“It’s like running in a tunnel”: Richard Petty drops a blunt take on NASCAR’s ‘handicapped’ racing format

Richard Petty shared his take on the NASCAR street races, and slammed them with the term "handicapped." The former NASCAR driver, in a recent interview, criticized the format and stated that street races are not road races.

Petty, a seven-time Cup Series champion, recently sat with his son Kyle Petty, and Dale Inman to discuss everything about NASCAR. Speaking about the sport, especially the recently concluded Chicago Street Race, Petty mentioned that it isn't a format he loves "at all."

Petty's comment has come amid NASCAR's effort to introduce multiple track layouts in the sport, including road courses. The most recent ones are the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez and Chicago Street Course races.

"No, I don't. Not at all," Richard Petty said in the Petty Family Racing podcast on YouTube. "Yeah. Not at all. I just think street racing is not road racing. It's a completely different deal because when they had that big wreck and stuff, there was just room for three or four cars to go down through there."

"But you know, it's like running in a tunnel. You know what I mean? It's like run the backstretch of do. Well, yeah. More. Think about it. Think about it. Yeah. You feel like you you're, you're handicapped. You can't go anywhere. There's no escape. Yeah. And most of the road races, they might have one corner tight, but they just a bunch of tight places up there where you really can't race anybody," he further added. (7:56-8:35)

NASCAR currently has six non-oval races per season, and Chicago Street Race stands as the only road course track. The other races take place on the traditional oval tracks.

---

Richard Petty called for a change in NASCAR's playoff rules

Richard Petty is unimpressed with NASCAR's current playoff format, and the seven-time Cup Series winner recently addressed the subject. Speaking in an interview, here's what the former driver said:

Richard Petty (L) and his son Kyle Petty pose on the red carpet prior to the 2025 NASCAR Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony - Source: Getty

"From the standpoint that you got somebody like you say that's 30th in the points, that's gonna make the playoffs. "Hey man, what happened to the guy that's 15th or 16th or 18th? You know, been running good everywhere, finished good everywhere? "You're making a championship situation by winning a road course, which is not really NASCAR to begin with."

Richard Petty's statement came after Shane van Gisbergen won the Mexico City Cup race, which was not an oval race. As a result, he qualified for the playoffs and will compete for the title. Notably, SVG has been struggling on ovals throughout the season, and so, his qualification over drivers above him in the championship standings raised a concern for the 88-year-old.