Until the 2010s, NASCAR drivers were known by their fan-given titles more than their actual names. From ‘King’, ‘Intimidator’ to ‘Smoke’, there were many drivers like Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt, or Tony Stewart who rocked the sport like never before with their stardom. But why can’t this be found in the current generation? This is something Richard Petty observed very carefully, as he went on to share a damning verdict that upset him.
King Petty breaks down the lack of stardom in NASCAR
In a recent interview with Forbes, the King, who has 200 Cup Series wins, shed light on the lack of star power among the current generation of drivers. Even though Kyle Larson, Joey Logano, or Bubba Wallace are quite popular, they have yet to make it as magnanimous as the Pettys, Earnhardts, or Waltrips.
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“When Cup races started in 1949, the fans who came were Chevrolet, Ford, and Chrysler people,” Petty said. “There really weren’t any big driver names. But then you had Fireball Roberts, Junior Johnson, and those guys who carried the thing for say, 10 years. Then the Pearsons, the Allisons, the Bakers, the Yarboroughs, and the Pettys came along. After that was the Darrell Waltrip, Dale Earnhardt, Sr., Jeff Gordon, and Jimmie Johnson period.”
Following this, the 88-year-old veteran highlighted how the current drivers failed to continue the momentum and make it larger than life. He then compared it to the fox and dogs situation — similar to the David versus Goliath story.
“Right now, we’re really hurting, looking for somebody to break out of the crowd.” Pretty said. With this, Petty dropped the huge claim, “We have no fox for all of the dogs to chase. It’s a multitude of drivers racing against each other with no front-runner, nobody dominant, the first time in all of the transitions to different eras we have had this.”
NASCAR, Motorsport, USA NASCAR Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony Feb 7, 2025 Charlotte, NC, USA Former NASCAR drivers Richard Petty shows off custom vest with his son Kyle Petty on the red carpet before the 2025 NASCAR Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony at Charlotte Convention Center Crown Ballroom.
Notably, Richard Petty, Cale Yarborough, Bobby Allison passed the torch to Dale Earnhardt, Darrell Waltrip, and then it came down to Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, and Tony Stewart.
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The only drivers with a formidable fan base are Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin, both nearing the end of their careers. Compared to them, the dominant drivers these days, such as Ryan Blaney, Tyler Reddick, or Joey Logano, don’t stand at that level where they can make the sport synonymous with their name.
The primary reason could be an extraordinary performance that failed to stand out among the sport’s fans despite having social media at their disposal.
On top of that, almost all the cars have equal horsepower and performance level due to the Next Gen cars. This limits their power to overshadow one another and come out as invincible. The situation remains the same even if a driver has as many as eight popular driver awards.
Is Chase Elliott the next big NASCAR star?
Despite having eight back-to-back awards in the Most Popular NASCAR Driver category and a Cup Series Championship, Chase Elliott has yet to reach Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt or Jeff Gordon’s level. Though he has a formidable fan base, it’s not enough to make him larger than life.
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“I feel like I have some of the best fans that you can have, and the most passionate too,” Elliott said of his fans. “I think all those things carry a lot of weight in their own way. I was just trying to show my appreciation and my gratitude towards the people that obviously took the time to vote and take time out of their day to do that.”
With Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin’s retirements, NASCAR is likely to miss out on the last of the stars until the likes of Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, Joey Logano, or Ryan Blaney step up.
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