Dale Inman (born August 19, 1936) is a retired

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and h ...

Grand National/

Winston Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. In 1971, ...

crew chief from Level Cross, Randolph County, North Carolina. He is best known for being the crew chief of

Richard Petty Richard Lee Petty (born July 2, 1937), nicknamed "The King", is an American former stock car racing driver who raced from 1958 to 1992 in the former NASCAR Grand National and Winston Cup Series (now called the NASCAR Cup Series), most notab ...

Petty Enterprises Petty Enterprises (formerly Lee Petty Engineering) was a NASCAR racing team based in Level Cross, North Carolina, USA. It was founded by Lee Petty with his two sons Richard Petty and Maurice Petty. The team was later owned by Richard Petty, hi ...

during three decades. They won 188 races and seven championships together (1964, 1967, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1975, and 1979). Inman spent most of his career working for

. He also was the crew chief for

Terry Labonte Terrance Lee Labonte (born November 16, 1956), nicknamed Texas Terry or The Iceman, is an American former stock car driver who raced from 1978 to 2014 in the former NASCAR Winston Cup and Sprint Cup Series (now called the NASCAR Cup Series). A two ...

's 1984 championship with Hagan Racing.

.com contributor Rick Houston said that if the best crew chief was "settled on statistics and statistics alone, Dale Inman is the greatest crew chief of all time." He is credited for starting the main duties of the position including preparation, and driver-pit communication. Inman has the most victories as a NASCAR crew chief at 193, 188 of which were with Richard Petty. Inman won five additional races from 1982 to 1984 with

Tim Richmond Timothy Lee Richmond (June 7, 1955 – August 13, 1989) was an American race car driver from Ashland, Ohio. He competed in IndyCar racing before transferring to NASCAR's Winston Cup Series. Richmond was one of the first drivers to change fro ...

and Terry Labonte.

Career

Inman grew up playing with his second cousins Richard and

Maurice Petty Maurice Petty (March 27, 1939July 25, 2020) was an American NASCAR crew chief and engine builder for Petty Enterprises, of which he was part owner. He was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2011. He was subsequently ens ...

. The Petty brothers were the son of

Lee Petty Lee Arnold Petty (March 14, 1914 – April 5, 2000) was an American stock car racing driver who competed during the 1950s and 1960s. He was one of the pioneers of NASCAR and one of its first superstars. He was NASCAR's first three-time Cup c ...

, who finished in the Top 5 points in NASCAR's stock car division every year from its formation in 1949 until 1959 and won the 1954, 1958, and 1959 championships. The teenage boys would attend some races and work on Lee's car after school and on weekends. Richard started racing in the late 1950s with Maurice and Inman as part of his pit crew, as they were too young to be his crew chief. In 1960, Petty won his first NASCAR race. By this time Maurice and Inman had become NASCAR mechanics. Maurice had been the mechanic and crew chief at the races. Petty Enterprises had him start concentrating on engine building for the team, and Inman became the crew chief at the races. Petty described him as the sport's first official crew chief. In 1967, Petty won a NASCAR-record ten straight races and 27 races during that season with Inman as his crew chief. All 27 victories were in the same car that they built in 1966. He departed the team days after winning the 1981 Daytona 500. While being interviewed after winning the race, he told CBS reporter

Ned Jarrett Ned Jarrett (born October 12, 1932) is an American retired race car driver and two-time NASCAR Grand National Series champion. Because of his calm demeanor, he became known as "Gentleman Ned Jarrett". He is the father of former drivers Glenn Ja ...

that he would soon be leaving the team. Inman had been crew chief for 188 of Petty's 193 victories up to that point. He was hired by

Rod Osterlund Rod Osterlund was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series car owner spanning from 1977–1981, and then again from 1989–1991. He earned his money off rental property in California. Osterlund's first race as a car owner was at the 1977 Cam 2 Motor Oil 400 wh ...

to be the crew chief for 1980 champion

Dale Earnhardt Ralph Dale Earnhardt Sr. (; April 29, 1951February 18, 2001) was an American professional stock car driver and team owner, who raced from 1975 to 2001 in the former NASCAR Winston Cup Series (now called the NASCAR Cup Series), most notably dri ...

