Richard Petty: Danica can only win if no one else races

Another member of the Petty family apparently doesn't think much of Danica Patrick's driving ability.

Richard Petty, the "King" of NASCAR who holds the all-time record with 200 wins, told the website Wheels.ca that Patrick was only capable of winning if no other cars were on the track.

"(Only) if everybody else stayed home," Petty told the site during an appearance at the Canadian Motorsports Expo in Toronto.

Petty's son, TV analyst and former driver Kyle Petty, said Patrick was "not a race car driver" last year and never would be because she was just a "marketing machine."

But Richard Petty told Wheels.ca he believed Patrick was good for NASCAR despite her lack of ability, because NASCAR has evolved into "show time" since the days he raced.

"If she'd have been a male, nobody would ever know if she'd showed up at a race track," Petty said. "This is a female deal that's driving her. There's nothing wrong with that, because that's good PR for me. More fans come out, people are more interested in it. She has helped to draw attention to the sport, which helps everybody in the sport."

Patrick ran a full-time Sprint Cup schedule in 2013. She opened the year by making a splash at the Daytona 500, where she became the first female driver to win a Cup pole. She finished eighth in the season opener, her only top-10 of the 36-race season.