NASCAR veteran sides with fans amid Chase Elliott’s Throwback Weekend complaint

NASCAR veteran Kyle Petty expressed his views on Chase Elliott's complaints about the Throwback Weekend. The 64-year-old said that it doesn't depend upon the drivers whether the event has lost its luster or not.

These comments came after Chase Elliott said that NASCAR had "rode the horse to death".

''I was way too early to that conversation. Not to be a downer. I joked about this years ago, but if we kept going down the road, we're going to be throwing it back to me in like 2018. So, at some point, I think we've got to chill on it a little bit. I think we've rode the horse to death. We tend to do that a little bit too much," Chase Elliott said.

While talking on the NASCAR Inside The Race Live show, Kyle Petty said he would be okay if the Throwback Weekend was to be put on hold for a few years. However, he also mentioned that it ultimately depended upon the fans buying the tickets and sitting in the stands to watch the race.

"We can say that the clash has lost its luster, we can say the All Star race has lost its luster. We have to remember the All Star race, the Clash and the Throwback Weekend, it's not about the drivers, it's not about the teams. It's about the people that buy the tickets and sit in the stands," Kyle Petty said [10:09 onwards].

"It's about the stories we get to tell, because the Wood Brother paint their car like Jimmy Clark's. We heard the story about Christopher Bell and the sprint car driver that he lived with, who taught him so much; we never hear that story except for the Throwback Weekend. As a driver I never knew what my car was painted like because I couldn't see the outside from my seat. So I agree with what they're saying maybe in principle but it's not about us. It's about the people that buy the tickets and sit in the grand stands, and the people that tune in and watch," he added.

Petty continued his discussion on the Darlington race and discussed Kyle Larson's Lap 4 wreck.

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NASCAR Veteran Kyle Petty reflects upon Kyle Larson's Lap 4 Incident at Darlington

Kyle Petty speaks to the media during a press conference for Goodyear's 2000th NASCAR Cup Series Victory - Source: Getty

Kyle Larson had a strange incident on Lap 4 of the NASCAR Cup Series race at Darlington this Sunday, as he lost control of the car and hit the inside wall early into the race.

Discussing the incident, Kyle Petty said that Kyle Larson is also a human and that he can also make mistakes. He then praised the driver and the team for working hard and getting the car back in contention.

"At a point when we continually say win and you're in, points still matter and I got to give that team credit for putting that thing back right because he instantly went out and met minimum speed and went on down the road," Kyle Petty said [12:28 onwards].

Kyle Larson is currently ranked sixth in the Cup Series standings this season with 244 points to his name so far. Larson currently has won one race so far in 2025 at the Homestead-Miami Speedway.