Carryin' on the family tradition is something that can be said about many of today's drivers in NASCAR. There has probably never been another sport where heritage plays as big a part as in auto racing. Many of the drivers that are out on the track today cut their teeth in the garages. Whether it's the love of racing or an inherited talent, NASCAR is rich with these multi-generational families. Over the next few weeks we're going to focus on some of these families and how they have influenced NASCAR and helped to bring it to what it is today.

One cannot even mention NASCAR without thinking of the Petty Family. Lee Petty, the patriarch of the Petty family, didn't start his racing career until he was 35 years old, and his first race happened to be the first NASCAR race at Charlotte Speedway. He had a natural talent and finished in the top 5 for the first 11 years of NASCAR. Over his career, he accumulated 54 wins and 3 championships.Lee won the inaugural Daytona 500, but had to wait 3 days to be declared the official winner because of a photo finish. He certainly set the standard high for son Richard.

Richard Petty, fondly called The King, is quite possibly the biggest name in NASCAR history. He inherited his father's talent and won his first championship the same year as his father retired. Richard went on to win a record 200 races and 7 championships total. In 1967, he won an amazing 27 races! He won the Daytona 500 a record 7 times, the most memorable perhaps being the first fully televised NASCAR race in 1979. Truly the King of NASCAR, there are many of his records that will never be beat.

Richard passed the torch down to son Kyle, who initially had not planned on following in the family business. He was offered college scholarships for football and basketball. Kyle did eventually decide to become a racer and picked up his first win in 1986 at Richmond making the Petty Family the first family to have 3 generations of winners. Kyle is now the CEO of Petty Enterprises. Although Kyle's successes have been few, he still has the heart and smile of the Petty's, and a race without him just wouldn't be the same.

Sadly, the 4th generation of Petty drivers was cut short with the death of Adam Petty, who crashed during practice for the Busch series at New Hampshire International Speedway in 2000. His death was a crushing blow to his family and the rest of the racing world, as he showed the talent and heart for racing as the generations before him. He held the promise of another record-winning Petty. Kyle and wife Pattie created Victory Junction Camp in Adam's memory, a retreat for seriously ill children.

NASCAR history would certainly not be the same if not for the Allison family. Bobby Allison, the leader of the 'Alabama Gang', started driving in 1955, and along with his brother Donnie and friend Red Farmer, dominated the tracks throughout the Southeast. Bobby went on to record 84 NASCAR victories, and he won the Cup in 1983. Suffering serious injuries in a crash in 1988 ended Bobby's driving career, but he returned as an owner in 1990 and is still quite active in the NASCAR world. Recently he was named the 4th greatest NASCAR driver of the century, and is lovingly referred to as 'The Legend'.

Little brother Donnie had his share of success as well with 10 Winston Cup wins, Rookie of the year in 1967, and 17 poles. Donnie has won over 500 races in his career. The Alabama Gang frequently still attend public functions meeting and talking with fans and signing autographs.

Bobby's oldest son Davey followed in his father's footsteps and showed the great talent for racing that his father and uncle had. In 1987 Davey qualified on the front row for the Daytona 500, the first Winston Cup rookie to ever do so. He won 2 races that year and also was named Rookie of the Year. His career over the next 2 years was equally impressive, with most laps led and most races led. He won a career-best 5 races in both years. Tragedy struck the Allison family and all of NASCAR when Davey was killed in a helicopter crash in 1993. Davey had all of the necessary ingredients to be the best, and had it not been for his untimely death, he would probably still be breaking records on a regular basis.

We've barely touched the surface on the wonderful heritage of NASCAR drivers. Next week, we'll talk about the Jarrett and Earnhardt families.

Til next week...