. That June, Osterlund sold the team to J. D. Stacy and Earnhardt quit Stacy's team in August. He stayed with the team and was the crew chief for

Joe Ruttman Joe Ruttman (born October 28, 1944) is a retired American stock car racing driver who competed in NASCAR's Sprint Cup Series, Nationwide Series, and Camping World Truck Series. With 13 career wins in the Truck Series he is currently tied for 13th ...

and

, winning two races with Richmond in 1982. For 1983 and 1984, he was hired by Billy Hagan to join

's team. They combined to win three races and the 1984 championship. He returned to Petty Enterprises in 1986 to oversee the business side. In an interview, he said, "This is my homecoming and this is where I belong. Damn, I am happy." He served as Petty’s crew chief for three more seasons (1986–1988) and continued in his role helping Richard Petty until Petty retired in 1992. After his retirement, Inman helped Petty Enterprises drivers Rick Wilson,

John Andretti John Andrew Andretti (March 12, 1963January 30, 2020) was an American race car driver. He won individual races in CART, IMSA GTP, Rolex Sports Car Series, and NASCAR during his career. He was the son of Aldo Andretti, older brother of racer Adam ...

, and

Bobby Hamilton Charles Robert Hamilton Sr. (May 29, 1957 – January 7, 2007) was an American stock car racing driver. A driver and owner in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series circuit and the winner of the 2004 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship, Hami ...

. Inman retired from NASCAR in 1998, having won 193 races and eight championships. He continued as a consultant for Petty Enterprises for a while afterward. Away from racing, Inman has helped the Victory Junction Gang Camp get started. In 2008, he helped unveil the first artifact at the

NASCAR Hall of Fame The NASCAR Hall of Fame, located in Charlotte, North Carolina, honors drivers who have shown expert skill at NASCAR driving, all-time great crew chiefs and owners, broadcasters and other major contributors to competition within the sanctioning ...

, which was the

Plymouth Belvedere Plymouth Belvedere is a series of American automobile models made by Plymouth from 1954 until 1970. The Belvedere name was first used for a new hardtop body style in the Plymouth Cranbrook line for the 1951 model year. In 1954 the Belvedere r ...

that Petty drove to 27 wins in 1967.

Awards

In 2006, a national motorsports media group poll named

Ray Evernham Raymond Donald Evernham Jr. (born August 26, 1957) is an American consultant for Hendrick Companies, formerly an auto racing crew chief for Bill Davis Racing and Hendrick Motorsports, owner of his own team Evernham Motorsports from 2001 to ...

as the top NASCAR crew chief of all-time and Inman placed a close second even though he had more first place votes than Evernham. When asked, Inman said "I'm not even sure I should be ranked. I think I was second n the poll and I'm honored at that." He said that the best crew chief that he ever saw was Leonard Wood from the Wood Brothers and

Waddell Wilson Waddell Wilson (born December 29, 1936) is a former NASCAR Winston Cup Series crew chief and engine builder. He was the winning crew chief for the Daytona 500 in 1980, 1983, and 1984. He was crew chief or engine builder for Holman-Moody, Harry Ran ...

was also good. His contributions to racing led to him receiving the North Carolina Auto Racing Hall of Fame's first Golden Wrench award on May 25, 2000. In 2008, he was received the

Smokey Yunick Henry "Smokey" Yunick (May 25, 1923 – May 9, 2001) was an American professional stock car racing crew chief, owner, driver, engineer, engine builder, and car designer as well as being a pilot in the United States Army Air Corps in World W ...

Award. On June 14, 2011, he was selected to the 2012 class of the

Personal life

As of 2000, Inman was married to his wife Mary for over 40 years. They had two children, Tina Dale Hussey and Jeffrey Inman, and four grandchildren, Taylor and Logan Hussey, and Peyton and Addison Inman.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Inman, Dale 1936 births Living people NASCAR crew chiefs People from Randolph County, North Carolina Petty family NASCAR Hall of Fame inductees