Quick studies: today's high-flying star drivers might seem to be part of a new breed, but they owe more than you'd think to their sport's forefathers.(NASCAR)(National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing)

Publication: The Sporting News

Publication Date: 19-JUL-04

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Imagine the quintessential NASCAR all-star fantasy race, with the Richard Petty of 1967 running side by side with Jeff Gordon of today. Imagine 2003 Cup champ Matt Kenseth driving deep into the first turn at Darlington against David Pearson, Cale Yarborough trading paint with Ryan Newman, Bobby Allison banging fenders with Rusty Wallace or a family feud between the Earnhardts. Essentially, it would be the best the sport has known against some of the top stars of today.

But it raises questions: Which drivers from today could hold their own against the legends of yesteryear? Who could race mano a mano with The King or The Silver Fox? Who wouldn't be intimidated by The Intimidator? And, above all, which standouts of the past do today's drivers remind us of the most?

Richard Petty and Jeff Gordon

Talk to anyone in the garage, and they will tell you there will never be another Petty. "They made just one of them," says Buddy Baker, a contemporary of Petty's and a mentor to drivers today. "Nobody has the patience to be Richard Petty. He was in an era (when) he understood that public opinion meant whether you made the sport or not. And he had the ability to make it on the racetrack also. I don't think anybody that I see on the track...

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