Numerous NASCAR fans told reporters Tuesday that recent misogynistic statements made by Richard Petty concerning stock car driver Danica Patrick have led them to the realization that the retired racing legend may not in fact be quite as open-minded as he initially appears. When you look at Richard Petty, you naturally assume hes a progressive, open-minded individual with a healthy, 21st-century perspective on gender relations, but his comments have really thrown me for a loop, said NASCAR enthusiast Clinton Bradshaw, emphasizing that Pettys claims that Patrick is incapable of winning a Sprint Cup Series race and only receives media attention because shes a woman just dont gel with most peoples automatic perception of the 76-year-old North Carolina native. I mean, just look at him. The sunglasses. The cowboy hat. You hear that Southern drawl, and you think to yourself, This guy has got to be a champion of equality and civil rights. And then he goes and says something that forces you to completely reexamine your assumptions. I dont even know what to thinkI mean, this is Richard Lee Petty were talking about, for crying out loud! Bradshaw, who acknowledged that Pettys views on Patricks racing abilities were shocking, took solace in the fact that they couldnt possibly be shared by anyone else in the NASCAR world. 