Richard Petty irked by reduced role after Jimmie Johnson takes over race team: ‘It’s been strange to me’

Richard Petty is the reigning king of NASCAR, but he’s frustrated at having a reduced role at his old racing team since Jimmie Johnson became a co-owner in November.

Petty, who is tied with Johnson and Dale Earnhardt in the most-ever Cup Series championships (seven each), is still adjusting to having less decision-making power at Legacy Motor Club – formerly Petty GMS Motorsports – with Johnson on board .

“It was weird for me,” Petty, now officially the team’s ambassador, told The Associated Press. “Most of the time I directed most of the show. Jimmie brought all his people with him. His way of running things and my way of running things are probably a bit different. We probably agree on about 50 percent of what really is depends.”

Petty Enterprises merged with Gillett Evernham Motorsports in 2009 and was renamed Richard Petty Motorsports. The team carried that name until 2021 when it merged with GMS Racing to form Petty GMS Motorsports. After Johnson acquired an interest in the team, one of his first decisions was to drop “Petty” from the name in favor of Legacy Motor Club.

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“When Jimmie came in, it got hard to be Johnson Petty GMS,” Petty told the AP. “Jimmie thinks ahead with his crew and has come up with a new name.”

Petty, 85, conceded that it was “probably time for a change” as his team’s cars hadn’t seen top-end success in years, but he acknowledged that Johnson’s meteoric rise to power troubled him.

Petty also said that Johnson will rise to power in the years to come.

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“He’s basically going to be completely running the show in four or five years,” Petty said. “He will probably be the majority owner or the owner of our operation. They see things very differently.”

Johnson returned to NASCAR in November as co-owner and part-time driver of the renamed Legacy Motor Club after a two-year stint with IndyCar. He expressed “disappointment” that Petty publicly expressed his frustration, adding that this was the first time he had heard it.

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“He hasn’t expressed (his frustrations) to me,” Johnson told the AP. “Honestly, there are a lot of moving parts to it. There are business decisions that are made between (co-owner) Mr. (Maury) Gallagher and the Petty family before I even arrive. Those are details that just aren’t in my place to say.

“But a lot of what Richard talks about is based on business decisions that he and his family have made and they are unrelated to my involvement.”

Johnson, 47, qualified for Sunday’s Daytona 500 but his time as a NASCAR driver is coming to an end. When his racing career is over, he should be long a team owner, Petty noted.

“He’s still young enough to be around for a long, long time,” Petty said.