"This is a female deal that’s driving her": When Richard Petty gave his unfiltered take on Danica Patrick’s NASCAR popularity

NASCAR's most decorated champion, Richard Petty, made headlines in February 2014 for his scathing remark about Danica Patrick's capabilities behind the wheel. The seven-time Cup champion said she'd win the race only 'if everyone else stayed home' days before the season-opening Daytona 500.

Patrick, amid her second full-time Cup Series season with Stewart-Haas Racing, was a marketing phenomenon since her open-wheel days. At the height of 'Danica Mania,' Patrick was still building her stock car credentials. Her entry into NASCAR showed flashes of promise, like her 2013 Daytona 500 pole and top-10 finish. But consistency was elusive.

Danica Patrick ahead of the 2014 Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Source: Imagn

And in Richard Petty's view, that wasn't enough to justify the attention. Speaking at the Canadian Motorsports Expo in Toronto in February 2014, he said (via Indy Star):

"If she'd have been a male, nobody would ever know if she'd showed up at a race track. This is a female deal that's driving her. There's nothing wrong with that, because that's good PR for me. More fans come out, people are more interested in it. She has helped to draw attention to the sport, which helps everybody in the sport."

Petty argued that Patrick led a shift in NASCAR, which moved away from pure racing toward a marketing-driven entertainment. Richard Petty's remarks dominated the Daytona media day conversation. But Patrick, no stranger to criticism, handled the moment with poise.

"People have said things in the past and they will say things in the future. I still say the same thing: everybody is entitled to their own opinion. People are going to judge what he said, and I'm just not going to... I really feel that I like people who have opinions. That is fine with me. It creates such great conversation… there's a positive side to it, too," she told NASCAR.

She emphasized her focus remained on performance, not punditry. At the time, her best Cup finish remained her eighth at the 2013 Daytona 500 - a result she hoped to improve in the future.

Patrick would eventually finish 40th in the 2014 Daytona 500 and find three top-ten finishes that year. She would continue to race full-time at SHR for four more years.

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Richard Petty's views on women in racing trace back to 1976

Grand Marshall, Maureen Reagan, with Richard Petty (L) and Bobby Allison at Nashville in 1984. Source: Imagn

Long before Danica Patrick, Janet Guthrie broke NASCAR's gender barrier in the 1970s. She became the first woman to race in the Indy 500 as well as the Daytona 500. Yet, Richard Petty, then in his prime, wasn't supportive of women's participation in motorsports.

"I just don't think it's a sport for women. And so far, it's proved out. It's really not. It's good for them to come in. It gives us a lot of publicity, it gives them publicity," he was quoted as saying at the time by Associated Press (via ESPN in 2006).

Guthrie wrote in her memoir, Janet Guthrie: A Life at Full Throttle:

"When I shook hands with Richard Petty, I thought I'd get frostbite."

While Petty admired Guthrie for her persistence, he doubled down on his belief:

"I've still not changed my mind about women racing. She came in just as herself and done a decent job… but as far as being a real true racer, making a living out of it, it's kind of tough," Petty added.

Despite decades of progress and visible female talent in NASCAR's development pipelines, Petty's views remained largely unchanged.

Janet Guthrie after qualifying for the Indianapolis 500 in 1977. Source: Imagn

Drivers like Hailie Deegan, Toni Breidinger have carved out their own space, despite obstacles. Danica Patrick, meanwhile, may not have earned a Cup Series win, but her impact remains undeniable.