NASCAR insider questions 'greatness of Richard Petty' compared to modern era drivers

When it comes to the greatest of all-time label, at least three drivers have a say in NASCAR. But could Richard Petty compete in today’s time? Racing is completely different now than it was in Petty’s day.

To his credit, Richard Petty was winning races from 1960 to 1984. Considering he didn’t start racing until he was 21 years old, it is a wonder if he could have won more races if he was competing as a teenager.

Jordan Bianchi of The Athletic recently addressed the “what-if?” situation of Petty. On The Teardown podcast, Bianchi and his cohost Jeff Gluck what driver they would stick in another era. Dale Sr. in the 2010s when Jimmie Johnson was at his height? Jeff Gordon in the 70s and 80s?

Bianchi chose Richard Petty in the Next Gen era.

“I want to see Richard Petty in the modern era. Richard Petty won a lot of races at a time when not a lot of people had top-flight equipment, and he won a lot of championships at a time when there was very few people running the full series,” Bianchi explained. “I would like to see Richard Petty in the modern era, like this era, run, and see how he stacks up versus a Kyle Larson anything like that. I will make sure [to say that], I think Richard is very talented and incredible, he is not number one on my list of all-time great NASCAR drivers but I know his numbers are incredible.

Bianchi doesn’t want to discredit Petty. Given that this is hypothetical, he only wishes he could see him compete in the modern era. Perhaps with today’s technology and data, Petty would stack up against the greats of today.

“I want to see his ability with my own eyes. I never got to witness that, I watched him race as a kid, you know, he wasn’t winning races then. He wasn’t doing much of anything then. I want to see that and really be able to assess for myself the greatness of Richard Petty.”

Sports fans always have these conversations. What would LeBron James be able to do in Michael Jordan’s NBA? How would Shohei Ohtani perform in the early 2000s MLB?

Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt, and Jimmie Johnson are all seven-time champions. Petty’s 200 career wins will never be matched in the history of the sport. Earnhardt’s cultural impact and style cannot be recreated. We will likely never see a five-peat like Johnson’s ever again in major American sports, let alone NASCAR.

If only we could line them all up in their primes and send them out on the track. Unfortunately, that isn’t possible.