The King speaks bluntly.......

bill mcpeek
@bill-mcpeek
10 years ago
820 posts

Richard Petty is being quoted this morning as saying "the only way Danica Patrick will ever win a race is if she runs by her self". lol.....A bit harsh in my opinion but maybe while nascar is trying to load one up for the 3 car she might be able to sneak up on everybody and get a victory. Interesting quote for sure....


updated by @bill-mcpeek: 12/05/16 04:00:58PM
TMC Chase
@tmc-chase
10 years ago
4,073 posts
I happen to agree with him. It comes across as harsh because racing has no objective analysts. I think the same can be said about many other drivers in today's Cup series - including perhaps RPs own driver in the 43. If there is an issue to be taken with his remarks, that might be it. But I guess that is for Danica and Tony to reply vs King holding his tongue. He was asked a question, and he replied.The big difference between Danica and drivers such as Almirola, Gilliland, Yeley, McDowell, etc. is the amount of attention and sponsorship dollars she draws because of her gender. But no one asked King his opinion about Kvapil did they? Ha.


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Schaefer: It's not just for racing anymore.
Dave Fulton
@dave-fulton
10 years ago
9,137 posts

The King gave an honest reply.




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"Any Day is Good for Stock Car Racing"
JAck Redd
@jack-redd
10 years ago
111 posts

Yes Bill, that is the first and only time that I have heard Richard say anything negative about anybody.

bill mcpeek
@bill-mcpeek
10 years ago
820 posts

If ever anyone has the right to say anything about anyone it would certainly be the King. When he speaks everyone respects his opinion no matter which side of the situation its on.He'sstating something most people are thinking. I personally would like to see her get at least a top five finish as I think it would be good for sponsor money and we all know that's not as easy found as it used to be.

Dave Fulton
@dave-fulton
10 years ago
9,137 posts

I would certainly think her best chances would come at Daytona and Talladega in those restrictor plate drafts. Elsewhere she looks pretty over her head.




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"Any Day is Good for Stock Car Racing"
Dave Fulton
@dave-fulton
10 years ago
9,137 posts

Petty made his remarks during an appearance in Toronto on Sunday. Here is the actual article from the Canadian site www.wheels.ca that everybody else is quoting from:

Danica will only win in NASCAR if shes racing by herself, Richard Petty says

Published February 9, 2014

The only way Danica Patrick will win a NASCAR Sprint Cup raceis if shes the only driver on the track, says the legendary King of stock car racing,Richard Petty.

Petty, who visited Toronto Sunday for an appearance at the Canadian Motorsports Expo (for the live blog, please click here ), answered quickly and decisively when asked if the former IndyCar star whos now a second-year driver for Stewart-Haas Racing would ever visit Victory Lane in the Cup series.

(Only) if everybody else stayed home, said Petty, who startedhis NASCAR career in 1958 in a race at the long-gone Canadian National Exhibition Speedway in downtown Toronto.

Petty spent much of the time in a media scrum discussing how NASCAR has evolved over the years from race time to show time and he acknowledged that Patrick has been good for the sport in that respect.

If shed have been a male, nobody would ever know if shed showed up at a race track, said the seven-time Daytona 500 champion. This is a female deal thats driving her. Theres nothing wrong with that, because thats good PR for me. More fans come out, people are more interested in it. She has helped to draw attention to the sport, which helps everybody in the sport.

Petty said NASCAR has grown so big that much of the attention paid to the series and the drivers these days has moved theactual racing intothe back seat.

When NASCAR Cup racing first started,it wasracing, he said. Over a period of years, with our sponsorships,what we had to do for TV,to get the fans to come, the first thing you know is that the race is secondary, because allthe rest of it is buildup, buildup, buildup.

Its sort of like, say,watching the Super Bowl; it was a lot more exciting watching the buildup than the game. The game just happened to break out in the middle of a good party. Were not quite that far along but in order for us to do what we need to do on race day, the sponsorship and the fan stuff, we have to do all this other stuff.

Its like us coming up here, theres no racing around here right now, but we can go out and startadvertising our sponsors. We can come to Canada and say our next race is Daytona, come on down and see us. It takes all of that to really make it work. Like I say, itsbecome a show-time deal.

Petty, who won 200 races in a career that went from that Toronto race in 1958 to the Hooters 500 in Atlanta in 1992, was outspoken on several subjects, including the new NASCAR Chase format that emphasizes winning (he doesnt see why it wont work) to Dale Earnhardt Jr. (he doesnt have his fathers talent).

But he seemed to be more at ease while talking about some of his racing adventures north of the border.

My daddy came up herein 1950 and we ran a race somewhere (a NASCAR race in 1952, actually on the old dirt track at Stamford Park in Niagara Falls) and then we came back in 1958 and ran there (at the CNE).

You know, I ran over 1,100 races (in my career) and this was the very first one. I told them (that) they ran me clean out of my country to start my career; I had to come to Canada to start my career.

I remember my dad came up to lap me and knocked me into the wall and I crashed. I do remember that part. He went ahead and won the race, so that kinda made up the difference.

