A 64-driver bracket quite a battle among sport's best (cont'd)

The second round had its share of intrigue, with the most difficult choice being between Lee Petty and Elliott. Elliott had a stellar career and is a proven fan favorite, but Petty's numbers -- three Cup championships, 54 victories, an average finishing position of 7.6 -- gave him the edge in my book.

So my Sweet Sixteen wound up being: Lee Petty, Junior Johnson, Dale Earnhardt, Ned Jarrett, Darrell Waltrip, Jimmie Johnson, Tim Flock, Fireball Roberts, Curtis Turner, Bobby Allison, Richard Petty, Cale Yarborough, Herb Thomas, David Pearson, Jeff Gordon and Joe Weatherly. Quite a collection of the old and the new.

In one of the better third-round matchups, Waltrip narrowly edged Jimmie Johnson in a battle of three-time champions, the deciding factors being Waltrip's longevity and win total. But that might not be the case in future tournaments, if Johnson surely continues to add to his victory and championship totals.

Lee Petty and Earnhardt advanced to the Elite Eight from the first region. Waltrip and Roberts made it out of Region 2. It was tempting to take Yarborough over the King in Region 3, but I went with Allison and Petty. And Pearson and Gordon completed the third round.

The Final Four? Second-generation Earnhardt defeats first-generation Petty. Jaws sneaks past Fireball. Richard passes Bobby at the line. And the Silver Fox takes out Wonder Boy in another close one.

And that leaves me with the Intimidator and the King to duke it out in an all-North Carolina championship, although there's a temptation, based on career head-to-head performance, to want to choose Pearson to upset Petty and make it a border clash instead.

Anyway, at the least, it was a fun exercise in comparing NASCAR's stars over generations, and at the most, it may provide a lot of water-cooler conversations. I'd suggest downloading your own brackets and seeing who winds up in your Final Four.

The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer.