NASCAR Driver Kyle Petty Reflects On Joining The nWo In WCW

NASCAR driver Kyle Petty is remembering his time as the driver of the nWo car in the mid-90s.

In the 1990s, there was nothing more synonymous with pop culture than the New World Order in WCW. There were many crossovers in the world of wrestling during this timeframe. One of these crossovers was having Kyle Petty drive the nWo car.

Speaking with The Two-Man Power Trip of Wrestling podcast, Kyle recalled his time with the New World Order and still being recognized as a member of the group today.

“So here’s how that happened. Honestly, it came at a great time for me. At the time I had the long hair, the earrings, I was off in one direction while the other racers maybe were a little more mainstream. I was much different than the other drivers at the time. WCW had a car through Turner and the Turner affiliates, that Elliot Sadler drove. It was also the Cartoon Network car but was the WCW car a lot. Then the nWo came out and they were looking for something. They wanted a WCW adversary on the track and said let’s get Kyle to drive the nWo car because he’s the perfect fit for what we are trying to do.

“Those guys were huge, man! (laughs) They were so incredibly genuine and they were so nice to me. Hulk Hogan and Kevin Nash and all those guys were great. If you ever saw those backstage segments with me and the nWo you can barely see me because I’m so small compared to those guys. That was the easiest job I ever had in my life. Those guys worked so hard and I just had to sit there with them.”

He added, “I still have some nWo shirts leftover from that time period and will still wear them out. Every time I do, someone will inevitably stop me and say “nWo 4 life brother” and I’m like I am right there with you bud. I drove the nWo car off and on for about 2 years, but I drove the Mello Yello and the Hot Wheels car for about 7 years and I will get more recognition from driving the nWo car, it’s crazy. I got noticed more for wrestling than for Coca-Cola and Mattel.”

The New World Order was inducted as a group into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2020. They celebrated that induction in 2021. Learn more here.