Jimmie Johnson, a 7x Cup champion teaming up with Richard Petty, another 7x Cup champion, was one of those things that made complete sense on paper. But as the current season has gone on, not only has the team been unable to perform to the expected standard by many, but they’ve also suffered some considerable tense moments, particularly between Johnson and Petty.
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In fact, it has been ‘The King’ who has suffered the most. Just consider the fact that his race team, Richard Petty Motorsports, got renamed Petty GMS Motorsports and then Legacy Motor Club in the span of less than 2 years, wiping out the iconic Petty name from the NASCAR garage.
And if there were any doubts about the extent of Petty’s involvement in the Jimmie Johnson-headed team, those doubts can go to bed.
Richard Petty is now barely an owner of Legacy Motor Club
Recently, NASCAR journalist Bob Pockrass was asked by a curious fan about something that caught his attention regarding Richard Petty at Legacy Motor Club. The fan wrote, “Hey @bobpockrass can you please explain Petty’s job and or ownership stake within Legacy? Is it largely just ceremonial as he’s still King Richard?”
“I noticed the news release of the hiring of Cal Wells only mentioned Maury and Jimmie, so just curious. Thanks.”
In his response, Pockrass revealed the sad reality of Petty’s involvement in the team as he wrote, “he is primarily a team ambassador with little or no ownership stake.”
he is primarily a team ambassador with little or no ownership stake.
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) July 28, 2023
Richard Petty and Jimmie Johnson exchanged some blows in public earlier this year
The 7 timer meeting the other 7 timer for a NASCAR team dream didn’t last very long as barely after a few months into their new venture, Richard Petty publically revealed his disapproval of the way Johnson was handling the organization. This forced Johnson to also react by going public in reaction to Petty’s comments.
“It’s been strange to me,” Petty said as per ESPN. “Most of the time, I ran the majority of the show. Jimmie (Johnson) brought all his people in. His way of running things and my way of running things are probably a little bit different. We probably agree on about 50 percent of what it really comes down to.”
Johnson later said he was “disappointed” because Petty went public with his frustrations, but insisted they’ll talk it out. The former Hendrick Motorsports driver claimed there was more to the whole thing than what met the eye.
He claimed that a lot of what Petty was referring to was based on business decisions he and his family made which are not relative to his involvement at all. However, Petty added that he believes Johnson will end up running the whole show in 4-5 years completely.
The King predicted Johnson will become the majority owner, considering how different their approach is in what once was his kingdom.
