NASCAR ignores Richard Petty complaint with San | Sports News

NASCAR will ignore legend and joint-record title holder Richard Petty, who believes that highway and road programs shouldn’t be within the stock car racing sequence after former Supercars champion Shane van Gisbergen booked his spot within the Cup playoffs with a win in Mexico City, by exploring a deal to race in San Diego.

The governing physique introduced final 12 months that the Xfinity and Cup Series would head to the highway course at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez within the 2025 season.

With NASCAR’s “win and you’re in” playoff system, SVG’s victory in Mexico City has seen the Trackhouse Racing star guide his spot within the postseason regardless of sitting thirtieth within the Cup standings and miles off the 16 locations. The New Zealander received from pole place and completed a record-breaking 16+ seconds forward of second-place Christopher Bell and third-place Chase Elliott, who praised SVG after the race for his superior highway course expertise.

However, Van Gisbergen’s second Cup win and secured playoff spot did not go down nicely with NASCAR legend Petty, known as “The King,” who slammed the game’s use of highway and road programs and its present playoff system. “The way they got this thing fixed, if you win and you’re in, that can’t be right,” Petty stated in a video answering a query from a fan on social media.

“From the standpoint that you got somebody, like I say, that’s 30th in the points that’s going to make the playoffs, hey man, what happened to the guy that’s 15th or 16th or 18th? You know, been running good, finished good everywhere.

“You’re making a championship scenario by profitable a highway course, which isn’t actually a NASCAR to start with. So from that standpoint, I feel they’ll should jockey round and change some of this sort of stuff.”

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However, NASCAR is ignoring the seven-time champion’s stance and is exploring a deal to compete on a street course in San Diego, California. According to The Athletic, NASCAR is working toward finalizing a deal to race on a street course next year.

While a deal with the city of San Diego has not yet been agreed on, discussions are ongoing, and an agreement is expected to be reached, which could come within the next month. A deal with San Diego would complete a goal of NASCAR’s, which has been to return to Southern California.

It would be NASCAR’s first points race since California Speedway in Fontana was indefinitely closed in 2023. The last time NASCAR raced in Southern California was last year when it held an exhibition race at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

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An announcement on San Diego will likely come before NASCAR decides whether to return to Mexico City in 2026. The race south of the southern border was well received by locals, with fans swarming drivers for pictures and autographs, with the buzz felt by drivers.

NASCAR remains hopeful of returning to Mexico City for a 2026 points race. However, they have refused to commit to it at this point. NASCAR senior executive Ben Kennedy said: “I might say for us, that is more of a strategic transfer as a sport to increase our footprint globally and internationally and to a new mass fan base.

“Just being in a country with 90 million people and over 20 million people in the larger Mexico City metro alone, not in and of itself, this is a success.”

“We’re very hopeful to be back here in the future,” he added. NASCAR Commissioner Steve Phelps additionally famous the significance of the occasion to drivers. “We’ve had several game-changing firsts in recent years, but this one is different,” he stated.

“Racing here in Mexico City, amongst these passionate fans in such an impressive venue for the first time in NASCAR Cup Series history, is in a word, spectacular. Together, we are doing something that will be remembered in the history of our great sport.”