NASCAR and Formula One are probably the biggest motorsport series in the world. But the two are vastly different. High-powered stock cars zooming around oval circuits as Yankee fans holler on the grandstands—this is the perfect picture of a NASCAR race. On the other hand, F1 features high-speed, precision-based open-wheel racing with a turbocharged V6 engine with the utmost diverse schedule. Yet NASCAR legend Richard Petty may once have tried to break down the barriers.

At 87 years old, Petty is yet to cease his involvement with motorsport. That includes not just NASCAR but international series as well. Richard Petty recently attended the 2024 Goodwood Festival of Speed, being part of the racing royalty group. And another icon in this elite group revealed why Petty never ventured into F1.

Richard Petty’s measuring tape got in the way

There is hardly a racer in NASCAR who can match up to Richard Petty’s glory. Ever since the veteran driver got behind the wheel in 1958, he oozed gold. “The King” has raked up a whopping 200 race wins and seven championships at a time when Cup cars were devoid of any of the massive safety inputs present today. Petty’s Formula One counterpart, who also faced a dangerous time in the European motorsport, revealed an interesting yet funny side to the legend.

While the Duke of Richmond hosted the greatest race cars ever made on his 1.2-mile-long driveway, Goodwood also featured some heartfelt interactions. Richard Petty met with his old friend, Sir Jackie Stewart, three-time F1 World Champion (1969, 1971, 1973). The lively encounter between the two motorsport icons was a thing to witness. Stewart looked gushing with emotions as he praised Petty: “The best of them all.”

Yet Richard Petty retorted right back, speaking highly of his 27-time winning F1 counterpart as per the Petty Family’s Goodwood Finale video shared on the Petty Family Racing on YT. “I just tried to keep up with him.” The confluence of the best of both worlds must have been dazzling, so the press could not help but ask Stewart, “You said you tried to get him into Formula One?” Then both Stewart and Petty were tickled, and the former got into a jesty mood. He playfully cited Petty’s towering stature: “Yeah, sure! I think I could get him in now but he is too tall.”

Richard Petty had never officially ventured into Formula One, concentrating his star-studded endeavors in NASCAR. Right when his father, Lee Petty, disputed and invalidated his 1959 win at Lakewood till his retirement in 1992, Petty was an inspiration to several generations of NASCAR drivers. Once, he showcased his incredible prowess to Stewart when the two were in their prime.

When Richard Petty tried to lure Stewart

Sir Jackie Stewart is usually known for his decorated accomplishments in F1, which led to Queen Elizabeth II knighting him in 2001. However, the “Wee Scott” also ventured into American racing. Stewart drove in two Indianapolis 500s but came within just a few laps of finishing first and second. He dropped out while leading with only nine laps to go in 1966 (as Rookie of the Year) and ran just behind Parnelli Jones and eventual winner A.J. Foyt when his engine failed at 168 laps in 1967. But Stewart also appeared for NASCAR but as a commentator.

As a commentator on ABC’s Wide World of Sports, he covered the Daytona 500 race in 1974, interviewing Richard Petty. But that was not all—Petty took Stewart out for a lap on Darlington Raceway in 1973, trying to teach him the difficulty of driving there. He explained to Stewart: “There’s a little bit of all colors, but there’s a whole lot of blue on this track. I’ve been running here about 13 or 14 years, and this is the kind of place where you don’t never learn because the track changes probably more than any race track we run on. I’ve had quite a few brushes with the wall.”

Well, in a way, you could say Richard Petty also tried to rope in the F1 legend into NASCAR, right? Even after so many years, their repeat encounter feels nothing short of breathtaking for us racing fans.