Petty says Johnson-Gordon battle for title ‘not good for the sport’
Quote selected text Published November 13th, 2007 in NASCAR News
Seven-time NASCAR Cup champion Richard Petty says the battle for the 2007 title that has boiled down to a fight between Hendrick Motorsports teammates Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon isn’t ultimately good for the sport. That’s just one of the opinions about the state of the sport that he offered reporters as he sat on a picnic table outside his motorhome at Phoenix International Raceway Saturday. In addition to the title race commentary, he offered his views on what he sees as the abuse of the past champions provisional and NASCAR Chairman Brian France.
On Johnson and Gordon, Petty said having two teammates race each other for the championship “is not good for the sport.”
“If one of these drivers happened to have been [Dale Earnhardt Jr.], it might be a little different,” he said. “But when you get Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon, they’re the same - they’ve just got different names.”
Petty said any battle would have been better for fan interest - between rival teams, between manufacturers or just between drivers with different personalities.
Or, he said, if Clint Bowyer had remained in the hunt, fans might be more excited about the Chase.
“I think the fans, even if they weren’t a Clint Bowyer fan, they’d probably pull for him to beat the Hendrick deal,” he said. “Now, you’ve got nobody to beat the Hendrick deal, so everybody is down on that.”
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This Man, Pettty should be leading NASCAR !!!!! He knows the Fans and He knows Racing. !!!!!!!!
He is right on every Count…….
Yep he’s dead-on. Can’t argue with him on any of his points. It really would be nice to see NASCAR bring someone like him on as a consultant.
This coming from someone who dominated the circuit back in the day. Go get your pretty little shopped moved, Petty. Everything that happens nowadays is bad for the sport in your eyes…. and as well as everyone else it seems. Go 48.
He is 100% right. I am loseing interest more and more everyweek, with the CRAPY TV coverage and NASCARS antic’s. Moving the race to different channel due to football come on its a college game (what a joke!), or the LA fire (that was already on all the other channels here in So. Cal). With that happening NASCAR will never get the ratings they want.
A racer in charge of NASCAR it will never happen. They wouldn’t beable to fix races, throw phantom cautions for debre that you never see, or just plain change the rules from driver to driver. Just ask Robby Gordon, Tony Stewart or those guys that passed Greg Biffle under caution few weeks ago, (boy the points standings sure would be different).
Anymore its a show not a RACE. You RACE a RACE to win at all costs.
NASCAR is a joke anymore!!!!!
They are to busy playing BIG BROTHER
wah wah wah.
I’m a Dale Jr. fan, and I would have loved to have seen him in the chase. Maybe next year.
Right now, it is what it is, and Jimmie Johnson deserves this championship. They’ve had set backs all year, but they’ve overcome so many obstacles.
It probably would have been better if it were two different teams battling it out, but Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson have been the teams to beat all year. Did you really expect it to be different?
All I can say is when you’re good, you’re good.
Chad Knaus is an awesome crew chief. The whole 48 team is pretty awesome.
Luck has played a part too.
I hope some of that Hendrick’s luck rubs off on Jr. next year!
Well said, Meee!.
Petty is right I dont think ive watched a full race since the last Talladega. Sure its great for Hendrick fans and such but those who arent Hendrick fans have nothing to root for let alone care about.
Petty knows what he’s talking about
Well Duh Petty, in a perfect world we’d prefer that the top contenders would be from all different teams. I’m not saying who I
like/dislike, but I am NOT a fan of the ‘Chase’. So what if all 5 of Hendrick’s cars were the top 5 contenders????
It’s called freaking DOMINANCE. Get over it, stop watching or find interest in another sport.
Mike B. wrote:
Same here… ‘Dega sucked so badly that I think it was the breaking point for me. I check in every now and then but that’s about it. It’s football season anyhow and NASCAR usually goes down a notch on the priority list once football is going full force, but this year it’s been worse than usual. Hard to care much about NASCAR when you’re 60% sure what the outcome will be every week…
Hey Greg, you gotta admit, ever since Tony ran his mouth about the phantom cautions, I haven’t seen nearly as many as I had in the past. I don’t have as big of a sample to go off of, since I’m not watching from start to finish, but it seems like they’re way down.
RE-Knaus being a “awesome” crew chief:
I will admit-Chad is good, but how many times has he been caught cheating now?
“Phantom cautions” are down…yet the Hendrick boys are still winning! Maybe they’re winning because they’re good, and not because they need any help from NASCAR…
Chad’s good because he pushes the envelope… Sometimes pushing the envelope gives NASCAR a reason to knock a good team down.
It’s no ones fault in my opinion except for the other teams..They need to step up and start being as competitive as Hendrick Motor Sports. Give them a run for there money…I don’t care for Petty I don’t see the big hype about him. Yea he won a lot of races back in the day but dodge dominated the races, they had the best engine that out did every one else. I’m sure if he had two guys battling for the chase he wouldn’t be complaining at all.
