Of all the 1.5 mile tri ovals Charlotte is my favorite. It has character, the 600 hundred milers, the bump between the fourth turn, and the dog leg, it looks narrower, and more difficult. The cars look faster than they do on the other tri ovals to me.
But more than anything it has a ton of good memories for me. I saw Petty a run a Dodge there in 77 or 78, Pearson in the Wood brother’s car, Parsons in the number 72, the old Kenny Childers coal mining car and Cale in Johnsons car while he was defending the three consective titles . They did call Darrell "jaws" in the day, and there was an article in the program to confirm it, he won in the Gatorade car with Buddy Parrott as the crew chief. It is the place were Dale took a few Winston’s from Elliott and Martin, and I loved those moments.
I don’t celebrate Fireballs death at Charlotte, but it is part of the history too. I also seen the first night race there when Davey won the Winston, Gordon getting his first cup win when he won the 600, and I saw Juniors win a winston too. I even saw Michael Waltrip win a winston
I have spent more time at Charlotte than any of the other track Sprint Cup tracks; I can’t help being sentimental and feeling fortunate to have seen all it (note I didnt see Fireballs wreck, but he is one of the greats to huge to omit)