Advertisement

NASCAR's Danica Patrick brushes off Richard Petty swipe

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., Feb. 13 (UPI) -- NASCAR driver Danica Patrick said Thursday she's "not going to judge" Hall of Famer Richard Petty's assertion she would likely never win a Sprint Cup race.

Petty said last week Patrick -- the circuit's only female driver -- would only win a race on NASCAR's top series "if everybody else stayed home."

Advertisement

But Patrick refused to criticize Petty in comments at the Daytona 500 media day.

"You know, people have said things in the past and they will say things in the future. I still say the same thing and that's that everybody is entitled to their own opinion," she said. "People are going to judge what he said and I'm just not going to."

Patrick said the swipe from NASCAR's all-time winningest driver didn't affect her.

"Really it's more about my belief that everyone can have their own opinion and it has nothing to do with where it comes from," she said.

"I really feel that I like people who have opinions. That is fine with me. It creates such great conversation. The last time someone said something that wasn't so positive for me, it spawned so many positive articles. So for me, there is a positive side to it, too."

Advertisement

Patrick, 31, finished eighth in last year's Dayton 500. Before moving to the NASCAR circuit, she took third in the 2009 Indianapolis 500 and won the 2008 Indy Japan 300.

Latest Headlines