NASCAR legend Richard Petty has irked millions of fans across the country by bashing ever-popular female driver Danica Patrick. While making an appearance at a trade show in Canada, Petty said the only way Patrick could win the Daytona 500 was "if everybody else stayed home."
The NASCAR all-time wins leader is now being labeled a sexist for picking on Patrick, who is in her second year competing for the Sprint Cup, and he's fighting back against those accusations.
"What I said is what I said, and that's what I believe, OK?" Petty said, implying his comments reflected his opinion on her talent regardless of gender. "What's unfair is the sexist part. If her name had been Danny, OK, nobody would have said anything about it. So y'all are bringing up the sexist part of it, not me."
Petty used a personal example to prove his lack of bias. "It was definitely not sexist, OK? Hey look, I've been married 55 years to the same woman. So I am not a sexist by any ways. I love women."
Petty furthered defended his statements, saying the furor he caused is good for NASCAR. He then implied that Patrick's fame is derived from being the only woman in the Sprint Cup, which might jettison him from hot water to a boiling pot. He insinuated that the attention she receives is a boon to NASCAR, but in such a way that it could be interpreted as a backhanded compliment.
"If she'd have been a male, nobody would ever know if she'd showed up at a racetrack. ... This is a female deal that's driving her. There's nothing wrong with that, because that's good PR for me. More fans come out, people are more interested in it. She has helped to draw attention to the sport, which helps everybody in the sport," Petty said.
"There was nothing going on NASCAR racing. Nobody was talking about Daytona," he said. "Nobody was talking about nothing. Look at all the publicity NASCAR got and she got just for one little comment."
Patrick chose the high road in her response to Petty. "People have said things in the past, they're going to say things in the future," Patrick said. "I still say the same thing: Everyone's entitled to their own opinion. People will judge what he said, whether they judge it well or not, and I'm just not going to (judge)."
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