"That's unacceptable in any form of racing": Kyle Petty raises safety concern over rising pit road incidents

Modified Apr 17, 2025 17:00 GMT

NASCAR: NASCAR Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony - Source: Imagn — Richard Petty (left) and son Kyle Petty at Charlotte Convention Center Crown Ballroom on Feb 7, 2025. Image: Imagn

NASCAR veteran and son of legendary driver Richard Petty, Kyle Petty recently shared his concerns about the growing safety problem on pit road.

Pit stops have become a huge part of gaining positions in Cup races, but with many narrow pit roads on tracks like Homestead, Martinsville, and Darlington, pit road incidents are piling up almost every week. Denny Hamlin won the Goodyear 400 after a 9.42-second pit stop at Martinsville. However, at Homestead, Josh Berry spun and collected Joey Logano on the pit road, and later in the race, Chase Elliott and Ryan Blaney also bumped into each other.

After another incident during last week's Cup race at Bristol Motor Speedway, 'NASCAR Daily' podcast host Shannon Spake asked Petty about the loose tire that rolled into Daniel Suarez's Trackhouse Racing team's pit areas after coming off John Hunter Nemechek's No. 42 car.

"The situation at Bristol cannot, cannot ever happen again. It just can't. When you have a tire come off on pit road, and it's rolling down pit road at 30, 40, 50 mph, there's guys on their knees changing tires. They're not paying attention to what's coming at them. They don't see that. That's why we have pit road speed and why we slowed cars down on pit road to protect crew members," Kyle Petty said (01:29 onwards).

"That tire rolls in the back of Daniel's car, could have easily taken out the gas man, could have easily taken out the guys, changing tires on the right side of the car. That's unacceptable in any form of racing," he added.

Petty further mentioned that tires coming off during pit stops is a universal issue across racing, including F1 and the IndyCar Series.

You can watch the pit road incident that occurred last Sunday at Bristol below.

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Kyle Petty also said that drivers can’t do much to prevent these errors and are often not aware of problems when leaving pit road.

"He is determined" - Kyle Petty on Joey Logano's slow start to 2025 NASCAR Cup season

Joey Logano is in ninth place on the points table and has had a subpar season so far - Source: Imagn

Joey Logano has struggled so far this season to land consistent results during the first nine races and has only one top-10 finish at Martinsville. During the same podcast, Kyle Petty also commented on Logano's slow start to the season and said that the defending and three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion has had rough beginnings before, but always bounces back. Petty pointed out Logano's regular-season performance last year, when he had four top 5 finishes before the playoffs.

Petty called Logano one of the greatest drivers in NASCAR and says bad weeks don’t shake him.

"I don't worry about Joel Logano, Joey will go down in history as one of the greatest race car drivers to ever sit in the seat of a race car. He is focused, he is determined and he does not let bad weeks like this get in his head he goes to the week next," Kyle Petty said (04:54 onwards).

Logano, along with the NASCAR playoff system, was heavily criticized for winning the Cup title in 2024 after the lowest average finish (17.1) of any champion in the series' history.

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Palak Gupta is a dynamic motorsports writer with a unique blend of experience in economics and a passion for storytelling. Her enthusiasm for writing and a keen interest in racing steered her toward this field. With two years of professional writing experience, Palak has previously worked with Bhoomi, a non-profit organization, and as a content executive at MoreTasks Business Solution.

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Edited by Riddhiman Sarkar