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Former NASCAR driver Kyle Petty paid tribute to his “another father,” Dale Inman, as the legendary crew chief is set to be inducted into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2025. Inman remains the most successful crew chief in NASCAR history, with 193 race wins, winning a majority alongside, ‘The King,’ Richard Petty.
Inman and Petty's partnership remains one of the most successful, as the duo won 188 races, along with seven championships. They won seven Daytona 500s, and a record 27 races in the 1967 season. Inman added another championship with Terry Labonte in 1984 and a few race wins with Tim Richmond.
Ahead of Dale Inman's induction into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame, Kyle Petty showered praise on Inman, calling the Level Cross, NC native his "another father." Petty said he continues to learn from Inman every day and that the 88-year-old legend truly deserves the recognition and the honor.
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"I love Dale so much. He was always like another father to me growing up. I learned so much from him and still learn from him every day. He deserves this," Kyle Petty wrote on X.
Apart from his long-standing records, Dale Inman was a pioneer crew chief who revolutionized communications between the driver and the crew. He was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2012 and the International Motorsports Hall of Fame the following year.
Along with Inman, the late Grand National champion Bobby Isaac will also be inducted into the NC Sports Hall of Fame. Isaac won 37 races in NASCAR's top division and passed away in 1977 at the age of 45.
Eleven athletes, including Dale Inman and Bobby Isaac, will be honored at the Sheraton Greensboro Hotel Joseph S. Koury Convention Center on May 2.
Dale Inman shares childhood tales with Kyle Petty's dad
In a recent interview with Kyle Petty, Dale Inman shared stories of growing up with his cousin Richard Petty in Level Cross, North Carolina. Inman said that people often asked how long he had known 'The King,' to which he'd respond that they had known each other since birth, around 87 years.
Inman also shared that as kids, they loved riding bicycles and swimming in a nearby creek, and after getting their driver’s licenses, they would race each other from Randleman to Level Cross. The legendary crew chief said (3:15 onwards):
"People ask the question, 'How long have you and Richard known each other?' I can honestly say 87 years, 'cause Richard's 87 years old and I'm already 88. We were probably together before we recognized each other... As we grew up here, we rode bicycles, we raced bicycles, we went [to] a swimming hole right here, Polecat creek..."
Inman also mentioned that he, Richard and Maurice used to work on Lee Petty’s car — Kyle Petty’s grandfather and the patriarch of the Petty racing family — and gradually took on more responsibilities.
