“Go tell that 77 that he’s done that same f—— move 10 times.” Kyle Busch’s impassioned reactions after the 2025 Ambetter Health 400 had little to no impact. Carson Hocevar, driver of the No. 77 Chevrolet, managed to upset Busch, Ryan Blaney, and Ross Chastain with his aggression. Post-race, he put on a smug face and passed the lightest of apologies. And Kyle Petty, a NASCAR veteran, knows where this nonchalance has its roots.

Drivers in NASCAR have grown up in various kinds of environments. Ranging from dirt midgets to virtual racing simulations, they have honed their craft diversely. But what bugs Kyle Petty is the digital way of grabbing one’s racing excellence – as the virtual world lacks empathy and serious repercussions off-track associated with actions on-track.

A ‘fairy tale vs reality’ situation in NASCAR

Many racers in the younger spectrum of NASCAR grew up playing games. For instance, Bubba Wallace’s mentee and Craftsman Truck Series driver, Rajah Caruth, grew up watching races on TV and YouTube while playing NASCAR video games. While most of his competitors had access to Go-Karts, Caruth resorted to iRacing. The 2024 Las Vegas race winner was not alone – 14-time Cup Series race winner William Byron was a fellow iRacing gamer, too. So, individuals like Caruth and Byron have found their way into NASCAR via gaming. They got in touch with ground reality much later. Although these two drivers are not known for aggression, their peers are.

According to Kyle Petty, these youngsters’ access to digital racing is the root of the problem! In a recent ‘Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour’ episode, the 9-time Xfinity Series race winner outlined his theory. “I see drivers now like Kyle – they grew up on video games. They grow up just crashing something and walking away from it. They don’t have to show up with money to put it back together…got no skin in the game…know when the race is over with, if I wreck you, I can text you, I can tweet you, or I can have my wife call you.” 

Kyle Petty also blamed the overall atmosphere that is encouraged in the sport. NASCAR has been known for fender-banging trouble for decades, with witty yet aggressive taglines. Petty continued: “We’ve heard all the taglines – ‘Rubbin’ is Racing’, ‘I’ll wreck my mama’, and all that…When you hear all that when you’re 12 or 13, you believe it by the time you get in that car…Nobody tells these kids at 12 or 13 – RESPECT! Respect your equipment, respect that other driver, and respect his ability. If you race him that way, he’s going to race you that way.” Even Kyle Petty’s father was many a time embroiled in controversy.

The conflicts between Richard Petty and Cale Yarborough have been legendary. For instance, the last-lap brawl at the 1979 Daytona 500 has not left fans’ memories since. Yet Petty Sr. and Yarborough knew the consequences of their actions: “You think Cale Yarborough ever called up my dad and said, ‘Hey, sorry I kicked your ass.’ No! That’s what it was about, man. (If) You get somebody a lap down, you keep them a lap down. Your goal is to keep everybody a lap down – that was the point. Kill or be – that’s the way it was.”

Kyle Petty has always been a vocal proponent of balanced and calm racing. He had the same opinion 15 years ago when a particular driver highlighted NASCAR’s carefree approach.

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Tipping over the line

We all know when the safety standard began in NASCAR. In February 2001, Dale Earnhardt Sr.’s tragic accident in Daytona threw the spotlight on driver safety. But immediately prior to this incident, Kyle Petty’s own son succumbed to it.

In early 2000, Adam Petty was also killed in a wreck during practice at New Hampshire International Speedway. The memory of his son’s tragedy has haunted Petty ever since. Yet, NASCAR took time to accept the full gravity of the situation. In 2010, NASCAR’s former Vice President of Competition, Robert Pemberton, apparently said, “Boys, have at it and have a good time.” This carefree attitude accordingly led to chilling consequences.

During a Sprint Cup race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Carl Edwards wreaked havoc in retaliation. He intentionally drove his No. 99 Ford into the rear quarter panel of Brad Keselowski’s No. 12 Dodge. The latter got airborne and could have injured not only the driver but also the fans. Kyle Petty vehemently called for NASCAR to suspend Edwards. “This was a blatant, flagrant foul, and he ought to be parked. He shouldn’t show up at Bristol, and that’s just my opinion.” Keselowski also expressed his concern for the fans. “If they’re going to allow people to intentionally wreck each other at tracks this fast, we will hurt someone either in the cars or the grandstands. It’s not cool to intentionally wreck somebody at 195 miles an hour.”

Evidently, Kyle Petty’s concerns about road rage are nothing new. Thankfully, NASCAR shares his very valid concerns, although nothing can be done about digital-age drivers.