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NASCAR: Dale Earnhardt voted greatest driver of all-time

By Asher Fair

6 Sep 1997: Dale Earnhardt sits behind the wheel during the Exide Batteries 400 at the Richmond International Raceway in Richmond, Virginia. Mandatory Credit: Craig Jones /Allsport
6 Sep 1997: Dale Earnhardt sits behind the wheel during the Exide Batteries 400 at the Richmond International Raceway in Richmond, Virginia. Mandatory Credit: Craig Jones /Allsport /
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Seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Dale Earnhardt Sr. has been voted the greatest NASCAR driver of all-time in the NASCAR GOAT poll championship.

It took an original championship poll and a tiebreaker poll, but NASCAR fans have spoken over the last several weeks. Dale Earnhardt Sr. has been voted the greatest NASCAR driver of all-time.

The NASCAR Cup Series championships co-record holder sealed the deal by winning the championship round of the “GOAT” poll over fellow seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and 200-time NASCAR Cup Series race winner Richard Petty.

For more information on how this “GOAT” poll process was conducted over the last several weeks, click on the link below.

Will be starting the first round of polls shortly.Here are the seeds for the Formula 1, IndyCar and NASCAR…

Posted by Beyond the Flag on Monday, January 14, 2019

Earnhardt, who won an all-time record seven NASCAR Cup Series championships (tied with Petty and Jimmie Johnson) and earned 76 NASCAR Cup Series victories throughout his career, pretty much coasted through the 16-driver bracket until he got to the championship round.

Earnhardt entered this bracket as the #3 seed. Seeds were calculated using a formula that awarded drivers 10 points for each championship they have won and one point for each race victory that they have earned. He entered the bracket with 146 points.

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Petty entered this bracket as the #1 seed as a result of the fact that he won seven championships and earned 200 victories throughout his NASCAR Cup Series career. Johnson entered it as the #2 seed as a result of the fact that he has won seven championships and earned 83 victories throughout his NASCAR Cup Series career thus far. Petty entered it with 270 points while Johnson entered it with 153 points.

In the first round, the round of 16, of this bracket, Earnhardt’s opponent was #14 Rusty Wallace. Earnhardt received 87% of the vote in this matchup while Wallace received the other 13%, allowing Earnhardt to advance to the second round, the round of 8.

In the round of 8, Earnhardt’s opponent was #6 Darrell Waltrip, who defeated #11 Ned Jarrett in the round of 16 to earn the right to be matched up against Earnhardt. Earnhardt received 88% of the vote in this matchup while Waltrip received the other 12%, allowing Earnhardt to advance to the third round, the round of 4.

Earnhardt’s opponent in the round of 4 was #2 Jimmie Johnson, who defeated #15 Kyle Busch in the round of 16 and then #7 Cale Yarborough in the round of 8 to earn the right to be matched up against Earnhardt. Earnhardt received 78% of the vote in this matchup while Johnson received the other 22%, allowing Earnhardt to advance to the fourth and final round, the championship.

In the original championship poll, Earnhardt’s opponent was #1 Richard Petty, who defeated #16 Tim Flock in the round of 16 before defeating #8 Bobby Allison in the round of 8 and #5 Jeff Gordon in the round of 4 to earn the right to be matched up against Foyt. Both drivers received exactly 50% of the vote in this matchup.

In the championship tiebreaker poll, however, Earnhardt received 80% of the vote while Petty received the other 20%, making Earnhardt the driver who the fans voted for as the greatest NASCAR driver of all-time.

Next. Top 10 NASCAR drivers of all-time. dark

Thank you to all of the NASCAR fans who voted for any drivers at any point throughout this process!

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