WATCH: Richard Petty Predicted the Decline of NASCAR After It Copied NBA, NFL & Became a “Small Fish in a Big Pond”

Fans have debated whether playoffs are good ever since NASCAR introduced the system in 2004. But, The King, Richard Petty, was on the other end of the spectrum.

Of course, the fans still question the playoff system of winning the Cup Series Championship. But, the seven-time Cup Series Champion was against the move from the beginning.

In fact, he even predicted the decline of NASCAR as soon as they made the big announcement in January 2004.

Petty said, “NASCAR racing got where it’s at because we did things different than other people. We had a different ball game in town. We did not have playoffs, we didn’t have drafts, we didn’t have they had so we got where we’re at because of that.”

Of course, NASCAR racing differs greatly from any other motorsport. The King isn’t wrong about that. And we recognize it for the unique racing. However, it is also true that the lines have gotten blurred over the years.

He added, “We are jumping right in the swimming pool with everybody else, so we’re going to be a small fish in a big pond.”

Of course, Richard might be right since they took the playoff system from other sporting series. While the aerodynamic features which include drafting are prominent in all other motorsports, including formula one.

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But, what do you think? Did the playoffs really cause the decline? Or does it make NASCAR even better?

Whatever the answer may be, playoffs are now the reality of NASCAR, and we can’t change that. Fortunately for The King, he’s happy with the progress of his Cup Series team!

Richard Petty Thinks Petty GMS Is Going In The Right Direction

Irrespective of what Richard Petty thinks about the playoff system, it seems to treat his team well. And he’s quite happy with the progression of Petty GMS racing!

Petty told FOX News, “We’re a lot better off this year than we were last year.”

He added, “You’ve got to figure when one team gets involved with another team, it takes a little while to get everybody on the same page.”

“So it’s taken us probably about half a year to sort of get everybody to understand both sides of the team, and this team is coming together.”

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It’s great that Petty GMS is doing well, and their performance surely is proof of that. Will we see a driver of the team win a race anytime soon?