Danica Patrick Dismisses Richard Petty's NASCAR Jab
Danica Patrick is shrugging off the disparaging comments made by NASCAR veteran Richard Petty recently.
The Hall of Famer told reporters at the Canadian Motorsports Expo on Sunday that Patrick would win the Sprint Cup only "if everybody else stayed home," ESPN reported.
On Thursday, Patrick retorted, "Everybody is entitled to their own opinion."
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The 33-year-old racer was preparing for Feb. 23's Daytona 500 at NASCAR's annual media event at Daytona International Speedway when she addressed Petty's critical remarks.
"People have said things in the past, and they're going to say things in the future," Patrick added, according to the Orlando Sentinel. "I still say the same thing: that everyone is entitled to their own opinion."
On Sunday, Petty also pointed out that Patrick is one of very few females associated with NASCAR, and attributed that fact to her success.
"If she'd have been a male, nobody would ever know if she'd showed up at the racetrack," said the 76-year-old former racing champ. "This is a female deal that's driving her. There's nothing wrong with that, because that's good PR for me. More fans come out, people are more interested in it. She has helped to draw attention to the sport, which helps everybody in the sport."
Notwithstanding the criticism, Patrick said Thursday "people are going to judge what [Petty] said whether they judge it well or not, and I'm just not going to."
"You can't try harder in the car," she added, according to the Orlando Sentinel. "You are doing everything that you can, and maybe, subconsciously there is some motivation, but I can't tell."
Furthermore, the first female driver in history to lead the green flag lap at the Daytona 500 last year said that she gives it her all "every single time I'm in the car whether I'm making a simple qualifying run or whether I'm in the race."
The Sprint Cup Series kicks off tomorrow, Feb. 15.
