353 - Dale Inman: Family Matters

One of the all-time greats, NASCAR Legend Dale Inman, walks into the studio to sit down with Dale Earnhardt Jr and talk about the shaping of the Petty racing dynasty. From humble beginnings in rural North Carolina grew local legends and a driver that would turn into an American icon. "The King" Richard Petty was the driver and the crew chief that led the way was Inman. The 8-time NASCAR Cup Series champion talks about growing up as a part of the Petty family and gives a unique insight into Lee Petty and the early days of Petty Enterprises. Inman tells the wild story of how he and Maurice Petty drove the racecar across the country to race in California. He was there for Richard Petty's first race at Columbia Speedway in 1958 and is still with Petty Motorsports to this day. From near tragedies to the greatest triumphs of all, winning seven titles and seven Daytona 500's, Inman has lived it all.The Petty family was a tight-knit group on the race track and off. They had each other's backs, including standing up to anyone who challenged their driver. Inman shares stories of incidents and fights, including he and Maurice standing up for The King. During one incident, a knife was pulled. Inman was there. The family matters also produced a split that surprised the racing world, with Dale Inman parting ways with the family team in 1981 shortly after winning the Great American Race. Why? It's a topic that Inman still struggles to talk about today.The split wasn't what Inman wanted, but the time away from Petty resulted in a few years of results and racing stories. From working with a young Dale Earnhardt and racing for a controversial coal miner, to winning the 1984 title with Texas Terry, it's a time where Inman was out on his own and showed the world he was one of the greatest of all time.Before Inman sat at the table, Dale Jr. and co-host Mike Davis broke down Indianapolis and the curb-chaos that dominated the headlines and Monday morning water-cooler conversation. In addition, Dale brings up some often used lingo, a Dale-ism, that piqued wife Amy Earnhardt's interest. Let's just say "Imawl" let y'all listen and laugh!In AskJr presented by Xfinity, Leah dishes out fan questions ranging from Dale's search for a square-body truck to if red-hot racer Kyle Larson should consider racing in the Indianapolis 500. Dale Jr. also reveals details about his father's "Deer Head Shop" on the grounds of Dale Earnhardt Inc.That and much more on this packed podcast! Check out Dirty Mo Media on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DirtyMoMedia  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.