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NASCAR Hall of Famer Kyle Petty approves of what has been the first half of the 2022 Cup Series season. The seventh generation of Cup Series stock cars, better known as the 'Next Gen' cars, made their debut this year with many question marks over how one of the biggest rule changes in the sport will affect racing on track.
After witnessing 17 points-awarding races and two exhibition-style events so far, the community's reactions have been unanimously positive. The introduction of the new era of Cup cars has seen bigger 18-inch wheels and tires coupled with altered aerodynamics which aid close-quarters racing by decreasing dirty air. The concept proved its mettle by equalizing the field where the difference in pace between the front runners and the back markers was constantly on the rise.
In his post-racing career as a NASCAR analyst for various networks, Kyle Petty was all for change and made his thoughts clear post the Toyota/Save Mart 350 weekend at Sonoma Raceway. The 62-year-old spoke about the parity the Next Gen cars have bought for the sport in an interview with sportscasting.com and said:
“The rise and the competitiveness of Trackhouse, of GMS Petty Motorsports, of Front Row Motorsports, teams that we haven’t seen run up front and have started winning races, not Hendrick, not Gibbs, not those types of teams. We’re talking teams that were 15th– and 20th-place teams last year and are now running in the top five and top 10 and winning races.”
The 350-mile-long race at the Sonoma Raceway saw three teams take the top-3 spots as NASCAR winded down for an off-weekend before heading off to Nashville Superspeedway for the Ally 400. Petty elaborated on the results on the road course and said:
“Trackhouse ran first at Sonoma. RFK Racing, the Roush Fenway and Keselowski team went second at Sonoma, and Front Row ran third. Three powerhouse teams (but) names we didn’t even know were around last year, right? First, second, third.”
Watch the complete interview below:
Kyle Petty Charity Ride gives away hat signed by Kyle and Richard Petty
Eight-time NASCAR Cup Series winner Kyle Petty's charity efforts in the form of the Kyle Petty Charity Ride gave away a 26th-anniversary hat to a fan who wished to have a piece of NASCAR memorabilia. The official announcement came in the form of a Twitter post by the charity organization, with the winner being revealed on June 28 at 6:00 pm EST.
Fans entered the giveaway by following the organization's official Twitter handle and retweeting the post above. Rene Douglas, a US Army veteran from Kansas, was randomly selected as the winner and got to take the hat home.
