Richard Petty is known as The King for good reason. His 200 wins from 1958 to 1992 are nearly double the total of NASCARs second-winningest driver. His seven NASCAR championships are matched only by the late Dale Earnhardt. Smiles have always come easily for Petty, and he has reason to smile here after winning the 600-mile event at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May 1975. Today, he remains one of the sports greatest ambassadors.

Known as the first driver to make a living from racing stock cars, Lee Petty, shown here in 1958, won championships in 1954, 1958, and 1959. He collected 54 wins during a career that began in 1949 and ended with a terrible crash during one of the Daytona 500 qualifying events in 1964. During the years that followed, Petty helped build Petty Enterprises into one of the most successful organizations in NASCAR history with 268 wins and 10 championships.

Second only to Petty in career wins with 105, David Pearson was one of NASCARs most mysterious drivers. During the early stages of a race, he often left everyoneincluding his crewwondering how fast his car was, waiting until the final 100 miles of the race to make his move for the win. This strategy earned the three-time champion the nickname The Silver Fox. The most successful period of Pearsons career came when he collected 43 wins for the famed Wood Brothers team between 1972 and 1979, including 11 wins in just 18 starts in 1973.

Determined might be the best word to describe Cale Yarborough. He made his unofficial NASCAR debut as a teenager during the inaugural Southern 500 in 1950. He snuck through the fence at Darlington Raceway, jumped into a friends car, and drove in the race. A NASCAR official caught the underage racer and had him escorted off the premises. The South Carolinian would go on to become one of NASCARs greatest drivers, notching 83 wins in a 38-year career. His greatest success was winning three consecutive championships in 1976, 1977, and 1978 while driving for Junior Johnson.

Darrell Waltrip (DW) appeared on the NASCAR scene in 1972 as an aggressive and outspoken driver who wasnt afraid to ruffle some feathers. He won his first race in 1975 at Nashville, Tennessee, in his own Chevrolet before becoming a hired driver with many prominent teams. DW collected 84 wins and three NASCAR titles in 1981, 1982, and 1985, before retiring from driving in 2000. He has spent the last decade working in the broadcast booth for Fox and SpeedTV.

Dale Earnhardts impact on the sport of stock car racing is rivaled only by Richard Pettys. The North Carolina native followed his father, Ralph Earnhardt, into a career in NASCAR, making his first Winston Cup start in 1975. He served notice of his talent by winning Rookie of the Year honors in 1979 and the 1980 NASCAR championship. For the next 20 years, he was the man to beat, earning 76 wins and titles in 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1993, and 1994. Earnhardts driving style earned him the nickname The Intimidator, an image enhanced by the solid black paint schemes of his No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolets.