"I say that because no female’s ever done it" - When Richard Petty doubted Danica Patrick's potential in NASCAR

In 2009, Richard Petty gave his thoughts about former NASCAR driver Danica Patrick's possible transition from racing in IndyCar to the stock car racing world in 2010, believing that she wouldn't be able to do what no woman has ever done.

Speaking with Car and Driver magazine, The King gave his thoughts on Patrick's potential move to the Cup Series in 2010 or 2011, saying he doesn't believe she will be able to make it in the top tier of stock car racing, and offering advice on how the driver could possibly work her way up to racing against experienced Cup Series drivers.

In the interview, which was published in December of 2009, the interviewer asked Richard Petty his thoughts about whether Patrick's move within the world of racing would work for the female driver, to which he said:

"No. And I say that because no female’s ever done it. I guess there’s always a first. But there’s no way she can get out of an Indy car and race stock cars at this level. She needs to get in a car at some of the Saturday-night short tracks, beat and bash and get a little bit of a feel for it, and work her way up."

While Danica Patrick wouldn't leave racing Indy cars completely until the end of 2011, she made her NASCAR debut in the Xfinity Series in 2010. She competed in 13 races that year, driving for the Dale Earnhardt Jr.-run JR Motorsports. Patrick made her full-time Cup Series debut in 2013, driving for Stewart-Haas Racing.

The seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion elaborated further on why he believed it's hard for drivers to join NASCAR from Indy Car:

"I think it’s mind-set more than ability to drive a car. I don’t doubt that every one of the 43 drivers in a NASCAR race are good drivers. But good racers? Ain’t but six or eight who know how to race. Racers win. And good drivers—well, they’re just good drivers."

A few months after this interview, in May of 2010, Richard Petty was inducted into the first-ever class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

Richard Petty explained what he would've done differently with his career

Richard Petty checks the controls during qualifying trials for the Nashville Pepsi 420 NASCAR Grand National race at Nashville International Raceway on July 13, 1984. - Source: Imagn

The final question of the interview with Car and Driver asked The King what he would've done differently in regards to his career. A career that has seen a lot of ups, but downs as well, including a 1965 incident where Richard Petty crashed his car, during a brief stint of his career he was drag racing, which led to the death of an eight-year-old boy. The 200-time race winner has also experienced the loss of his grandson, Adam Petty, who crashed during a practice session in the year 2000.

Looking back, Petty wouldn't change a single thing:

"I’ve had a lot of down times that people don’t really know much about. Some really, really down times. But I’ve had a bunch of good times. I follow the old adage, “You pay now, or you pay later.” Life is up and down, up and down, but I try to keep it in the middle as much as I can. I don’t get too excited when I win, I don’t get too down when I lose. I don’t know of anything that I could change—I mean, yeah, there are times I know now that if I had done this or that different, I would have won that race—but that doesn’t change the philosophy. When you get down to it, I’m 72 years old, and I’m still goin’ and comin’, doin’ what I want to do. How many people are that lucky? The good Lord looked down, put me in the right place, the right circumstances, the right people—I’ve not done anything, all those people around me made it work. So no, I wouldn’t change any of it."

Throughout his career, Richard Petty also achieved 555 Top fives, as well as 712 Top 10s, and 129 pole positions.