Aimee wrote:
9 times since hes been in nascar
I just don’t see it as racing anymore. None of it…
Petty~7 time Cup Champion. I think he knows a bit more then some of the morons posting on this site. ONLY one other man has done that. If you don’t know who it is, your not a Nascar fan anyways.
Knaus being caught cheating 9 times since hes been in Nascar, has not put an end to the cheating. Thats totally obvious when you watch 24 & 48 run up front every week. There are other teams just as well funded but because they don’t cheat, they are not running up front.
Nascar should crown a real champion & not give the crown to the cheating Hendrick team.
Kara wrote:
At this point NASCAR doesnt need dominance especially when tv ratings are down and interest in general is lacking. I only bring this up from a consumer point of view who might spend money to go to a race which seems like NASCAR’s main priority. If the same person wins every week interest is not going to be there.
But then again you only have 10 top drivers in the series which is nothing like back in the 80’s-90’s when even the smallest team could compete and win, NASCAR screwed up so many things you would think they were trying to re-invent the wheel.
I didn’t say that NASCAR needed the dominance. I certainly haven’t enjoyed seeing JJ win 4 straight. I agree that ‘they’ screwed it up. But that’s what they wanted. My sentiments exactly Carlie!!!
I personally believe that some of you have miss understood what petty is trying to say! First off I dont here him whining at all, or rooting for, or against any one. he’s simply saying what a lot of other people are thinking. If your driver or team dosnt stand a chance then its good to have someone else you can pull for. Having two team mates in there batteling it out takes a lot of interest from a lot of fans. Dominance comes and goes as in any other sport. but whene it comes down to the super bowl you allways have two different teams batteling it out. Leaving options for interest!!! when you (NASCAR) loose a large fan base due to an unpopular championship battle they lose money!! bottom line, its not good for nascar, its not good for the sport..But hey you guys have a great day. And theres allways next year.”MAYBE”..
Although I’m an avid Hendrick fan–I cannot STAND Johnson yet I LOVE Jeff and this year’s chase blows, seriously.
ROB wrote:
Not just two teammates, but two guys that are basically the same guy in a different firesuit. I think if it was either Mears or Shrub, people wouldn’t do so much complaining.
I am just glad someone that matters finally said what we all are thinking!
Go King!
Yet again I still say Hendrick just needs some competition and they don’t really have it. Other teams need to step and and be there competitor. But until then Hendrick basically has total domination. It’s not their fault that their so good!
Petty may be right in the fact that it would be a more interesting championchip finish if it wasn’t Jeff and Jimmie but I don’t think it will hurt the sport as bad as he makes it seem. People complain all year that nascar is rigging the race wins. Do you really think that 4 races win in a row and 16 total wins out of 30 something is a rig. It’s not Jimmie and Jeffs falt that they are hands down the best most competitave racers on the track. In the end there will always be a winner. This year it looks to be Jimmie or maybe Jeff better luck next year if you arn’t there fans. That is just how it goes.
Brandon wrote:
Well it does help that Hendrick has pretty much unlimited funds for testing and everything.
I think what Richard is getting at, is that Jimmie and Jeff personality-wise are the same. As he said, “Same person, different name.” And the whole idea they are team mates doesn’t help it.
Now let’s say next year (when Dale Jr is with Hendrick) Jeff against Junior battling for the championship. Gordon fans, are gonna forget that Dale Jr is Jeff’s teammate, and Dale Jr fans are gonna forget that Jeff is Jr’s teammate. Because in that case it is 2 way different personalities and 2 way different fan bases.
I myself agree if the other teams want to beat Hendrick, it’s up to them to step it up..This is racing, that is how this sport works.
I think everyone’s just too critical. Or maybe the older generation fans are the
only one’s having major problems with the way the sport is. I got into Nascar
in 2001 and I love it still, and I’m not even a big fan of Jeff or Jimmie. Is it really
Nascar’s fault that Hendrick has their program perfectly setup? Of course there won’t
be any major competetion until the bigger teams such as Roush/DEI/Gibbs step it up
another notch. Next year I’m sure they will all be just as powerful with the COT.
I’m not gonna bother watch the next race. Just waiting for next year.. Looking forward to it. ALOT of changes next year. Hopefully my guy Stewart has a better year. To be on topic, I think Petty nailed it.
Richard Petty in his prime couldn’t compete with the talent today if he tried. He had cars that were waaaaay superior to his competition. Yeah, Johnson and Gordon have great equipment, but look at what he had compared to what the others during his time had. They couldn’t compete with Dodge…especially his Dodge. Just look at whenever they made all of the cars more similar back in the 80’s… He couldn’t hit on crap. He got 200 wins and after that…nothing–after years and years of racing. I guess he finally realized that he couldn’t race with others with identical equipment and retired. Funny, Jeff Gordon debuted during Petty’s last race. Petty isn’t all what he’s made out to be. In my opinon, Johnson, Gordon, Kenseth, Stewart, Kurt/Kyle Busch, and hell… even Johnny Sauter are better talents than him.
why can’t Petty lead NASCAR, He’s a racer and He knows what race fans want to see
excuses excuses excuses. when are people going to shut up with this conspiracy crap and just admit that the team with the best drivers and best sponsors and best financial backing are just kicking butt?
