NASCAR, the worldwide phenomenon for excellence in driving surely has its core in the strong hearts of those who bring glory to the sport, excitement to life and put their life on line to bring it to us. NASCAR drivers are some of the most loved athletes in North America, and are comparable to the big names in Baseball, Football and Basketball. Some of the names bring to mind the vivid imagery that 'Earnhardt' does, it has the same place as Tiger Woods in the North American households. Usually the media attention that is gained by the NASCAR drivers is much less than the other sports personalities. This can be attributed to the fact that for being a successful NASCAR driver you do not need to be 7-feet tall or have a personality of a model and the media is not interested in much more than that. However, NASCAR fans are definitely interested, continuing to be more committed and enthusiastic to their favorite driver than any other fan base. With NASCAR there are two things that can determine this fan following, firstly it is the individual's talent and secondly the racing team's commitment. An exceptional driver will never have a trouble finding a committed team to perform with, but this can be an extremely difficult for up and coming driver.

Richard Petty (1958-92) the undisputed "King " of stock car racing. With meticulous record of 200 NASCAR Winston Cup Series suggests numerous varying optional on enjoying your stock car experience. Petty winning 27 out of 48 races marked the most amazing season of NASCAR history. His best achievements included a record 10 straight and grabbing second place seven times in cruising to the 1967 title winning in more than 12,739 laps and have an advantage in 5,537 out of them.

NASCAR would have never been the same without Davey Allison (1985-93). Him being born on the eve of Bobby Allison's first ever Daytona 500, many are of the view that racing was in Davey's blood. He worked very hard in a race shop owned by his dad. He was always keen to get into the racing scene and had a long cherished dream of doing a thing that his heart desired the most …RACE!! 1991 and 1992 were the golden years of Allison's career, with five races won. He showed his magic by topping the field by leading 23 races in 1991 and leading 1,377 laps in 1992. But his life was tragically cut short the subsequent year, when he died in a helicopter accident. Just like his son, Bobby Allison (1961-88) was a fine racecar driver. He was one of the founding members of the Alabama Gang and 25 years of his NASCAR Winston Cup career did fruit when he won the series championship in the year 1983. He grabbed the runner up position five different times. Bobby was a winner of 84 NASCAR Winston Cup races and 57 Winston Cup pole positions. He won the Daytona 500 thrice in the years 1978, 1982 and then in the year 1988, in which his son, Davey Allison finished second. Allison follows Richard Petty in his track record with leading 414 races and being fourth all- time for most career starts that accounts to 718 times.

Edward Glenn 'Fireball' Roberts (1950-64) was one of the biggest names in NASCAR. Although he never won the NASCAR Winston Cup title but did bag 32 times, including 1962 Daytona 500 in his career that lasted 16 seasons, before his untimely death in an accident at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 1964. Roberts was born on January 20, 1929, and was one named as of the Daytona's favorite sons. He achieved glory after death in 1998, when he was named as one of the NASCAR's 50 greatest drivers of all time. In this list, he was even labeled as one of their first superstars. Undoubtedly Roberts was crafty, calculating and knowledgeable besides being a master of "Sling Shot" pass!! The most remarkable was his victory in 1963, when he came to track in an excellent physical shape after recovering from an injury. He planned to start in the middle of the pack that is to qualify on the second day. However, during practice he hit the guardrail in his No. 22 Holman-Moody Ford and almost washed the car out. Yet, it was repaired in time for him to set a qualifying mark of 133.819 mph. He has to start at the ninth stating point. This was a great blow to the racing world. According to many, there was no predicting as to how far Roberts would have progressed as a driver. He was even termed as the pathfinder of the super speedway era. And by the time he left, he had already become very popular and even more successful.

Yarborough was the one to reach the glory of NASCAR in a span that was even less than four decades. Cale Yarborough (1957-88) made his mark in NASCAR by winning three consecutive NASCAR Winston Cups in a row in the year 1976 through 1978. He earned the fame by winning 83 NASCAR Winston Cups and 70 pole positions. In NASCAR Winston Cup history, he is second on the list of the most laps lead that account to 31,776, 5th in (340) most races lead and 10th for most miles run (171, 927). Further, he became the first driver to qualify for Daytona 500 at more than 200 mph in the year 1984. Even today, his 14 pole positions of 1980 and five consecutive victories in 1976 have a great significance in single-season records.

