Richard Petty’s son, Kyle Petty, recently responded to the criticism he faced on social media for his comments on the NextGen car. He wants NASCAR fans and insiders to view the Next Gen car as part of the sport’s evolution, not as something ruining it.Kyle Petty recently came to the rescue of NASCAR, terming the promotion of the Next Gen car as a giant step towards the current racing cars that have become much more antiquated. He emphasized that since 2001, NASCAR has sought to run ahead to make its cars more equal and safer by reducing horsepower and paring off parts and equipment. Petty equated that the Next Gen car is not a regular stock car and asked fans to accept the new system. He also emphasized that technology in the racing field continually and procedurally develops and that this car model prepares the way to greater achievements.In a video shared on his X account on Thursday, August 14, Kyle Petty responded to the uproar his comments about the NextGen received and said:"Just like a Formula One car is a Formula One car, this is a NASCAR. So when you look at it, that's what we have and it's not the entire problems. Although everybody in the grandstands and everybody wants to point their finger and say, it's the next-gen's fault. It's not the next-gen's fault.""There's a lot of issues that need to be addressed. Not only the car. You guys listen because the drivers complain and rightfully so. If they don't like it, they should have a voice and they should complain. But at the same time, they're still putting on racing every Sunday and they're putting on some pretty dang good racing every Sunday, if you ask me," he added.Petty was upset with of the critics, such as Dale Earnhardt Jr., among others, who lamented over the car and said that the racing is already giving them marvellous events on the racetrack and will keep on improving with time. Petty defended allegations that the Next Gen car is not a stock car by arguing that the sport has not been racing stock cars, in their true form, since the late 1950s and that the car in modern use is what NASCAR considers stock car racing. The former NASCAR driver also put into context the backlash as an evolution in the sport, just like other changes that had taken place in the past in terms of technology, like the transition to tubular chassis and radial tires that at first were criticized but then adopted later.Martin Truex Jr.’s title-winning crew chief fires back at Kyle Petty’s NextGen verdictMartin Truex Jr.'s former crew chief, Cole Pearn, strongly criticized Kyle Petty's defense of the NASCAR Next Gen car, questioning the latter's claim that the car represents a significant technological leap forward. Pearn highlighted that the car is actually about 600 pounds heavier than previous models and lacks the durability and precision expected from a modern race car. Pearn took to X on August 12, writing:"What the f**k kind of advanced tech is on that car, it’s like 600 pounds heavier. Gimme a V8 supercar that won’t bend in half in the corners at Dover is all they ordered and then said it’s ok to take the body off to change the fuel cell."The 65-year-old Kyle Petty won eight races from his 829 NASCAR Cup Series starts from 1979 to 2008.