Could Kyle and Richard Have Saved Petty Enterprises?

I just finished reading an article on USA Today’s website pertaining to Kyle Petty’s frustrations over being left without a ride for 2009. When Petty Enterprises was bought by Boston Ventures then merged with Gillett Evernham Motorsports, to form Richard Petty Motorsports, Kyle found himself outside the loop. The organization brought in young drivers A.J. Allmendinger and Reed Sorenson, which left the No. 45 team defunct.

First off, I have been a Richard Petty fan since I could stand up. My mom always told people that the first word I ever uttered was Richard Petty. Not “Momma”, not “Dada”, but Richard Petty. Growing up about 45 minutes from Rockingham, we often visited North Carolina Motor Speedway. I was die hard Richard Petty all the way. Every t-shirt I owned had a 43 on it. Since I followed The King, I had to follow his son as well. I instantly became a Kyle Petty fan, too.

Right off the bat, I knew Kyle would become the megastar his dad was. I knew Kyle would become one of the most successful drivers in NASCAR history. Kyle started out in that fashion, but over the years settled into “back-runner” status.

In 27 seasons, Kyle Petty posted eight wins. Kyle has been an important part of the sport, but that’s not the stellar career he should have had. He did enjoy some success during his time at Felix Sabates Racing driving the Mello Yello Pontiac in the late 1980’s and 1990’s.

Here comes the reader warning. Some of the things I’m about to say might offend some long-time race fans, but I have to call it how I see it – good or bad.

Richard and Kyle Petty are two of the biggest reasons Petty Enterprises is now basically non-existent. How could I say such a thing? Well, let’s examine this a bit.

It has been 13 years since Kyle parked a race car in Victory Lane. During that span he has struggled to finish races in the top 20, and since the top 35 rule, has struggled to maintain a top 35 points standing. Many times in the last several years, Kyle was unable to qualify for races. Running like that bodes difficult on keeping and finding sponsors. The Petty name will get you by only so far, especially during tough economic times.

Years ago, Kyle should have realized that his best racing days are behind him and relinquished his seat at Petty Enterprises. Now, I know just giving up something you love is a difficult, sometimes impossible, thing to do. I really believe that Kyle tried to keep racing in the name of his deceased son, Adam. But Kyle should have given up his seat for the sake of the company and his family’s legacy.

Let’s face it, if Kyle was with any other team, he would have been released of his driving duties a long time ago.

At this time, Petty Enterprises could have went out and aggressively sought a young, talented driver, such as a Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, or Kyle Busch, that could do something with the No. 45 car and team. Petty Enterprises should have began a driver development program, like Hendrick, Gibbs and Roush.

Perhaps the Petty’s were too set in their ways. Maybe they felt that they could keep up in today’s NASCAR by running it old school. But too many times we have seen teams fall by the wayside because they did not do the things needed to stay with the pack. Sure, some of that reason could be finances – not everyone has Gibbs’, Roush’s, or Hendrick’s pocket book. Even without the big money, I feel that the Petty’s could have done more to keep Petty Enterprises alive years ago.

I’m sure both Richard and Kyle have had many a sleepless night pondering over the same thing.

It was a very sad day for me personally when I heard that Petty Enterprises had been sold to Boston Ventures. It was also a sad day when Petty Enterprises merged with Gillett Evernham Motorsports. Even though the team has been renamed Richard Petty Motorsports, I really feel like Richard Petty is just the team mascot, and has nothing to do with the business side of the organization.

Watching the 51st Annual Daytona 500 tomorrow without a Petty driving for the first time since 1965 will be heart-breaking. I hope the Petty’s can somehow make a comeback, but the possibility looks bleak.

Garage Insider

Here’s more recent news leading up to the 51st Annual Daytona 500. I think the NASCAR rule change on single file restarts is very interesting. I really agree with this change. I believe the lead lap cars should have more laps to duke it out at the end, which should promote better racing during the final laps.

