NASCAR legend Richard Petty disavows endorsement in NC congressional race

NASCAR legend Richard Petty withdraws endorsement of North Carolina candidate's 2024 campaign, stating video was created for 2022 cycle.

NASCAR icon Richard Petty has made it clear that he is not endorsing Christian Castelli's 2024 congressional campaign in North Carolina, as announced by his family over the weekend. This decision makes Petty the seventh Republican to withdraw an endorsement in the state's 6th Congressional District race.

During the 2024 election cycle, Castelli's campaign has been sharing a video of Petty expressing his support for Castelli and calling him "a leader who will fight for North Carolina values." However, upon closer inspection, it was revealed that the video was originally posted on Castelli's YouTube channel on Aug. 23, 2022, long before Castelli lost the 2022 election to Rep. Kathy Manning, a Democrat from Greensboro.

Petty's family clarified to McClatchy on Monday that the video was actually created for the 2022 election cycle, raising doubts about the authenticity of the endorsement for the 2024 campaign.

Rumors of an endorsement discrepancy began circulating when Castelli's opponent, former Rep. Mark Walker, questioned the legitimacy of Petty's endorsement to McClatchy on Jan. 26. The Castelli campaign claimed that Petty had endorsed twice in two different cycles. Meanwhile, McClatchy also started investigating rumors that the Petty family was not pleased with Castelli's use of the video this time around.

According to Castelli, the Petty family became upset after a social media post featuring the video went viral on Friday. Subsequently, Rebecca Petty Moffitt, Petty's daughter and the executive director of The Petty Family Foundation, issued a written statement to McClatchy on Saturday afternoon.

The statement from Petty's family has brought further attention to the unfolding drama surrounding the use of the endorsement video, adding another layer of complexity to the 2024 congressional race in North Carolina.