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RICHARD PETTY

The Numbers: Career record holder with 200 career Cup victories. … Tied with Dale Earnhardt for all-time record with seven championships … Career leader in poles with 123. … All-time record 18 consecutive seasons with at least one victory. … All-time record 27 victories for a season (1967). … All-time record 10 consecutive victories (1967) … Career record 1,185 career starts. … Won Daytona 500 a record seven times.

The Legacy: His smile, those sunglasses, that cowboy hat and his autograph. While many will recall his on-track success, his demeanor off the track helped shape the sport and build its bond with race fans.

Magic Moment: President Ronald Reagan became the first sitting president to attend a NASCAR race and watched Petty earn his 200th career victory on July 4, 1984, at Daytona International Speedway.

Career stats: Click here

DALE EARNHARDT

The Numbers: Tied with Richard Petty for all-time record of seven championships. … His 76 wins rank seventh on the career victory list. … Won a record 10 times at Talladega. … Won nine races at Darlington, one off the all-time race win mark there set by David Pearson. … All-time leader in race wins at Daytona International Speedway with 34.

The Legacy: That black No. 3 car and that devil-may-care attitude. His rise from poverty to the sport’s pinnacle and his rough-and-tumble attitude made him a hero to the common man.

Magic Moment: The 1998 Daytona 500. After countless victories in the 500 fell by the wayside in the final laps, Earnhardt finally won the race. The sight of crew members from other teams lining pit road to congratulate him is an unforgettable image.

Career stats: Click here

BILL FRANCE SR.

The Numbers: Try No. 1. The man who started NASCAR.

The Legacy: Firm guidance of the sport when he oversaw it from the sport’s beginning in 1949 through the 1971 season. NASCAR disqualified the winner of its first race in 1949 at Charlotte after the car failed a post-race inspection. France later banned Curtis Turner four years for attempting to unionize the drivers.

Magic Moment: The 1959 Daytona 500. It was his dream to build the 2.5-mile speedway, the largest track for stock cars at the time. He was rewarded when the first race was so close that it wasn’t until three days later Lee Petty was declared the winner.

JUNIOR JOHNSON

The Numbers: Won 50 races as a driver. … Won six championships and more than 130 races as a car owner. … Won 1960 Daytona 500 as a driver.

The Legacy: Provides a link to the sport’s past through his moonshining background. Also played a key role in the sport’s future, approaching R.J. Reynolds to sponsor his team. That led to Winston sponsoring the series from 1971-2003.

Magic Moment: Focus of the 1965 Esquire Magazine story titled “The Last American Hero Is Junior Johnson’’ by Thomas Wolfe, turning Johnson into an iconic figure.

BILL FRANCE JR.

The Numbers: Sport exploded in popularity during his reign from 1972-2003. … Ruled when first race was broadcast live by network TV and grew to where every race was shown live nationally.

The Legacy: Turning NASCAR from a regional sport to a national one and his control over the garage.

Magic Moment: For any driver. it was being called to the hauler to have a talk with France. He got to the point quickly. For the sport, it was moving its banquet to New York City, a sign of NASCAR’s growth and push to areas not known as NASCAR hotbeds.

Career stats: As driver and as owner