NASCAR icon Richard Petty slams the ‘draggy’ cars after Talladega race

NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty gave a straightforward reaction to the 2025 Talladega race. Speaking alongside Cup-winning crew chief Dale Inman on the Petty Family Podcast, Petty called out the current state of superspeedway racing, branding it "not racing" due to the aerodynamic limitations of the Next Gen car.

The veteran duo lamented how the tightly packed field, fuel-saving tactics, and lack of aggressive movement dulled the Jack Link's 500.

Richard Petty felt the show lacked the fundamental ingredient of racing, the ability to race. He mentioned how a trailing car with momentum is immediately nullified when the leading car switches lanes to block.

"In my mind, would horsepower help anything? I don't know. They got these cars so draggy. If the car's leading the race and (another) car comes up behind him with a good run, all he does is pull over in front and he just stops that car. It's just like he puts on brakes, but he's still running wide open." (10:07 onwards)

While the race avoided the Big One, it also failed to deliver the kind of dynamic, multi-lane battles fans expect from the high banks of Alabama. Petty continued to draw a metaphor that might have struck a chord with his followers.

"To me that's not racing. You can go out here and stand on the side of interstate and watch cars run up and down the road. That's what it looked like. Looked like they was under a caution flag all the time." (10:41 onwards)

The data backs up Petty's sentiment. Across 188 laps at Talladega, there were 67 lead changes among 23 drivers and four cautions which is relatively low for a track known for its unpredictability. The third lane, a traditional late-race wildcard, never formed with conviction in the final stretch, further underlining the stagnation Petty described.

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"It's not the drivers": Richard Petty blasts the car, not the racers

NASCAR driver Richard Petty talks with his crew chief, Dale Inman at Daytona 1988. Source: Getty

When Dale Inman suggested that the Next Gen car itself might be the source of the Cup Series' current woes, Richard Petty agreed. He pointed to the success of the weekend's other national series races as proof.

In particular, the Xfinity and ARCA Series events at Talladega featured more fluid movement and cleaner passing despite using lesser aero configurations.

Petty emphasized that the problem wasn't the drivers but the cars, particularly the way modern aero rules limit passing potential.

"It’s not the drivers. The drivers are doing everything they can to get something out of the car and there's nothing there... I watched the Xfinity race and the ARCA race, and they were pretty good races. They raced each other, and they were able to pass. Now what the difference is in the aero drag and stuff on each one of them, I don't know, but they put on a pretty good show." (11:33 onwards)

Petty's point touches on a broader concern growing in the Cup garage. While the Next Gen car has brought parity, it's also been accused of homogenizing racecraft. This was particularly visible at Talladega superspeedway where the first 22 cars were separated by less than a second. Austin Cindric took the win in a photo finish 0.056s ahead of runner-up Ryan Preece.

Despite a clean event with fewer wrecks and no injuries, the conversation post-race has centered around how NASCAR might adjust the package. Legends like Richard Petty are encouraging more movement and restoring some of the unpredictability that once defined tracks like Daytona and Talladega.