No More Petty in NASCAR

No More Petty in NASCAR
Posted by GEORGE December 11, 2008 7:22:31 AM

For the first time in many years, there will not be a Petty behind the wheel of a stock car in NASCAR Sprint Cup Racing. Kyle Petty says it's official, and he has stopped going to work. His contract runs out at the end of this year, but Kyle says, he is already a driver without a team.

When Boston Ventures signed a partnership agreement with Petty Enterprises, the handwriting was on the wall for Kyle. Richard Petty had stated that he would continue to be involved with day to day decisions after the partnership, but that was short-lived, and decisions are being made without him.

Richard is a figure head with the new organization using him to bring sponsors, which has not been a successful ploy. The organization still has no full time sponsors for either of its cars for the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup season.

So now we have an organization being headed by people who know very little about NASCAR, let alone peole who know how to operate a NASCAR race team. A merger is in the works, which may salvage the sinking ship, but at the very least, it will put some NASCAR people closer to decision-making positions within the company.

Everyone knew that the job of bringing the Pettys back to the top of NASCAR racing would not be easy. After all, a Petty car has not won a race since 1999, and celebrations took place when one of their cars finished in the top 20.

I wonder if Kyle Petty's job would have been saved had Richard Petty been granted a decision-making position. My guess is probably not. In Kyle's career, he has been a decent driver, but never a top-runner. Most people will tell you the future of Petty Enterprises went south when Kyle's son, Adam, was killed. Adam had the skills to become a first-rate NASCAR driver, and he had his his grandfather's desire to win.

It won't seem right to not have a Petty on the race track, but in the long run, it makes little difference if a Petty never drives in NASCAR again. For all of us NASCAR fans, the Petty name will always come up in conversations as we discuss the most successful teams in NASCAR.

See you at the track!

Comments

[george]

More bad news for Petty Enterprises. Bobby Labonte is out, and he's looking for a ride with another team. Does this spell the end for Petty Enterprises? If it's not the end, the end is near.