[Bob Tanner]

Matt McLaughlin just put out a very rational and readable piece on the Petty's and Wood Brothers. It starts as follows:
Matt McLaughlin Mouths Off : Are The Petty's And Woods On Their Last Legs?
Matt McLaughlin · Thursday April 17, 2008“Back in the day,” both the Petty Engineering and Wood Brothers race teams combined to be the top dogs in Cup racing. In the early to mid 1970s, they dominated the sport, staging epic battles which left the fans on their feet and cemented their history as two of the sport’s legendary car owners. In 1973, David Pearson won 11 of the 18 races in which the Wood Brothers participated. In 1974, Petty fought back, and the two teams combined to win 17 of 30 Cup events; they followed it up in 1975 by winning 16 of 30. Eventually, Junior Johnson and his boys crashed the party as well, and the three “super teams” dominated the sport in way that, one could argue, Gibbs, Roush, and Hendrick compete atop the Cup Series today.

But Junior left the sport at the end of the 1995 season due to off-track personal issues, as well as his increasing disillusionment with where the sport was heading and the way NASCAR ran things. The Petty's and the Woods have soldiered on since then; but right now, the future is looking bleak for both outfits.

I fully agree with Matt, as to the underlined portion of the above. I'm glad someone else sees it the same way I did, when Junior left the sport. Junior thinks this new, improved, corporate-driven thing NA__AR, Rick Hendrick and Jack Roush has created, sucks also.

For the full story (and it's a good one) go to ( The Frontstretch: Matt McLaughlin Mouths Off : Are The Pettys And Woods On Their Last Legs? by Matt McLaughlin -- Thursday April 17, 2008 )