Countdown: Delaware

The First State is No. 1 for a number of reasons, including its long relationship with stock-car racing. Delaware may be 49th in the nation when it comes to square miles but it's a monster when it comes to chemical manufacturing, banking and concrete mile ovals.

Best behind the wheel

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• Eddie Pettyjohn, Milton

Pettyjohn's entire NASCAR resume includes four races -- all at Dover -- but that doesn't do his racing career justice.

Driving Junie Donlavey's No. 90 in 1973 and 1974, Pettyjohn's best finish was a 10th in those four starts. However, he qualified 13th in both races in 1974 and led one lap before mechanical failure sidelined his Ford each time.

That might have been the end of his NASCAR career, but more than 30 years later, you may still find Pettyjohn behind the wheel of a Late Model at Delaware International Speedway in Delmar.

With more than 400 feature wins, the multiple Delaware State Fair champion and 1986 DIS Late Model track champ still finds the time to run the family racing operation, with David, Mark and Kenny Pettyjohn carrying on the family tradition. All three were among the top finishers in this season's Late Model standings at the half-mile clay oval.

Other noteworthy drivers from Delaware

• Russell Bennett, Milford: Raced twice at Langhorne in 1950, finishing 14th

• A.J. Cox, Wilmington: Made two starts with a best of 32nd at Dover in 1971

• Lou Johnson, Wilmington: A 12th at Richmond was his best finish in two 1953 races

• Joe Phipps, Newark: In nine career starts, this Chevy driver's best was an 11th at Beltsville in 1970

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We wish ...

Olympic rower Franklin Shakespeare had become a NASCAR driver.

Shakespeare, a Wilmington native, became the first person from Delaware to win an Olympic gold medal as a member of the U.S. crew that beat the favored Soviet Union in the 1952 Games.

Keeping it on the track

• Dover International Speedway

Dover's Monster Mile has hosted NASCAR since the inaugural race in 1969, won by Richard Petty. Petty would go on to win six more times there, sharing that record with Bobby Allison. David Pearson had five victories at what was formerly called Dover Downs.

The track is unique, in that an elevated horse racing track sits within the concrete racing surface.

The first two events were 300-mile races, then lengthened to 500 miles when the track was issued two dates a year, starting in 1971. Just to show how difficult a test that was for man and machine, only one car finished on the lead lap in the next four races.

In 1995, the track surface was switched from asphalt to concrete. Two years later, races were shortened to 400 miles. Better racing meant bigger crowds -- which allowed Dover to expand its grandstand seating to 140,000 by 2001.

The DuPont Monster Bridge, a glass-enclosed seating structure that extends over the track in Turn 3, was unveiled in 2004.

A word from our sponsor

• DuPont, Wilmington

Founded in 1802 primarily as an explosives company, DuPont --with 60,000 employees worldwide -- offers a wide range of innovative products and services for markets including agriculture, nutrition, electronics, communications, safety and protection, home and construction, transportation and apparel.

• MBNA, Wilmington

With more than 5,000 affinity and co-branding relationships, including professional associations, colleges and universities, sports teams, and financial institutions, MBNA is the world's largest independent credit card issuer and the leader in the affinity marketplace.