Richard Petty , always honest (sincere)

[Gator]

Man, Richard stating his OPINION sparked some controversy regarding women in Racing.
I've always respected Richard for his honesty and straight forward answers.
It's the old "if you don't like the answer, don't ask the question"
On another board they set up a hypothetical banter involving Shirley Muldowney. (the first woman i ever heard...honest...,use mother F'er)



Richard's answer was ok with me.

[Mtn.man]

RP is Old School


I'v heard a lot more from Shirley than MF'....

[jim sanders]

RP was a hero in my days of following stock car racing when i was a kid. but like everything times change... i got used to it when i saw a wife could earn more than me working in a climate controlled office than i could wrenching on cars in the heat or towing postal jeeps out of a snow bank at - 10 degrees... I grew up in a work 3 jobs dad and stay at home mom deal... when i was on my own a lot of those deals did not work anymore.dual incomes were a nessesaryity

[Gator]

Women in Racing was all Richard ( The Icon of Stock Car Racing /all time),
was addressing.

Erica, wrestling an out of control Race Car? ( i have doubts)
Etc.
Etc.

Not necessarily an "old school" thought process...
Opinion..Heck Yes
I truly respect opinions.........
Some didn't respect the King's.

Excuse the personal experience, but I watched my Mom work side by side with my Dad in a very exhausting , long days business...(over40 years)
I knew the Female Gender was tough.
Did Dad let her unload trucks?
Hell No.
Old School
Hell No

Again, I respect Richard's answer.
As I respect others. (smile)

[WildcatOne]

I am by no means sexist. I play in a band with a gorgeous woman and I have worked with women in my profession for as long as I have been doing it. There have been a few women who didn't earn their keep in the bands over the years, men, too. They'd pull the drama thing, the primadonna act, etc...men, too. In drag racing (I don't know enough about other forms of motorsport such as IRL to have an opinion), there have been a few women who equal the secondary category I just described. Erica appears to be dedicated and hard working and she's learning more right now than she can teach, for sure. I've seen others come and go, like Cristen Powell, Lori Johns and Danielle DePorter. Ashley Force is an interesting project in Funny Car...but I have no doubt her Dad has made it clear to her and she has accepted the fact that the career she is going to undertake is risky, dangerous and will require total committment, skill and knowledge in order for it to work out, and there are still no guarantees of safety, performance and either success or failure. I didn't catch the Richard Petty interview, but I am sure that he said what he thought because they asked him. That's how he is, a straight-shooter all the way. I can't help but think, what if it had been Erica Enders instead of Bruce Allen that slid in front of Kenny Koretsky's car that night in Dallas...would they mandate a concrete wall between the lanes, HANS devices for all cars over 170 or something after that? I guess that's an extreme scenario, but will it take a major injurious crash, or will it keep on moving forward from where it is with total equality and no double-standard?...time will tell...Cheers, WC1