NASCAR legend Richard Petty explains what defines a ‘real driver,’ and why Connor Zilisch isn’t there yet

Ahead of the World Wide Technology race, Seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Richard Petty was featured in the 12-question interview with The Athletic's Jeff Gluck. During the interview, Gluck questioned Petty about his take on stock car racing prodigy Connor Zilsch's performance in his rookie season and the latter also shared what defines a 'real driver' in the sport.

Zilisch debuted in the Xfinity Series last year with JR Motorsports, driving as a part-time driver for the team. The 19-year-old professional NASCAR driver won his debut race at Watkins Glen International. Since then, he has been paving his way up to the Cup Series. He also competes in NASCAR's top-tier racing series under Trackhouse Racing as a part-time driver, piloting the #87 Chevy Camaro ZL1 alongside Daniel Suarez and Ross Chastain.

The JR Motorsports driver has secured nine wins, 19 top-ten finishes, and seven pole positions in his two-year stint in the series. Reflecting on his remarkable performance, Richard Petty claimed to be impressed by Zilisch. However, Petty added, the young driver still has a long way to go before becoming a 'real driver.'

"I’m very impressed in what he’s doing, but he’s in the No. 1 car, OK? He’s in winning cars. So he’s expected to win. In the races when he starts first or second, he stays there. You don’t see him back in 25th, working his way through traffic. So that’s where the real drivers come in. And you know, he’s still young enough that he’s going to learn all that stuff. So long as he stays with a winning team, then he’s going to be a winner," Petty said (via The Athletic).

Richard Petty secured 200 wins, 555 top-five finishes, 712 top-ten finishes, and 123 pole positions in 1185 starts. Additionally, he led 49,920 laps with an average start of 9.5 and an average finish of 11.27.

Meanwhile, the Nu Way 200 Sauced by Blues Hog is scheduled at World Wide Technology Raceway on Saturday, September 6, 2025.

---

Mark Martin praised Richard Petty for siding with him on the current playoff system

During the same interview, Jeff Gluck questioned the former NASCAR Cup Series driver Richard Petty on his take on the current playoff format and whether he agreed with Mark Martin's idea of bringing back the old-school system to the Cup Series.

Martin spent over three decades in NASCAR's top-tier racing series and witnessed the evolution closely. However, the former star driver believes the current playoff format lacks in multiple aspects when compared to the full-season points system. Reflecting on the same, Gluck asked if Petty would prefer Martin's approach or stick with the current elimination-style format.

Richard Petty sided with Martin on bringing back the full-season points system to choose a worthy driver for the Championship title. Petty further explained:

"When they give points for leading different (stages) in the race and they give points for all this other stuff, that’s a bunch of crap, OK? If you’re sitting there and watching a football game and the team has been behind the whole game and they kick a field goal and they win the game, the guys who lost got a zero. That should be the same way in NASCAR racing. I don’t care if you lead 499 laps of a 500-lap race — if you get beat, then you’re not the winner, and you shouldn’t have any (extra) points."

Following that, Mark Martin wrote (via X):

"The King knows."

Richard Petty concluded that NASCAR has been trying to keep the sport alive with various tactics to keep up with other sports. The sanctioning body is modernizing the sport, but according to Petty, none of the efforts are working.