Kyle Petty claims Chase Elliott and other drivers in the playoff bubble can race ‘without respect’ in the upcoming two races
Kyle Petty has been a harsh critic of dis-respectable racing this season, and his recent comments are a big surprise.
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Chase Elliott and Kyle Petty (Credits: IMAGO)
Former NASCAR driver and NBC Sports analyst Kyle Petty has claimed that the players in the playoff bubble can race without respect in the remaining races in the regular season. Two more races are left in the 2023 regular season; the Road Course event at Watkins Glen and the finale at Daytona International Speedway.
The lack of respect and the Next-Gen car-prompted hyper-aggressive racing style has been a major discussion this season. With the field getting closer to every race, controlled aggression has become a major advantage for drivers in the premier division if the pace advantage doesn’t exist. But chaos can’t be controlled beyond the limit and often drives “supposedly” takes each other out, inviting negative limelight on the sport.
Veteran drivers like Kyle Busch blamed the young drivers for being hyper-aggressive. He pointed out that the junior divisions of the sport are more rewarding for aggressive drivers. Hence young drivers take an unnecessary risk at the track. Kyle Petty hasn’t minced his words while talking about such incidents through pout this season. But now he hints that the disrespect is to a limit acceptable in the playoff bubble battle.
“I don’t think that Chase Elliott, that Alex Bowman, that anybody that’s on that bubble can go in and race with any respect at all. They’ve got to disrespect everybody. William Byron, Kyle Larson can’t just pull over. But when they see that [No.] 9 or that [No.] 48 coming, if it’s in a win position, they better be ready to get the horn because they’re getting moved out of the way and it’s not going to be respectful,” Kyle Petty told NBC on Friday (H&T: ProTalk)
In case you missed it: NASCAR is reportedly in advance talks with Netflix for a docu-series on the 2023 Cup playoffs
Who are the drivers in the playoff bubble at the moment?
Thirteen drivers have secured playoff points. Former champions Brad Keselowski and Kevin Harvick have more than 100 points from the cut-off and hence are in the last 16. So, there are six drivers who have the most promising shot at making it to the playoff, and three of them can make it on points. The remaining four drivers missed the opportunity to close the gap after Michael McDowell’s win at Indy hence won’t make it on points.
Bubba Wallace currently occupies the all-important P16 position and has a 28 points advantage over Daniel Suarez at P17. At P18 is Joe Gibbs Racing rookie Ty Gibbs who, in theory, can make it to the last 16 on points, though it seems very unlikely. Suarez and Gibbs have the advantage over Wallace in Watkins Glen, while the 23XI driver is better at Daytona.
There, Chevy drivers are also looking for wins at Glen and Daytona. Hendrick Motorsports Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman are the front runners, who are 80 points off Wallace. Both drivers will have cars capable of winning in the coming two races. Kaulig Racings’ A.J. Allmendinger is another driver in the fight.
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Justin P Joy
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