Dale Inman sits for a recent interview at the former racing team’s headquarters in Level Cross. (Petty Family Racing)
LEVEL CROSS — Dale Inman has just about spanned the globe because of his ties to motor sports and yet there’s something appealing when the famed NASCAR crew chief returns home.
“I was born right here in Level Cross,” Inman said this week. “I’ve been dedicated to racing, and it has let us travel mostly all over the world. When you’re getting back and you see the sign that says ‘Level Cross,’ it lets you know you’re home.”
Inman, 88, will be inducted into another shrine when he goes into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame on Friday. That ceremony takes place at Koury Convention Center in Greensboro.
His career in NASCAR was tightly tied to driver Richard Petty and the Petty family. Inman was part of eight NASCAR Cup Series championships, seven with Petty and another with Terry Labonte.
All told, there were 193 victories, including seven in the Daytona 500.
Fame came with it.
“I still get fan mail,” Inman said. “I still sign autographs.”
Although it was well more than a half-century ago, Inman said his roots in the sport took hold because of his connections to the Petty family.
“I don’t know where I’d be if Lee Petty didn’t start driving a race car in ’49,” he said.
From there, Inman carved a path that many credit with forging a special identity for crew chiefs. His accomplishments include developing and enhancing the driver-pit communication system.
Inman remains a keen observer of NASCAR, which he points out as trended more toward business than sports. He and Petty churn out a regular podcast to dissect races and racing issues.
For Inman, he still feels part of a team.
“When I say ‘we,’ I mean Richard,” he said.
They go weekly to Statesville to visit Legacy Motor Club, which was developed in the aftermath of Petty Enterprises.
“As far as I’m concerned the ‘43’ is still a Petty Enterprises car,” Inman said.
And there’s still attendance at races, mostly those in the region though he and Petty sometimes take flights to be part of the scene.
“I go to several of the races,” he said. “But I haven’t been to as many this year. … I’m not complaining about my age, but I’ve got a little age.”
He has been around long enough to experience many special occasions. He visited the White House during the Carter administration, and a few years later he was at Daytona International Speedway for the July 4, 1984, spectacle when Ronald Reagan became the first sitting president to attend a Cup race.
Inman’s involvement in NASCAR includes serving on a panel that selects inductees for the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Away from the tracks, he handled roles in the development of the Victory Junction Gang Camp, a facility in Level Cross for youth with chronic medical conditions or serious illnesses.
Inman is already in the NASCAR Hall of Fame and the International Motorsports Hall of Fame. This week, it will be a different type of collection of personalities from various sports, something he said he’s looking forward to experiencing. He knew inductee Bobby Isaac, a former NASCAR driver who’ll be inducted posthumously.
Petty and Labonte are expected to attend the induction.
“I’ve been blessed to be in a lot of Hall of Fames,” he said. “To be recognized this far down in my life is special. It has been a pretty long ride.”
Inman’s paths always lead to Level Cross.
“I lay down at night about 100 yards from where I was born,” he said.
