Kyle Petty calls out young NASCAR drivers for lack of respect

There is a lot of talk about the young generation of drivers in NASCAR. Now, even Kyle Petty has chimed in on the subject. Is there a lack of respect among younger generations that wasn’t there before?

Kyle Petty is never one to shy away from his opinions. When he is asked, he will give an honest answer. This week, he spoke to Kevin Harvick on the Happy Hour podcast.

Last week, Kyle Busch said a lot about young drivers with Harvick. It seems that Petty is right there with him. There is a general lack of respect.

“We see drivers now that grow up on video games,” Petty said to Harvick. “They grow up just crashing something and walking away from it and they don’t have to show up on Monday morning on six o’clock and put it back together. They got no skin in the game. You know what I mean? And they know when the race is over with, if I wreck you, I can text you or I can tweet you or I can have my wife call you. ‘Kevin I’m so sorry I got into you and I won the race. I’m sorry.’

“You think Cale Yarborough ever called up my dad and said, ‘Hey, sorry I kicked you ass bud, sorry.’ No! That’s what it was about, man. You get somebody a lap down, you keep them a lap down. The goal is to put everybody a lap down. That was the point. It was kill or be eaten. That’s the way it was, I’m sorry.”

So, why are drivers more aggressive? Where did that lack of respect arise? Kyle Petty answered that as well.

“We’ve heard all the taglines, rubbing is racing, and have at it boys and I’d wreck my mama, and all this stuff. Man, you hear that enough when you’re 12 or 13, you believe it by the time you get in a car. Whether it’s true or not, you believe that. Nobody talks, nobody starts telling these kids at 12 and 13, respect. Respect your equipment, respect that other driver and respect his ability. You know what I mean? Because if you race him that way, he’s going to race you that way.”

Of course, everyone thinks of Carson Hocevar when this topic is brought up. Hocevar has turned heads early this season. However, he has grown as a driver in his young career.

Kyle Petty doesn’t think the young drivers are being taught right. He has a point. Does the older generation have an obligation to guide these new drivers in the sport? A firm reminder can go a long way.