Dethroned King: Petty hurt as Johnson takes over race team

By DAN GELSTON
AP Sports Writer

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Richard Petty has bruised feelings now that his old race team is run by Jimmie Johnson. Johnson and Petty are the only living seven-time NASCAR champions. That appears inside the Legacy Motor Club front office where the similarities end. Petty says he was irked by Johnson’s power grab. Johnson bought into the race team in November and promptly stripped Petty from the team name. Petty is conceding that it was probably time for a change in leadership. Johnson says he is “disappointed” that Petty publicly expressed his displeasure and that some of the changes were happening before he bought in.