Richard Petty wants to save car racing from the EPA

Richard Petty is supporting a bill in the U.S. Congress that would officially exempt motorsports from the EPA's emissions regulations, which haven't previously been enforced.

Gary Gastelu is FoxNews.com's Automotive Editor covering the car industry and racing @foxnewsautos

The original Clean Air Act does not explicitly exclude production vehicles modified for motor racing from the EPA's authority, but the agency has allowed professional and amateur racers to operate outside its regulations since its inception and a 1990 amendment sought to clarify the exemption. A non-binding policy memorandum issued by the EPA in 2020 regarding emissions system tampering appeared to uphold this position, stating that "this Policy does not address EPA-certified motor vehicles that are converted into a vehicle used solely for competition motorsports, nor aftermarket parts purportedly manufactured or sold for that purpose."

However, during a recent crackdown on several manufacturers and sellers of such parts that have been misused by some customers in vehicles that were driven on the street, the EPA asserted in court that there is no "exemption" for competition vehicles and that it is a "hypothetical" idea that there is.