How I won 7 in a row at Bristol
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It was hard work. Now you have to remember, back in that era, we didn't have all the comforts and conveniences that these guys have today. We didn't have power steering. We didn't have the big head rest. There are just so many creature comforts that we didn't have. We basically just had to hang onto her.
It wasn't always about ability. It was more about heart and desire. In the mid- to late-'70s, all thru the '80s and into the early '90s, I don't think anyone had more desire to win than I did.
You know, once you get a streak going like we did at Bristol, you just want to keep it going. You put a lot of effort into keeping your streak going and defending your record. As I look back, I am just so proud of the number of wins I had at Bristol — 12 total. But I am proudest of the fact that I won seven in a row!
I won here when I drove for DiGard in the Gatorade car. I won for Junior Johnson when I drove the Mountain Dew car, the Pepsi car and the Budweiser car. I won for Rick Hendrick when I drove the Tide car and for myself when I drove the Western Auto car.
I think there are a number of reasons why. I was always with the right team. I won here with Buddy Parrott and David Iff. I won here with Tim Brewer. I've won here with Jeff Hammond and my last win here came in 1992 with Suitcase Jake Elder.
Elder was very instrumental in all the success I had everywhere I ran because of all the things he taught me about a racecar. And I think that is a lot of it, too, because once you figured out a place like Bristol, you just always knew what kind of setup to bring to a track. I won here when the place was asphalt and then I won the very first race here when they switched over to concrete in '92.
I think it just shows that when you like a place, when you do well at a place, it really does make it a lot easier when you go there. It's always easier when you go with a good attitude. The drivers always complained about Bristol. I remember Kyle Petty once saying that they should fill the place up with water and turn it into a fishing pond. Some have said they should plow it under. But I always came here with the right attitude and took all those negatives and turned them into a positive for me.
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It's like a battery. A battery always has to have a negative and a positive. The other drivers were always the negative for me and I was the positive and it created a lot of energy for me to win.
The thing that sticks out in my mind, when the streak started in 1981, I was driving for Junior in the Mountain Dew Buick. That car went undefeated at Bristol in 1981 and 1982. Then in 1983, my Pepsi Challenger car went undefeated, too. In 1984, in the Budweiser car, we won the spring Bristol race. We came back in the fall and I had the field covered and was going to win my eighth in a row and we broke a rear-end housing.
That's the other thing. I never had any equipment failures and never got in any wrecks. Bristol is a place that lets you use all your talent. You have to be a good driver and you have to be smart. You have to be alert and always be looking ahead and anticipating. You have to be aggressive, but you also have to be able to control that aggression. Bristol just allows you to demonstrate all the talent you have in this one race.
It takes everything to be successful at Bristol. It takes all your skill and all your talent. It takes a good car, good crew and, most importantly, good luck. I was truly blessed to win 12 times here, and seven of those were in a row. I am so proud of my record here.
I always looked forward to coming back. They've made changes to the track. Now, I've dealt with that before. On Saturday I am going to drive my Roush Fenway NASCAR on FOX Drive and Ride Ford Fusion and will get to experience the changes. Then, come Sunday for the telecast, which by the way is on FOX at 1:30 p.m. ET, I will be able to explain exactly what the track is doing and what the drivers are feeling. I am really looking forward to it.
I love doing the Bristol Stomp. It was always one of the highlights of the year after a hard day's night to drive into Victory Circle. When you win here, you know you have accomplished something special. It takes a great car and a great effort to win races here. That's why you find the drivers so excited about coming to Bristol. There was a car owner, back in the day, that said he would rather "beat DW at Bristol than win the Daytona 500!" That's how good we were here and how dominant we were.
It's not about me. I was lucky to be the cat behind the wheel. We had a lot of good people, cars and, again, most importantly, luck. You don't have all those things come together at a race track seven times in a row, so I was certainly blessed and, trust me, I am grateful!
Oh, by the way
I thought I better remind my Franklin buddy, Dario Franchitti, that the race this weekend is in Bristol, Tenn., not Bristol, England. I can't wait for him to get out on the track and see what this joint is all about, especially considering all the great circuits he has already run on.
But the same goes for Sam Hornish or Patrick Carpentier. I mean, any of those rookies that come here for the first time. Trust me, folks, this will be one of those experiences they never will forget. I don't care how many other great tracks they have been to, they will never forget their first time at Bristol.
Oh, by the way II
People always ask, "Gee DW, you had all those great runs and wins and championships, but the last couple years of your career, why did you struggle?" I always tell them that I simply ran out of wins. Had I known those last couple years would have been so bare, I might have tried to stretch my 84 wins out a little better. Sure, I would have loved to win a few at the end of my career, but I am grateful for my success. I didn't run out of talent and I didn't run out of time — I simply ran out of wins!
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