Petty explained it thusly: "When you're on top, you're having fun, and you don't want to quit. Then when you slide to the bottom, you hate to get out while you're down, so you keep trying to work your way back up before you retire. What it amounts to, it's hard to quit when you're winning and hard to quit when you're losing."
Some legendary racers, such as David Pearson, Buddy Baker, and Bobby Allison were nudged into retirement by injuries or ailments while still competitive.
Others, like Bill Elliott at the end of last season, chose a gradual withdrawal by running a partial schedule.
Benny Parsons was one of the few who enjoyed success, yet was able to quit cold turkey. "I don't know that I can explain it, but there comes a point when you have to tell yourself, 'OK, that's it. It's over,' " says Parsons. "I knew when that time came for me. But I've got to tell you, it's not easy to walk away from something you love. In my case I was fortunate-I was calling races on ESPN, so that allowed me to still be at the track and be around the sport. I wasn't driving, but at least I was still involved in racing, going to the tracks, and hanging around the garage with my buddies. That helped a lot."
Parsons says the big bucks that began gushing into NASCAR in recent years makes retiring more difficult for some drivers. "Oh man, just think about all the money they're walking away from," he says. "I realize that most of the big-name drivers are wealthy, but still . . . that's a lot of money to suddenly give up."
Parsons adds with a laugh: "Back in my day we didn't make that kind of money, so maybe that made the decision a little easier."
Waltrip, however, insists it's not about money, ego, or celebrity. "Some of it is about pride," he says. "Race car drivers are very proud, competitive athletes, and none of us want to admit that we don't have it anymore. We're no different from any other athlete in that respect.
"But the biggest thing is, it's just hard to give up something that has been such a big part of your life for so long. In my case, racing was all I'd done for almost 40 years. Most of my friends were in racing, my family's friends were in racing. Our life had always been about racing. It's not easy to close that chapter. That's what makes it so difficult."
Waltrip says his decline was not entirely due to age and diminished skills. "I still feel that I was capable of winning a few races during my final seasons if I'd had good cars," he says. "When I was younger, I could take an ill-handling car and go out and win in it. As I got older, I couldn't do it. I needed a good car under me, and toward the end I didn't have one."
Yet, realizing that, he hung on. "Yes I did, and it was a mistake," Waltrip says. "I kept telling myself, 'Just one more year.' I thought that I'd bounce back and regain a little success and then I'd be able to walk away on a positive note. I'd do it next year. But next year never came."-Larry Woody