Reminded that NASCAR was the support race on a supermodified show that night, Petty who was known as Dick Petty in those days and who finished 17 th in his firstrace said:

You have to figure that in 1958, NASCAR was really a southern sport. I mean, we went from Virginia to Florida and from Florida to Texas. It was all down below the Mason-Dixon line. We came up here and it was lucky that anybody had ever heard tell of us.

Its about 500-600 miles from here to my home, which is right in the middle of North Carolina, so we were really off the beaten path. At that time, we just knew we had a race, we cameand ran the race and then we put all ourjunkon the trailer and took it back home.

Petty and his son Kyle ventured north in the 1980s to run a Kawartha Cup snowmobile race at Peterborough for sponsor STP and it was so cold they had to call off the races because the ice was coming up (off the track) in sheets. Quippedthe seven time Winston Cup champion:

The guys in the grandstands were throwin beer cans on the track and I thought, Hey, this is just like home.




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"Any Day is Good for Stock Car Racing"
Andy DeNardi
@andy-denardi
10 years ago
365 posts
I disagree. She's on a team with good cars and management. She's excellent at saving the car. Mechanically that is, she still runs into a lot of things. Put those things together at Daytona or Talledaga and she has a chance. I agree with Chase that Petty's own drivers are nothing to crow about and think that his Fords are worse than SHR's Chevys.Like many in the series, in a good car, Danica is a solid mid-pack driver that can rack up a few top ten finishes. The problem that everyone has with her is that she's over-promoted. Coming off years of over-promotion for Junior, there's a backlash against Danica that you don't have against most mid-level drivers.I have a strong feeling that she won't hang around if she doesn't win a race this year. She'll run 2015, because NBC wants her viewers and she'll want to make it look like she's not running away. I doubt that she wants to be a parent, but if she says she does then it will allow her to sneak away quietly.I think it's time for Richard to walk away too. He's my favorite and it would be difficult to watch a race without the 43, but we've already lost Petty blue and may as well go all the way. It;'s been thirty years since that name was important. It's going to end sometime so it's best to pick your moment. If I were him, I'd make next year's Daytona 500 the last race for the team. Put a HUGE engine in the #43, paint the car blue, and win the race. I guarantee that NASCAR will not say a word. Brian would be selling used cars if it weren't for the Petty family.
william ellis williams
@william-ellis-williams
10 years ago
19 posts

Kyle also said the same about Danika, like a lot of drivers if she got the right combo with a crew chief and a good car and was turned loose she could move up. not to say she has a bad team now but sometimes a driver and team just doesn;t jel. like a pro sports team, she has the guts and has taken some bad crashes that match any other driver and wasn't shaken up.she can handle her own on the road courses too when some butt hole doesn't take her out.

william ellis williams
@william-ellis-williams
10 years ago
19 posts

you know back in the day, I was there at richards time. befor he and linda were married. they rode to the races with mom and dad in the 4 door chrystler. any way my point is the driver was involved with the team,working on the car, in the pits, you would see richard pulling gas cans from the gas station in a petty blue wagon to the pits. around the car and team all the time. now the drivers just show up do interviews on tv,socialize with others do some tests but otherwise probably couldnt change plugs if they had to. half the drivers built the cars they drove. drivers that cam comunicate with their crew chief what the car needs is a great help.

Tim Leeming
@tim-leeming
10 years ago
3,119 posts

What Petty said actually made the NBC National news tonight. Brian Williams entitled it "trouble in the NASCAR family". I am assuming Richard just lost his garage pass for Daytona. Can't say anything negative about her. Ask Jeremy Clements about expressing a negative opinion about another driver, ESPECIALLY Sparkle Pony.




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What a change! It's been awhile since I've checked in and I'm quite surprised. It may take me awhile to figure it our but first look it's really great.

TMC Chase
@tmc-chase
10 years ago
4,073 posts

Ha! "trouble in the NASCAR family" Riiight.

Can just hear King now: "She ain't my kin" as he puts in a fresh dip, smiles and signs another autograph.

Actually, I have no objection to DP per se. What I object to is folks putting her on a loftier pedestal than what she has earned. Yes, I'm talking to you ESPN, FOX, AP, Yahoo Sports, etc. - the very folks who are PAID to objectively cover this sport.




--
Schaefer: It's not just for racing anymore.
Tim Leeming
@tim-leeming
10 years ago
3,119 posts

Rant on Chase! Well said.




--
What a change! It's been awhile since I've checked in and I'm quite surprised. It may take me awhile to figure it our but first look it's really great.

Russell Rector
@russell-rector
10 years ago
80 posts

It's refreshing to see someone in the NASCAR family speak the TRUTH instead of what NASCAR wants them to say.My hats off to Richard and Kyle on saying what they really feel about Danica's driving ability.

Tim Leeming
@tim-leeming
10 years ago
3,119 posts

Amen, Brother Russell.




--
What a change! It's been awhile since I've checked in and I'm quite surprised. It may take me awhile to figure it our but first look it's really great.