NASCAR is celebrating its 75th anniversary all throughout the 2023 season.
In 1998, NASCAR had a panel select a list of its 50 greatest drivers for its golden anniversary.
Likewise, we at Frontstretch decided to put together our own list of the 75 greatest NASCAR drivers in honor of this year’s milestone. Seventeen of our writers weighed in to pick the final 75, and we’ll be releasing four to seven drivers from that list every weekday for the next three weeks.
Similar to the one in 1998, this list is not a ranking of the top-75 drivers. Instead, we’ve broken the list down into categories, with a new category released each day (see the full list below). Within those categories, the drivers are listed in alphabetical order.
Some of NASCAR’s earliest stars are in today’s spotlight, racers who helped shape the sport and make it what it was in its first decade-plus of existence.
Marvin Panch
After moving at a young age to California, Marvin Panch kicked off his career in stock car racing as a car owner. He eventually made his NASCAR debut at Oakland Stadium in 1951, driving his own Mercury to a sixth-place finish.
By virtue of that strong start — and others like it locally — NASCAR founder Bill France and fellow driver Lee Petty invited Panch out East to race at Darlington Raceway in 1953, where he finished 28th
In 1956, driving a Ford for Tom Harbison, Panch scored his first of 17 NASCAR wins at Montgomery Speedway. In 1957, Panch scored three wins for Pete DePaolo and was hired to drive for the Holman-Moody Team, winning three more times that season for a total of six victories.
Ford’s factory sponsorship derailed Panch’s career until 1961 when Smokey Yunick gave Panch a ride in the 1961 Daytona 500. Panch took advantage as he won the third running of the Great American Race. This opened the door for Panch to join Wood Brothers Racing in 1962. Panch won eight races for the team between 1962 and 1966.
A notable NASCAR story involving Panch occurred when a fiery crash at Daytona International Speedway left him on the sidelines for the 1963 Daytona 500. In that crash, fellow driver named Tiny Lund pulled Panch from his car. As a reward, Panch told Lund to drive his car in the Daytona 500. Lund did so and won the race.
In Panch’s final year of driving, he competed for Petty Enterprises and won the World 600. He was named one of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers in 1998 and was inducted…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at …