He has had other jobs with various NASCAR teams, including one race in the Truck Series in which he was listed as crew chief.

He also had an oddball moment of fame in 2008 when Sporting News chose him as one of NASCAR’s 60 most beautiful people. Congrats, David.

But it is neither his understanding of the aero package nor his good looks that make Cropps my nominee to lead NASCAR back to the crowd-pleasing status it once knew.

Rather, it was what he was doing in the Richmond Raceway garage when I came upon him. He was doing what Petty, his race team’s namesake, always did. Cropps was having a chat with a couple of fans — Bryan Snare, from Fincastle, and Bryan’s 11-year-old son, Mitchell.

I watched the three of them for a few minutes. The Snare father and son were on the Richmond Raceway Garage Walk. That’s the raised walkway that runs the length of the garage, opened last fall to give increased access to fans.

It was a few hours before the Cup Series race. Nothing of significance was happening to the cars. They were parked, most of them covered with custom-made tarps complete with sponsor logos. No drivers and few crew members were around. The ones who were on hand seemed to be there for security purposes — keeping an eye on their cars.