Erik Jones and Austin Dillon’s Recent Exploits Ensure the Light Shines Brighter Than Ever on Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt’s NASCAR Legacy

When Erik Jones took the checkered flag at Darlington, a week after Austin Dillon did the same at Daytona, something happened that hadn’t happened in nearly four decades. The iconic #43 made famous by Richard Petty and the #3, made famous by Dale Earnhardt, were in victory lane in the same season.

This hadn’t happened since 1984.

And not just that. The world was once again reminded of the legacy, the true greatness of the names associated with the #3 and #43 teams.

One has to trace back almost 38 years in order to find a NASCAR season that saw the #3 and the #43 in the victory lane.

An already established legend of the sport, Petty took his final career win, the 200th of his career, at Firecracker 400 in Daytona while a young Earnhardt took his 10th and 11th of his 76 Winston Cup wins that year in Talladega and Atlanta.

However, the last occasion on which the #43 and #3 team won back-to-back races, was in April of 1999. John Andretti took the checkered flag behind the wheel of #43 at Martinsville, and a week later, it was Earnhardt who won in Talladega.

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Neither Dale Earnhardt nor Richard Petty, the driver who is termed as the GOAT

Regardless of who you ask the question about the GOAT in NASCAR, you’d more or less get the most answers that say either Richard Petty or Dale Earnhardt. But a few years ago, a surprise name was given that title, not just by anybody, but by a NASCAR driver, a Earnhardt.

In 2019, Dale Earnhardt Jr. opened up on the seven Cup Series titles of Jimmie Johnson as he emphasized his five-in-a-row.

“I used to say Dad [was the GOAT], hands down,” Dale Jr. said. “But it’s harder for me since Jimmie won those five in a row, and now he’s got seven total and equals my father.”

Having said that, Junior acknowledged that there can’t really be a fair comparison between the three seven-timers simply because of the ever-changing nature of stock cars in the sport.

“It’s so hard to know for sure because the cars were so vastly different each decade,” he described. “That makes it difficult for me to really compare my dad to Richard Petty or my dad to Jimmie Johnson or Jimmie Johnson to Richard Petty.”

With that in mind, who do you think the GOAT really is: Jimmie Johnson? Dale Earnhardt? or Richard Petty?

Let us know in the comments below.

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