Dale Inman
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Dale Inman (born August 19, 1936 in
Career
Inman grew up playing with his second cousins Richard and Maurice Petty.[4] The Petty brothers were the son of Lee Petty, who finished in the Top 5 points in NASCAR's stock car division every year from its formation in 1949 until 1959 and won the 1954, 1958, and 1959 championships.[5] The teenage boys would attend some races and work on Lee's car after school and on weekends.[4] Richard started racing in the late 1950s with Maurice and Inman as part of his pit crew, as they were too young to be his crew chief.[4] In 1960, Petty won his first NASCAR race. By this time, Maurice and Inman had become NASCAR mechanics. Maurice had been the mechanic and crew chief at the races. Petty Enterprises had him start concentrating on engine building for the team, and Inman became the crew chief at the races.[4] Petty described him as the sport's first official crew chief.[6]
In 1967, Petty won a NASCAR-record ten straight races and 27 races during that season with Inman as his crew chief.[1] All 27 victories were in the same car that they built in 1966.[1] He departed the team days after winning the 1981 Daytona 500.[1] While being interviewed after winning the race, he told CBS reporter Ned Jarrett that he would soon be leaving the team.[4] Inman had been crew chief for 188 of Petty's 193 victories up to that point.[7]
He was hired by
He returned to Petty Enterprises in 1986 to oversee the business side.
Inman retired from NASCAR in 1998, having won 193 races and eight championships.[1] He continued as a consultant for Petty Enterprises for a while afterward.[6] Away from racing, Inman has helped the Victory Junction Gang Camp get started.[1] In 2008, he helped unveil the first artifact at the NASCAR Hall of Fame, which was the Plymouth Belvedere that Petty drove to 27 wins in 1967.[8]
Awards
In 2006, a national motorsports media group poll named Ray Evernham as the top NASCAR crew chief of all-time and Inman placed a close second even though he had more first place votes than Evernham.[1] When asked, Inman said, "I'm not even sure I should be ranked. I think I was second [in the poll], and I'm honored [for] that."[1] He said that the best crew chief that he ever saw was Leonard Wood from the Wood Brothers and Waddell Wilson was also good.[1]
His contributions to racing led to him receiving the North Carolina Auto Racing Hall of Fame's first Golden Wrench award on May 25, 2000.[6] In 2008, he was received the Smokey Yunick Award.[2]
On June 14, 2011, he was selected to the 2012 class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
Personal life
As of 2000, Inman was married to his wife Mary for over 40 years. They had two children, Tina Dale Hussey and Jeffrey Inman, and four grandchildren, Taylor and Logan Hussey, and Peyton and Addison Inman.[6]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Houston, Rick (June 1, 2007). "Where is ... Dale Inman?". NASCAR. Retrieved 2008-10-31.
- ^ a b "Dale Inman receives the Smokey Yunick Award before Saturday's race". ThatsRacin.com. October 11, 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-31. [dead link]
- ^ a b "NASCAR History: Sprint Cup Series Champions". NASCAR. 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-31.
- ^ a b c d e f g Champion, Omer (April 21, 2004). "Dale Inman, Legendary Crew Chief". Speedway Media. Archived from the original on 2006-05-25. Retrieved 2008-10-31.
- ^ "Letty Petty Career (NASCAR) statistics". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2008-10-31.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Callahan, Terry (April 25, 2000). "NASCAR WCUP: Behind the Scenes: Dale Inman Guides Drivers to Victory Lane". The Auto Channel. Retrieved 2008-10-31.
- ^ ISBN 1-57859-111-2.
- ^ Ryan, Nate (October 11, 2008). "First artifact unveiled at NASCAR Hall of Fame". USA Today. Retrieved 2008-10-31.
External links
- Dale Inman crew chief statistics at Racing-Reference