Its much like the "Pete Rose" scandal, one can not take away form the greatness displayed on the field due to personal political concerns or habits. The credit was earned, even in the choice of what power train to use in his automobile sponsorship, as the "mind" as well as the body leads to victory, as the others "complain". The skill of the "competition has not changed, only the technology that has made many an unskilled driver look as if they were great. This also can be comparable with other sports as far as technological advances go. Take for instance the game of golf. As one can not compare any two different generations due to superior quality in the advancement of the equipment, this is obviously demonstrated by the continued need to add yardage to courses as the average distance for driving the ball has went from 250 yards to well over 300, and its certainly not due to the advancement in any individual skill level. If you want to see "skill" demonstrated make everyone play with exactly the same equipment from the ball down to each individual club, then indeed the cream would rise to the top. This is what made Petty so great, he was not the only one driving in the Mopar sponsorship....no? In fact, ALL the cars where supposed to be set up within specified guidelines. He was just the most skillful. BD