Drivers you used to hate but now respect

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Soaking up the Harvick hate like
 
I remember having an irrational dislike of Mark Martin back in the day. Then after he faded away and made his comeback with Hendrick, he was one of my favorites. I don't even know why I didn't like him.
 
Junior Johnson...then came around at the end of his career as a team owner. He gave others a chance when the Daddy Warbucks teams wouldn't.

Cale Yarborough...did not care for him much when he started(especially since I was an Alabama Gang fan)...then later appreciated his talents.

Dale Sr...he kept taking out my guys...then appreciated his motive and drive

Rusty Wallace...knew him personally and actually raced against him in lower ranks, he was too ****y and disrespectful...later on he mellowed on the disrespect

Tony Stewart...hot headed...but when Kenseth moved him to win in the first Busch series race he won, Stewart accepted Kenseth's actions when pressed by a reporter, "I would have done the same to him if I could have"...liked him ever since.

Dale Jr....thought he was too much a product of media hype and coat tail hanger of his father...turns out he is legitimately a decent person...have to thank Matt for pointing that out to me.

Kevin Harvick...thought he was a miniature DW...he is not and he is the real deal. Driving style reminds me of David Pearson.

Kyle Busch...smart ass...but his talent is starting to win me over.
 
OldTimer said:
Tony Stewart...hot headed...but when Kenseth moved him to win in the first Busch series race he won, Stewart accepted Kenseth's actions when pressed by a reporter, "I would have done the same to him if I could have"...liked him ever since.
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I warmed up to Tony Stewart from his success in two top Series, putting his money and time to promote racing, and interviews like this at 1:39.
 
sky said:
Rusty Wallace, couldn't stand him as a driver or a commentator but he's a good guy that has done a lot for the community and the sport as whole.
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He’s another one I used to not like but don’t mind now. The thing that always rubbed me the wrong way about Rusty was that in his interviews, he was always “I” did this and “I” did that. The word “we” rarely left his mouth.
 
ToyYoda said:
He’s another one I used to not like but don’t mind now. The thing that always rubbed me the wrong way about Rusty was that in his interviews, he was always “I” did this and “I” did that. The word “we” rarely left his mouth.
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That never changed a bit, ha. Rusty is the only Penske driver who I can think of who acted as if he drove with Roger Penske, not for Roger Penske. But Rusty was Rusty, and the sport was advanced on personalities like his.
 
gnomesayin said:
That never changed a bit, ha. Rusty is the only Penske driver who I can think of who acted as if he drove with Roger Penske, not for Roger Penske. But Rusty was Rusty, and the sport was advanced on personalities like his.
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Wasn’t Rusty part owner initially?
 
Ventisca said:


I warmed up to Tony Stewart from his success in two top Series, putting his money and time to promote racing, and interviews like this at 1:39.
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That’s funny and perfect example of “do what I say, not as I do” and “ I can do it but you can’t” because that SOB blocked as much as anyone and got wrecked a few times for it.
 
Brian Vickers for some reason, I thought he was an asshat. I started rooting for him once he joined Red Bull and eventually moved to MWR. Felt horrible about his career ending the way it did. He was a darn good journeyman driver.
 
Ford 222 said:
That’s funny and perfect example of “do what I say, not as I do” and “ I can do it but you can’t” because that SOB blocked as much as anyone and got wrecked a few times for it.
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Don't get me wrong I am a huge Smoke Show fan, but Tony is one of the most entitled guys in racing.
 
Dale Sr. HATED him when he was putting the bumper to rusty and mark in the day, but man oh man i miss that guy. More than I EVER thought I would.
 
Well, I guess my disgust for Kurt bush has mellowed since the waving his butt at Jimmy Spencer days.
I was never really a Carl Edwards fan, but he got my respect when he walked away from fame and fortune to be with his family. I also respected the way he stayed of social media to protect his family from the cost of Fame.
 
Switchback said:
Well, I guess my disgust for Kurt bush has mellowed since the waving his butt at Jimmy Spencer days.
I was never really a Carl Edwards fan, but he got my respect when he walked away from fame and fortune to be with his family. I also respected the way he stayed of social media to protect his family from the cost of Fame.
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Carl was an interesting guy. Don't think people were off when calling him phony and fake. But I don't think it was Ill intent. Carl always had good intentions, and a temper

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Switchback said:
Well, I guess my disgust for Kurt bush has mellowed since the waving his butt at Jimmy Spencer days.
I was never really a Carl Edwards fan, but he got my respect when he walked away from fame and fortune to be with his family. I also respected the way he stayed of social media to protect his family from the cost of Fame.
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Edwards walked away from Brian’s NASCAR Circus.
 
ToyYoda said:
I might be wrong, but I’ve always thought the BS caution that came out near the end of the 2016 Homestead race that screwed him out of a championship probably sealed his decision to walk away.
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along those lines, I read a piece, can't find it now where he said that every waking hour, every minute for a number of years all he has thought about was racing and the ups and downs that go with it.. No doubt that was a frustrating moment, but I believe his mind was made up before that. I think Carl wanted to be Carl. He went off shortly after he quit and sailed across the ocean twice. He was newly married around that time, that probably changed his perspective also are my best guesses.
 
StandOnIt said:
along those lines, I read a piece, can't find it now where he said that every waking hour, every minute for a number of years all he has thought about was racing and the ups and downs that go with it.. No doubt that was a frustrating moment, but I believe his mind was made up before that. I think Carl wanted to be Carl. He went off shortly after he quit and sailed across the ocean twice. He was newly married around that time, that probably changed his perspective also are my best guesses.
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Do you think that he was looking for an excuse to walk away?

Quite sure there are multiple reasons...but he always had a personal issue with the internal politics of NASCAR
 
I had and still have more sympathy for Carl Edward's at Gateway than l did for Brad.
 
In the mid 80s when I started watching in earnest I was an Elliot guy through and through, which meant I was 100% anti Sr.

After Bill became a relative non factor and Jeffie burst on the scene I slowly got seduced by the dark side and never looked back.

Spencer was another who just annoyed me, it wasn’t hate, he just rubbed me the wrong way.....then he punched out Kurt, lol, and my attitude did a 180*.
 
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