I remember three drivers driving No. 7 cars when I covered NASCAR in 1987 through the.early 2000s.
In 1987, I was covering the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte, and Kyle Petty was driving the No. 7 car for the Wood Brothers and sponsor 7-11. Normally, the Woods ran the 21 cars, but 7 was the natural number for 7-11. Someone counted the 7s on the doors and roof and realized they added up to 21, so it was OK.
Kyle won easily, with the help from Richard Petty, who late in the race was blocking the advance of the cars running second and third.
The next driver I saw up close in the 7 was the underfunded Alan Kulwicki, who called his Ford an Underbird because he was an underdog. He might have been the most successful No. 7 driver, as he won the 1992 Winston Cup championship in his 7 Fords.
The next 7 driver I met was Geoff Bodine, who was, like Kulwicki, a successful independent driver/car owner. Geoff was the last 7 driver to win a Cup race, taking a road race at Watkins Glen in 1996.
Other notable drivers in the 7 were Jim Reed and Bob Flock. Flock collected the first-ever win from the pole in the series, leading all 200 laps and winning at Occoneechee Speedway in Hillsborough, N.C., on Aug. 7, 1949.
Kyle won easily, with the help from Richard Petty, who late in the race was blocking the advance of the cars running second and third.
The next driver I saw up close in the 7 was the underfunded Alan Kulwicki, who called his Ford an Underbird because he was an underdog. He might have been the most successful No. 7 driver, as he won the 1992 Winston Cup championship in his 7 Fords.
The next 7 driver I met was Geoff Bodine, who was, like Kulwicki, a successful independent driver/car owner. Geoff was the last 7 driver to win a Cup race, taking a road race at Watkins Glen in 1996.
Other notable drivers in the 7 were Jim Reed and Bob Flock. Flock collected the first-ever win from the pole in the series, leading all 200 laps and winning at Occoneechee Speedway in Hillsborough, N.C., on Aug. 7, 1949.
Related posts
Gone too Soon: Alan Kulwicki
On the Mark (with Mark Martin)
The 1 was not a lonely number in Cup racing
The 2 has been a winning car Number in NASCAR
EMAIL: tgilli52@gmail.com TWITTER: EDITORatWORK
More entries from TARJ
(a book of great stories about the Intimidator)
(the book of great NASCAR stories)
EDITOR@WORK blog entries
Entries from The Dog Blog
More blog entries by Tom Gillispie
Anecdotes by Tom Gillispie
