What’s Happening?
Arguably two of the greatest driver’s in NASCAR’s history are butting heads at the former Petty GMS Racing and now Legacy Motor Club. Petty seems to have some hurt feelings over just how quickly he had been stripped of power at his old team with another 7-time champion taking the reigns.
“Jimmie controls everything,” he said during the conference. “It’s been strange to me. Most of the time, I ran the majority of the show. Jimmie brought all his people in. His way in running things and my way of running things are probably a little bit different. We probably agree on about 50 percent of what it really comes down to.”
These comments come after Jimmie bought into the organization during the offseason with intentions to run a partial schedule in the No. 84 car.
You Need to Know
- Richard Petty is one of the oldest and most celebrated car owners in NASCAR history. Through several mergers, most recently with GMS, his power in the organization had decreased over time.
- Jimmie Johnson is new to the ownership side of things and seems to be bringing a fresh perspective to the executives at the team. He will also be competing for the team in the No. 84 in Sunday’s Daytona 500, rolling off in the 28th position.
- Petty and Johnson both have large fan bases with many NASCAR fans favoring Johnson this Sunday.
Main Characters
Richard Petty is a 7-time NASCAR Cup Series Champion and 200-time race winner. Below he compares Jimmie to a rookie for his lack of experience in the NextGen car:
Most recent 7-time champion, Jimmie Johnson reacts:
Petty claims that the newly-formed Legacy Motor Club is more of Johnson’s people than his:
In The Stands
The comments from the elder 7-time champion rocked through the NASCAR world and fans didn’t hesitate to react:
Nine November has their say:
Adrean L. C. has some criticisms of Petty’s comments:
And Landon Braugh is inclined to agree:
While this Reddit user is more sympathetic to the Royalty of NASCAR:
From The Press Box
Kenny Wallace took to Twitter to comment on Petty’s comments regarding Johnson’s apparently ruthless takeover:
Josh Stewart on Twitter has his say:
Nate Ryan updates his comments:
Dustin Long reports that Petty feels “weird” about the whole mess:
Petty’s comments about Johnson has sent shockwaves through the NASCAR community. It’ll be interesting to see where things go from here.