Dale Earnhardt (1975-2001) is another maestro of the sport with an unbelievable obsession with winning. He was even given the nickname "The Intimidator" based on this obsession. His record for winning sixth most checkered flags in the Winston Cup history accounts to 76- checkered flags. "Dale Earnhardt" the name provokes emotions including respect, admiration and a stilling sense of amazement in race fans around the world. His breathtaking, bold and calculated moves on the track have brought both fear and respect from his fellow drivers. However, his often balanced the fears off the track friendly advice. In the starting years of his career (1979) as a racecar driver, Earnhardt won the Rookie-of-the-Year honors. A year later, he became the first NASCAR driver to win Rookie of the year and the Winston Cup series championship in two consecutive years.

Johnson (1953-66) was another skilled driver who honed his skills on the roads of rural North Carolina. He was one of the early drivers competing in NASCAR races known for his aggressive driving style. This driving style earned him 50 NASCAR Winston Cup Series wins and placing him on the eighth on the all-time win list along with Ned Jarrett. Johnson led the field in 1961 with 2,373 laps led and 23 races. And in 1965, he improved on his victories by leading 3,998 laps and 30 races. He even found success as a car owner by facing success in 119 races and 6 NASCAR Winston Cup Series championships. Then 1973 saw Johnson being inducted in the National Motorsports Press Association's Hall of Fame at Darlington, South Carolina and later, in 1990 he was inducted into International Motorsports Hall of Fame in Talladega, Ala. He was also inducted into Charlotte, North Carolina. If Johnson was master in 1960's, Everett "Cotton" Owens (1950-64) was the most popular driver in the fifties. During 1950s, Owens won more than 100 NASCAR Featherlite Modified Tour races and before shifting to the NASCAR Winston Cup Series competition, he captured no less than one series win. He won three times in the year 1960, in his hometown of South Carolina. The year 1959 was the most successful season of his career. In this year he won two races, notched 22 top-10 finishes through 37 starts and stood second in t he series season-long points chase to Lee Petty. In 1951, a serious accident at fairgrounds in Charlotte left Owens with an impaired left eye. Even then, he went on to win two out of his three US Championship modified events and the Daytona races. Although the problems with depth perception eventually did cut short his driving, career but his background in mechanics allowed him to continue with his car-racing career.

Another legend of that time Bobby Isaac (1961, 1963-76) drove Smokey Yunick's Chevrolet in 1963 National 400 at Charlotte, giving it a whale of a ride before the tire blew. Then the legend said, "I have made it." After the race, Yunick said about Bobby Isaac, "He's a race driver. I know that." Bobby Isaac was born on August 1, 1932 to Jerry and Kathy Isaac. He had a tough childhood with his upbringing being both rough and unstructured. He was the second to the youngest of nine children in his family. And the family's sole source of income was a 12 acres land on which they grew cotton and corn crops. Isaac got his biggest break in the year 1963, when Bud Allman, former mechanic for Ned Jarrett started working for Ray Nichels. With his 50 pole positions, Isaac has been ranked sixth on the all-time list and with 13,229 laps; he has been ranked seventh in the all-time list of laps. In 1969, Isaac set a single-season record on pole positions with 20. Bobby Isaac set an example for many to believe in achieving what they want. When he was 12, he worked in a sawmill and saved his money just to buy a pair of shoes that he always wanted as a child. And with winning 37 NASCAR Winston Cups, he could buy all the shoes he ever wanted.

Although individual talent does play a major role in a racecar driver's success but the fact remains that NASCAR is a team sport. For being on the winning trail is not an individual success, the whole team shares it and every member plays an equal part. After every victory, the drivers talk about their success as a group and weigh their performance as a whole. NASCAR is surely on of the fastest growing sports in America, with almost 75 million fans only in America. Today, NASCAR has followers all around the world, who are a part of NASCAR and listen to the races in 21 different languages in hundred different countries.

It is an incredible international sport. And the reason for this is even more fantastic- the intense competition, skilled drivers and crews and dramatic finishes. NASCAR has a golden history, dating back to 1948. And today you should be proud carrying on the tradition and follow the footsteps of some of the greatest legends of American sport- Richard Petty, Cale Yarborough and Dale Earnhardt.