Unless one of the six North Carolina born drivers, #8-Dale Earnhardt Jr., #44-Dale Jarrett, #83-Brian Vickers, #45-Kyle Petty, #6-David Ragan [actually born in Unadilla, GA not NC] or #10-Scott Riggs, wins one of the final nine races in 2007, it will be the first year since the NASCAR Cup Series started that a driver born in North Carolinian would not win at least one race in a season. And you only need a few North Carolina born drivers to prove it. Lee Petty won at least one race every year from 1949 thru 1961, then Richard Petty did it from 1961 thru 1977, Benny Parsons won in 1978, Dale Earnhardt in 1979-1980, Richard won in 1981, the Dale Earnhardt won at least a race a year from 1982 thru 1996, Dale Jarrett 1993 thru 2003 and Dale Earnhardt Jr. 2000-2006. Of course many other North Carolina born drivers won in those years.(9-21-2007) UPDATE: Kyle Petty – “I have been asked, on several occasions, my opinion on the fact that no driver from the state of North Carolina has won a race yet this season. If you look, there are probably fewer of us now than at any point in the history of NASCAR. It’s just a part of the evolution of the sport. I think North Carolina, as a whole, definitely played a large role in getting Nextel Cup racing to the level it is today. At the same time we’re heading to Kansas the home of Sprint, our series title sponsor in 2008. The sport has changed and it has grown much bigger and better. That is no way a negative.”(Petty Racing PR)(9-25-2007)
