Nascar fans, how do or did you become a fan of a specific driver?

Well, Paul, for me I am more loyal to my favorite team then I am a particular driver. I pull for the #43 Richard Petty Motorsports Dodge.

This stems back to my dad and I pulling for Richard Petty back when he raced in the 70's. My Dad was/is a Petty fan and so was my grandfather. When Richard retired in 1992 I stuck with his team in 1993. I could have pulled for his son Kyle but it just wasn't the same.

So every year since 1993 I have pulled whoever has drove the #43. (It was renumbered the #44 in 1993 but reverted back to #43 in 1994) So this year I am pulling for Reed Sorenson this year's current driver.

Richard Petty was very popular and winning in the 70's but THAT'S NOT why he like him. Their team hasn't won since 1999...and yet we stay loyal. The Petty family is a class act. We have been fortunate to meet them several times over the years. Richard has always treated us like friends instead of fans. Back when the "Cars" movie came out a few years back I took my young son to the Petty museum to see Petty's 1970 Superbird....a character named "King" was based on this car. As my son was busy oohing and awwwing over seeing his reflection in the shiny car....a shadow appeared behind us. It was Richard Petty himself. He talked to my son asked him if he had liked the movie, and what his thoughts were on that Superbird. We got pictures made with him and autographs. The whole time this was happening...the Manager of the museum kept telling Richard "You better go if you're going to make it to Pocono". Richard just smiled and nodded but wouldn't leave until my son got through with telling him a story about Me and Him watching the #43 on TV every Sunday.

To me Richard Petty's humility and personality is what keeps me rooting for the #43 no matter if it finishes 1st or 41st....my son and I are still cheering every single lap.

Just an opinion as always.

I began really watching Nascar about the time Jeff Gordon on the scene in Winston Cup. He was very young but seem to handle himself very well with all the pressure on him. Even though I was not a Dale Sr. fan, I knew he was the best at the time, I saw him kind of take Jeff aside a few times and talk to him like a man. That said a lot to me about both men. I figured if the best driver saw something in this kid then he was going to be great. I am still a huge Gordon fan.

My other driver I root for is Jimmie Johnson. I watched him in Busch and he really wasn't that great but still composed himself well. When Gordon told Hendrick to hire him to make another team I knew he was going to be another great driver and he proved me right.

I look for how the driver handles himself on and off the track before I root for them. These two drivers to me seem to be the best at driving, being courteous to others on the track, give to charity (yes I know most do) and they have good christian values.

I was a long time Dale Earnhardt, Sr. fan but when he died I just didn't joing the Jr. bandwagon I wanted to be convinced he was sincere so I went through a time when I liked Matt Kenseth who is a very great driver than I have a very good friend who is a huge Jr. fan so I have been a jr. fan after talking to her and watching some of the interviews he is really a down to earth honest person I like that and he was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth contrary to popular belief.

I was a fan of Dale Sr. for 20 plus years. I always admired Senior for the person that he was. He did so many things off the track to help a whole lot of people. On the track, it was like a job to him. He did what he had to do without anyone getting injured or killed. Like him or not, he was "The Man" and I have always been a Chevy fan. Thru the years you got to see Junior become his own person and I followed them both. Unfortunately Senior was killed. Watching Junior running towards his Dads car was an image burned into my heart forever. RIP Senior. Junior will be my favorite just like his Dad was. He is very outspoken and honest. I'm not a bandwagon fan, I'm a proud card carrying member of Junior Nation.

I'm a fan of Juan Pablo Montoya - I became a fan of his when he was in Formula One, because I used to work for the company that sponsored his car. However, I remained a fan of his driving skills, overtaking skills and overall fun-ness to watch. When he moved to NASCAR, I was interested to see how he adapted to this different form of racing. I was expecting him to be a bit better than he was, to be honest, but I accept that open-wheel racing on twisty street circuits in staggeringly fast, high-tech, 21st-century machines is a bit different to stock car racing on ovals. I still check his progress every so often and I expect he will do well in time. The important thing is that he's enjoying what he's doing, which is good for him.

I try to pick drivers at a very young age, then watch them come through the ranks. Any that make it become my drivers. Thats why I have 4.

Travis Kvapil

Scott Speed

Juan Pablo Montoya

Kyle Busch

I'm not a huge NASCAR fan, but I like Matt Kenseth purely because his number is #17, which I find to be my favorite number. Yeah, it's dumb, but how else are you supposed to have a favorite driver? At least I'm not a bandwagon Earnhardt fan.

When I was thirteen, I started to pick the driver that was good looking and had a pretty car. Now I'm 26 and Bobby Labonte is still my favorite driver! LOL! I stuck with him because he's a good, clean driver and I just like him.

I became a Jeff Gordon fan because my first favorite driver was Davey Allison (RIP). Jeff reminded me of Davey in his early years. So that's how I became a Gordon fan. After Davey it was Ernie Irvin (he took over Davey's ride).

I originally liked Davey for the fact that he drove the #28. My hubby (when I first met him) drove a race car and the number was 28.

Well I was a fan of Richard Petty primarily because of my Dad but when we went to the races in the 60's and seventies the King always talked to the kids at the races and I liked him for that. When he retired that was Jeff Gordon first race and I had seen him dirt racing and in the Busch series and I liked him , so I decided to go with him.