Danica Patrick Kyle Petty Beef: Dale Earnhardt Jr & Kevin Harvick Defend Her Against Petty's Claims 'She's Not a Real Race Car Driver' [Video]

Danica Patrick didn't take the bait when Kyle Petty said she's "not a race car driver." She responded in jest, and now Dale Earnhardt Jr. and teammate Kevin Harvick are defending her against Petty's accusations.

Last week Kyle Petty sounded off to Speed TV during a lengthy interview. He was not exactly opened minded about Nascar's only female racer, either.

"I've said it from the very beginning, she's just a marketing machine. She's a hot commodity and rightfully so.

"In a market where everybody that crawls into a race car on a Sunday afternoon in Cup racing is male, she's the female. I don't have a problem with her being a marketing machine —more power to her."

Petty continued, with less effusive praise for the GoDaddy.com sponsor.

"Where fans have bought into the hype of the marketing, to think she's a race car driver," Petty said. "She can go fast, and I've seen her go fast. She drives the wheels off it when she goes fast.

"She's not a race car driver. There's a difference. 'The King' [Richard Petty] always had that stupid saying, but it's true: 'Lots of drivers can drive fast, but very few drivers can race.'

"Danica has been the perfect example of somebody who can qualify better than what she runs.

"She can go fast, but she can't race. I think she's come a long way, but she's still not a race car driver. And I don't think she's ever going to be a race car driver."

The comments have justifiably drawn the ire of many in racing, particularly a couple good ol' boys who are well known and respected on the Nascar circuit.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. disagreed with Petty's comments on Friday at Kentucky Speedway saying:

"I have to disagree with Kyle.I think she's a tough competitor. She works really hard at what she does and she has run some really good races. On every occasion, she's outrunning several guys on the circuit.

"If she was not able to compete or not able to run minimum speed or finishing in last place every week, I think you might be able to say Kyle has an argument. But she's out there running competitively and running strong on several accounts."

Patrick's teammate, Kevin Harvick, also had his say after Petty's comments criticizing Patrick's racing ability.

"To drive them fast is something that is just not going to happen overnight. I don't know that I would go as far as calling her not a racer because she's raced her whole life and I think on a continuous learning curve.

"She's obviously dedicated at what she does to try to get better and knows she has a lot of hurdles to overcome in a short amount of time."

Patrick herself was non-plussed with Kyle Petty's comments. When told what he said, she laughed and countered:

"I don't really care. It's funny he said I can qualify and not race. Anyone who has watched what I do knows I'm crap in qualifying. In the races, things go much better."