Richard Petty Slams NASCAR’s 'Handicapped' Racing Format

NASCAR is expanding. The stock car series has constantly brought in new tracks to diversify the calendar. Street races are becoming a major part of the sport. The Chicago Street Race was added two years ago. However, the race had divided opinions despite some exciting on-track action. Now, NASCAR veteran Richard Petty has hit out at the nature of the track.

The Chicago Street Race is considered as a Road Course by NASCAR. Though, traditionally, road courses are conventional racing tracks, featuring prominent run-off areas and curbs. On the other hand, street circuits take place on public roads with tight walls and no margin for error.

This certainly presents a challenge for NASCAR drivers who are used to racing in superspeedways. In such a scenario, drivers like Shane van Gisbergen, who dominated the V8 Supercars series stand out from the rest of the field. The Australian driver won both the Cup and Xfinity Series races last weekend.

Richard Petty recently expressed his dissatisfaction over street races. The former NASCAR star made it clear that such tracks cannot be considered as road courses, with a completely different style of racing. Petty recalled that once a driver wrecks their car in a street track like Chicago, there is almost no room for other cars to continue.

This can indeed become a major safety hazard, as was the case last weekend. Cody Ware crashed into the barriers in Chicago, with NASCAR failing to bring the caution out on time. Luckily, all drivers managed to stay clear of the RWR car.

No, I don’t. Not at all. 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.

Richard Petty said on Petty Family Racing podcast .

The 88-year-old claimed that racing at the Chicago track was like being inside a tunnel with no space for mistakes, or any room for other drivers. So much so, Richard Petty asserted that the street circuit ‘handicapped’ drivers with no way to escape if things went wrong.

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. 

Richard Petty added.

Richard Petty declares lack of ‘racing’ at street circuits in NASCAR

Street Circuits are known to be narrow. These tracks are built on public roads, and this severely limits the space for the tarmac. This poses a challenge not only for keeping the car on-track, but even when it comes to overtaking. Formula 1’s iconic Monaco GP is infamous for its lack of overtaking, as cars are simply far too wide to make it past one another in the narrow lanes.