Very true... and both of these men were "most popular" of their era ( most likely due to the nature of their personality and time they spent with the fans).

The only comparison I could make is Tom spent most of his career in top equipment ( knepper 55 and armstrond 43) and Dave seemed to never be as appreciated as several owners (huge mistake) seemed to think they could find better ( Dave spent a few years in the Artic Cat car that others called the "penalty box").