Only eight days until the 2013 Daytona 500—time to recall some NASCAR greats who ran the number 8. 

Most every serious NASCAR fan will recognize the driver above: Ralph Earnhardt, the father of  Dale Earnhardt Sr. with his ’55 Chevy dirt track car. Here are are few more memorable racers who fielded the number 8:

Joe Weatherly was voted NASCAR’s most popular driver in 1961 driving Pontiacs for Bud Moore. A three-time AMA motorcycle champion, Little Joe was the constant party companion of a legendary NASCAR party animal, Curtis Turner.

Weatherly and Moore won the NASCAR Grand National title in 1962, then repeated the feat in 1963.

In their 1963 championship season, the Bud Moore team campaigned both Mercury and Pontiac racers for Weatherly.

Here’s Weatherly in his Mercury at Riverside in 1964. Tragically, the reigning NASCAR Grand National champion lost his life in this race. In 1998, he was selected as one of NASCAR’s 50 all-time greatest drivers, and he was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2009.

Privateer Ed Negre from Kelso, Washington started 338 NASCAR Grand National and Winston Cup events in a variety of equipment.

Here’s Negre wheeling a Chrysler Cordoba—rare sheetmetal in NASCAR land. In 17 years, the owner/driver never won a race, but he did manage to collect 26 top 10s and $334,000 in career earnings.

For his first eight years in NASCAR’s top series, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. raced his grandfather’s number 8 for Dale Earnhardt, Inc, winning 17 races.