For all those who wondered if Richard Petty would be bothered by the arrival of Jimmie Johnson to Petty GMS Motorsports, which led to the Petty name being completely erased from NASCAR, as Legacy Motor Club took its first breath, well, that was true. The King is disappointed. And not just because the name has changed.
But because of the dynamics in his team, his role, and his extent of involvement too, seem to have taken a backseat with Johnson’s comeback.
According to AP, Petty recently opened up on the “strange” state he is in within LMC as of late. “Most of the time, I ran the majority of the show. Jimmie brought all his people in. His way of running things and my way of running things are probably a little bit different,” he described.
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“We probably agree on about 50% of what it really comes down to.”
As for if he’s bothered by the younger seven-timer’s superior role to him, the elder seven-timer, Petty admitted, “Yes,” it bothers him.
He claimed that Johnson’s team, while they haven’t taken over “the racing part,” they now run “the front office” in things such as sponsorships, media appearances, and more.
“Jimmie’s crowd is kind of controlling that. That’s something I never had to put up with, I guess,” Petty added.
NASCAR fans strangely side with Jimmie Johnson after Petty’s complaints
Despite Petty being—without a doubt—the face of NASCAR’s past, what it represents, and arguably what it is today, his complaints with his new partner Jimmie Johnson seemed to not go over well with the fans.
In fact, most of them took Johnson‘s side and claimed that while the old-timer remained as classy as ever in his comments, what Johnson is bringing to the table in the name of ‘change’, is what his team not only should’ve done much, much earlier, but it’s also something they need to go forward.
That is honestly one of the most heartbreaking, but at the same time reassuring things that the organization is in good hands
— Mark Parsons (@nchuntingvlog) February 18, 2023
Every king has to give up the throne eventually
— 86 (@noreturnfrom86_) February 18, 2023
You know, at some point, it's ok to retire, then just hang out at the track and have fun on the weekends. I'm a Petty fan, but he's getting a little old.
— APXTMartin (@APXTMartin) February 18, 2023
No offense to the King but running the business side of a cup team was never his thing he relied to heavy on family and left a wake of losing other people’s money. Not going to happen in this deal which is great. He is a great ambassador for the sport.
— Chad Clark (@ChadCsquared) February 18, 2023
Jimmie has lent new life to the team instead of continuing the same path of no change that petty had since 1980. Plus since petty enterprises ended, Petty's actual involvement was basically nil,
— 🏳️⚧️ Nattiepuff 🔞 (@nattiepuff) February 18, 2023
Changes should have happened in 1980. The biggest problem with any team that use to have success is unwillingness to keep moving forward. Change has to happen or your left behind
— Brian J. Devereaux (@bdeve9) February 18, 2023
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Johnson responds to Richard Petty’s comments
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After Richard Petty expressed his feelings of being upset with a lot of things after Johnson’s arrival, the former Hendrick Motorsports driver claimed he was “disappointed” over Petty choosing to discuss these things publically rather than privately.
“He’s not expressed them to me, for starters,” Johnson said. “Honestly, there are a lot of moving pieces to this. There are business decisions that are taking place between Mr. Gallagher and the Petty family before I ever arrived. Those are details that are just not my place to say.”
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“But a lot of what Richard is speaking to is based on business decisions that he and his family have made and they aren’t relative to my involvement.”
It’d be interesting to see how this ‘feud’ between the two of the greatest develops going forward. There’s no doubt that Legacy Motor Club, with the names involved in the office and on the track, is one of the most promising teams in NASCAR today.
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But could this conflict affect their performances and their future?