Dale Inman

Dale Inman (born August 19, 1936 in Level Cross, North Carolina) is a retired NASCAR Grand National/Winston Cup Series crew chief from Level Cross, Randolph County, North Carolina. He is best known for being the crew chief for his 2nd Cousin Richard Petty at Petty Enterprises during three decades. They won 188 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 with Hagan Racing. 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.”[1] 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 at 193, 188 of which were with Richard Petty. Inman won five additional races from 1982 to 1984 with Tim Richmond and Terry Labonte.

Accomplishments
AwardsNASCAR Hall of Fame (2012)
Smokey Yunick Award (2008)
North Carolina Auto Racing Hall of Fame’s first Golden Wrench (2000)
Daytona 500 Winning Crew Chief x7 (1964, ’66, ’71, ’73, ’74, ’79, & ’81)
NASCAR Cup Series Champion Crew Chief x8 (1964, ’67, ’71, ’72, ’74, ’75, ’79, & ’84)

NASCAR Cup Crew Chief Statistics

YearDriverRacesWinT5T10PoleLapsLedEarningsRankMiles
1964Richard Petty619374381404134059881019479.5
1965Richard Petty14410107369796716400381692.7
1966Richard Petty398202215873729248813036458.3
1967Richard Petty482738401812739554312937519387.4
1968Richard Petty49163135121225442428906338906.5
1969Richard Petty501031386125892777110155210534.8
1970Pete Hamilton100001503100021206.3
1970Richard Petty40182731910536500713921949812.9
1971Richard Petty462138419137394932269150112877.5
1972Richard Petty31825283102822093248275111995.2
1973Richard Petty286151738644181520695559291.1
1974Richard Petty30102223790973100335725110829.6
1975Richard Petty30132124390823158366580110846.4
1976Richard Petty3031922189411269319774210345.2
1977Richard Petty3052023588401403351574210417.7
1978Richard Petty300111708904417215410610162.4
1979Richard Petty3152327193671149416470110932.7
1980Richard Petty312151909314714338365410146.7
1981Richard Petty2122031931948258811.8
1981Joe Ruttman10023028039981280282989.3
1982Tim Richmond25271216722321175160268131.6
1982Joe Ruttman50110131114869155161395.8
1983Terry Labonte30111203849843525865059774.3
1984Terry Labonte302172429886880417353111236.2
1986Richard Petty29041107639153235405148948.6
1987Richard Petty290914083063836385089984.8
1988Richard Petty290150620711187055227626.3
24 Years808171457552113222644470345623163225221.6

K&N Pro Series West Crew Chief Statistics

YearDriverRacesWinT5T10PoleLapsLedEarningsMiles
1964Richard Petty1000010127940272.7
1966Richard Petty100001050550283.5
1967Richard Petty100001035680278.1
1979Richard Petty101111561372100156
1981Richard Petty11110156637333156
51221621232116031146.3