Inside Dale Inman’s legacy as NASCAR's winningest crew chief, who turned Richard Petty into the King

Behind every great driver is someone who keeps the car running, and in NASCAR, no crew chief defined that role more than Dale Inman. The Level Cross, North Carolina native, became the architect of Richard Petty's dominance, setting records that stand untouched decades later.

Inman worked with Petty Enterprises for nearly 30 years, guiding Richard Petty to seven championships and 193 career wins as a crew chief. He added one more title in 1984 with Terry Labonte, making him the first crew chief to reach eight championships. His standout season came in 1967, when Petty and Inman won 27 races - including a streak of 10 in a row - in the same Plymouth Belvedere they had built a year earlier.

By the time he stepped away in the 1990s, Inman had become the sport's winningest crew chief, widely credited with revolutionizing how the position was viewed. His work turned Richard Petty into The King. But just as importantly, it turned the role of crew chief into one of racing's most important jobs.

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"He was the sport's first official crew chief": Dale Inman's journey from mechanic to a seven-time champion with Richard Petty

Richard Petty with his crew chief, Dale Inman, before the 1988 Pepsi Firecracker at Daytona. Source: Getty

The story began with family. Richard Petty's father, Lee, was already a star in stock car racing when Inman, his nephew, started working around the garage. Alongside Richard's brother Maurice, he cut his teeth as a young mechanic and part of Petty’s pit crew in the late 1950s. By 1960, when Richard won his first race, Maurice moved into engine building, and Inman became the man running the races.

Petty himself described Inman as the model for what a modern crew chief would become.

"Dale was a racing benchmark. He was the sport's first official crew chief and people modeled themselves after him. He knew what, when and where and when he made a mistake he wasn't afraid to admit it. Everyone respected him for that. Nobody even comes close to the number of wins that Dale has recorded," Petty once said (via Autoweek)

That respect was earned through dominance. Inman oversaw 188 of Petty's 200 wins, seven championships, and one of the most remarkable single seasons in NASCAR history. The 1967 campaign not only produced 27 victories but also cemented the Petty-Inman pairing as the gold standard of consistency and preparation.

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"I don't know life without knowing Richard": Dale Inman's NASCAR career beyond Richard Petty

Dale Inman was inducted into the 2012 NASCAR Hall of Fame. Source: Getty

After Richard Petty's 1981 Daytona 500 win, Dale Inman shocked the NASCAR world by leaving Petty Enterprises. He briefly worked with Dale Earnhardt at Rod Osterlund's team, Tim Richmond, and Joe Ruttman, before joining Billy Hagan's operation and winning the 1984 Championship with Terry Labonte. It gave him his eighth and final championship as a crew chief.

But for Inman, the pull of home was stronger than trophies. He returned to Petty Enterprises in 1986, calling it his 'homecoming,' and worked again with Richard until his retirement in 1992. Inman later admitted he never knew life without Richard. Speaking with Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 2021, Inman explained the bond:

"Richard's mother and my mother were first cousins. So people said, 'Well y'all cousins?' I said yeah, sometimes. And I tell him in front of him - when he says he's won 400 races, if it hadn't been for me that's still a big conversation. I don't know life without knowing Richard."(15:05 onwards)

Inman eventually retired from NASCAR in 1998, with 193 wins, eight championships, and a lasting legacy. He was recognized with multiple awards, including the Golden Wrench Award, the Smokey Yunick Award, and was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2012.

Yet beyond the numbers and plaques, his influence remains in every modern pit box. The crew chief's role of part strategist, part mechanic, part leader, exists in its current form because Inman defined it. And for Richard Petty, for NASCAR, and for generations of racers, Dale Inman was more than just the man with the stopwatch.