Stock Car History Online | Richard Petty Audio Scrapbook

Richard Petty has been the center of attention in the NASCAR world for more than 50 years now, and alongside him for most of the way was Dale Inman (right), his cousin and longtime crew chief. Reporting on it all was Barney Hall (left), the most recognized voice in NASCAR broadcasting. The three legends have teamed to record Richard Petty’s Audio Scrapbook, an amazing trip down memory lane.

Petty Audio Scrapbook A Great Listen
By Rick Houston

You’re hosting an informal get together, and a few NASCAR legends can attend. Who do you choose?

Me, I’d choose Richard Petty. Check.

Dale Inman. Check.

Barney Hall. Check.

Bobby Allison. Check.

Junior Johnson. Check.

And David Pearson. Check.

Everybody arrives, and for the next four hours, you talk racing. Old-school, knock-down-drag-’em-out racing. You laugh. You remember the hard times. Most of all, though, you come away with a very real sense that our sport has an incredibly interesting history.

If you can’t actually take part in such a chat, Richard Petty’s Audio Scrapbook is the next best thing. The four-CD set is hosted by Hall, the voice of MRN, but it turns out to be far more than an ordinary interview with Petty and Inman. Instead of a dry question-and-answer format, it’s almost as if you’re eavesdropping on a casual conversation between some of the most famous voices this sport has ever known.

Because he’s long ago been asked virtually every possible, interviews with Petty can have very much a “been there, done that” practiced feel. Not that he’s rude or bored or anything of the sort, but he’s already answered the same questions a million times. There’s none of that in this audio scrapbook. Petty sounds relaxed and completely unrehearsed. He interacts with Inman and Hall as if they have been friends for too many years to count.

Know what? They have been, and that relationship comes through loud and clear. Some of the tales they tell are familiar, many others aren’t. You’ll hear about rock fights and bike races, traffic stops and averted bar-room brawls, trips to victory lane and to the infield care center. And you’ll hear it all from those were there, on the spot, as it happened.

Hall interviews Johnson separately, while Allison and Pearson actually call in to interact with Hall, Petty and Inman. You can hear in their voices the respect that Petty and Pearson have for each other, and maybe, just maybe, the slightest bit of tension between Allison and his old Petty Enterprises rivals.

Richard Petty’s Audio Scrapbook is most definitely a keeper. For more information on how to order, go to www.rpetty.net. Suggested retail price is $29.95, and copies autographed by Petty are available for $43.43.