It’s always interesting to hear a retired and respected driver’s opinion on the current state of the sport, and Richard Petty doesn’t seem to hold back when asked. Two weeks ago at the Sprint Media Tour, he described the new Chase rules as being “another PR deal.” Yesterday, Petty shared his thoughts on Danica Patrick, who is entering her 2nd full time season in the Sprint Cup Series.

Petty was at the Canadian Motorsports Expo in Toronto, Canada yesterday and was having a Q&A with fans. Someone asked the 7-time champ if Danica would ever get a win in the Cup series.

“(Only) if everybody else stayed home,” Petty replied. Though he admitted that Patrick has been good for the sport in terms of growth, he noted that being a female in the sport has helped her tremendously. “If she’d been a male, nobody would ever know if she’d showed up at a race track. 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 interested in it. She has helped to draw attention to the sports, which helps everybody in the sport.”

In her Sprint Cup career, Danica Patrick has picked up a pole at last year's Daytona 500, and one top-10 finish at the same race.

Petty noted how the sport has been changing to be more of a show than an actual race. “When NASCAR Cup racing first started, it was racing,” he said. “Over a period of years, with our sponsorships, what we had to do for TV, to get the fans to come, the first thing you know is that the race is secondary, because all the rest of it is buildup, buildup, buildup.”

Wheels.ca writer Norris McDonald was the first to report on the story.