Dale Inman

Dale Inman (born August 19, 1936) is a retired NASCAR Grand National/Winston Cup (now Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series) crew chief from Level Cross, Randolph County, North Carolina. He is best known for being the crew chief of Richard Petty at Petty Enterprises during three decades. They won 198 races and seven championships together (1964, 1967, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1975, and 1979). Inman spent most of his career working for Petty Enterprises. He also was the crew chief for Terry Labonte's 1984 championship.NASCAR.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 mainly for Richard Petty.

Inman grew up playing with his first cousins Richard and Maurice Petty. The Petty brothers were the son of Lee Petty, 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 that would soon be leaving the team. Inman had been crew chief for 192 of Petty's 193 victories.

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