Seriously, you sound like two year olds who cry for no reason whatsoever.
Trey, why must you insult a man that has done more with his life than you ever had. And another thing, YOU CANNOT COMPARE ERAS.
“NO WAY” does JG and JJ have the same
personality. JJ is self centered and so arrogant.
JG is a very down to earth and humble person.
If Petty knew as much as he seems to think,
his team would be better. H—, HMS even gave
them Robbie Loomis (JG’s previous crew chief)
and he can’t even help them. Petty is just
jealous, of HMS and he or Kyle Petty have never
liked JG. I don’t care for any of the HMS drivers,
except JG, did like Kyle Busch, but now he’s
been traded. What a great mistake, to trade a
driver such as kyle, for someone that can’t
even win “ONE” race a year. Oh well, we have
tickets for “THE JIMMIE JOHNSON RACE” so
we’ll see you in Miami.
KUMA… than I ever have? So I guess he hasn’t done more with his life than you? That’s frickin’ ingorant on your part.
Can’t compare eras, eh…. I’m glad you said that. You have just proven my point.
luv24car wrote:
I think it’s the other way around.
Trey, I applaud your efforts, but it’s like trying to talk to a brick wall.
Cheat—To deceive by trickery
Loser—One who fails consistently because of incompetence
Rather be a cheater than a loser .It pays alot more
I still say,get rid of the lucky dog,get rid of the restrictor plates and let
them race. As for the “Chase”, last year it was 10 this year it was 12. Next
year what’s it going to be 13? 14? Just let all 43 drivers go for it from Datona
to Homestead.
P.C. amen to that…… Taller catch fence……go for it……
Trey wrote:
U THINK!!!!!pshhhh
Hey folks, Richard is right, and also he might not have been able to run with the younger crowd, but back then they didn’t have custom molded seats, head restraints built in the seat, fire proof suits, 300 people working in the shops building the cars(Richard built and repaired his own cars) they didn’t fly from track to track, letting others drive the equipment to the tracks, so they only have to get out of their motor homes and get into the cars, they didn’t have multi-million dollars deals that paid them money whether they win or not, etc. In short, Jeff and Jimmy and a whole bunch of the others wouldn’t or couldn’t compete with the OLD drivers, cause they are only in it for the money, and a little bit of driving. Richard used to run 40 plus races a year and drive the truck to the track, repair the wrecks and be ready to do it again…… As for the chase, scrap it! During the year, whatever place the driver crosses the start finish line, on each lap, give him that many points. Meaning if he is running 23rd, he gets 23 points, if he is 43rd, he gets 43 points, if he is 1st, he gets 1 point. Then at the end of the year, the driver with the fewest points, (meaning he ran in the top 5 most of the time) that would be your champion. You would have drivers racing to be in front, not in the back………. Maybe NASCAR should adopt this point system…..
Trey and Guest, have either of you met JG and
JJ? I’v had the opportunity of meeting both.
I’ve attended several of JG’s functions, had
conversations with him, at each of them.
NO WAY, is he arrogant and self centered.
JJ and Chad Knaus have the same personality.
That’s one of the reasons, they get along so
well. They think they are above everyone else.
I have my opinion, based on facts. You both
are entitled to your opinions. Ususally, the
same type of people, attract each other.
So?????
So… I stand by my statement.
Trey wrote:
Oh my goodness I agree fully, that’s what I’ve been trying to get at, he can not race with cars that are similar he dominated because his dodge was way better then say a chevy or ford back in the day. I think he sounds like a bitter old man.
Petty has nothing to be bitter about, hes still making lots of money because of what he did 50 years ago. He’s still regarded as one of the best drivers. He’s given years of his life to the sport. Back when he was racing he wasn’t making millions of dollars like people are today, he was in it because he loved doing it. Richard is a man of the fans and he loves them and always has, he was merely giving his opinion because he really wants fans to get their moneys worth.
can’t beleive i’m agreeing with petty but he is right same guys different names racing is so boring now i know i will not watch the award show can’t stand either of them was some how hoping clint could pull it out guess chad has gotten a little smarter hasn’t got caught for the 10th time
I’m sure JG or JJ doesn’t really care if you watch
the awards or not. I can’t beleive there is so
many jeaolus people in this world. I still say JG
and JJ aren’t alike, at all. For instance JJ said
if he were in JG’s position, last Sunday, he wouldn’t have visited JG in Victory Circle. He
said JG has that much class. Still say JJ is
arrogant and self centered. I’ll be in Miami,
this week end and hope for the best, for JG.
hasn’t gotten caught, eh? You guys are still using that joke? It’s kinda old now.
You know whats a joke? Letting Chad still be a crew chief.