If you are interested in the full article, just click the “headline” of each topic.

 

NASCAR Modifies Restart Rules

NASCAR will implement single-file restarts over the final 20 laps instead of the final 10 in all three series during the 2009 season, officials said on Thursday.

The rule was changed to give lead-lap drivers a better chance to go for the victory instead of having to battle lapped traffic on the inside as they do on double-file restarts.

NASCAR also is evaluating the 50-foot distance announced at the Budweiser Shootout as the new standard for the leader to restart an event. It could decrease from track to track based on driver input, officials said.

Under the new rule, the leader has between the double-red line 50 feet from the start-finish line and single-red line at the start-finish line to start the race. Otherwise, the starter on the flag stand will start the field.

 

Daytona To Be Repaved

International Speedway Corporation plans to resurface Daytona International Speedway in three years, the first time that has occurred since 1978.

And the decision was in place long before Dale Earnhardt Jr. said on Wednesday that the 2.5-mile track was becoming too bumpy and long overdue for a new surface.

"It has nothing to do with money, although it will be a $20 million project," DIS president Robin Braig said. "It has nothing to do with technology. We banked Talladega so we know we can do it on the high banking.

"It's all about when NASCAR and Goodyear says we need to do it," Braig said.

Daytona is one of the few major tracks that hasn't been resurfaced over the past 10 years. Talladega, Darlington, Lowe's Motor Speedway and many others have been through the process.

Sprint Cup series director John Darby said the DIS surface hasn't reached the point where it needs immediate attention because it isn't coming apart like Talladega was, but it is near the end of its life cycle.

 

Busch Helps Rookie Logano During Practice

Kyle Busch hopped into teammate Joey Logano’s car during Daytona 500 practice Friday, presumably to help the rookie dial-in his No. 20 Toyota.

The two both took turns in the Joe Gibbs Racing entry, but combined ran just 22 laps in the only practice session of the day at Daytona International Speedway. The 18-year-old Logano has had a roller-coaster Speedweeks, wrecking last week and scraping the wall in an earlier practice session, but rebounding with a fourth-place run in one of Thursday’s qualifying races.

Kevin Harvick, winner of the 2007 race, scraped the wall late in the session and will go to a backup car. He’ll now race the same car he drove to victory in last week’s Budweiser Shootout.

Only 37 drivers participated in the practice, which was paced by Jamie McMurray.

Busch, who won the second of Thursday’s qualifying races, did not turn any laps in his own Toyota. Aric Almirola, Denny Hamlin, Scott Speed, Jeremy Mayfield and Scott Riggs also took the day off.

 

Sadler Helps Allmendinger Get In 500

Better to be friends who work together as teammates than mortal enemies who hamper every move the other makes.

That was the message delivered by Elliott Sadler to his Richard Petty Motorsports teammates prior to Thursday's Gatorade Duel at Daytona International Speedway. But it's one thing to preach this feel-good message; quite another altogether to go out and live it when you're driving a race car at speeds approaching 200 mph.

Sadler walked the walk after talking the talk during the second of twin 150-mile races that help set the lineup for this Sunday's Daytona 500. With new teammate A.J. Allmendinger in danger of failing to finish well enough to get into the season-opening event, Sadler deliberately slowed down and dropped back in the field to give Allmendinger much-needed drafting help.

Allmendinger ended up finishing 10th, while Sadler settled for 17th. Reed Sorenson, another RPM teammate, also assisted Allmendinger. But it was Sadler's show of generosity that drew the most attention -- and with good reason.

Around the first of the year, Allmendinger was basically set to replace Sadler as driver of the No. 19 Dodge. Sadler, who signed a contract extension last year with the organization when it was still known as Gillett Evernham Motorsports, threatened to sue GEM and Allmendinger alike -- and eventually it was announced that he would remain driver of the No. 19 for 2009.

Thursday's display of goodwill on the track confirmed that there are no hard feelings left between the two.

 

Slowing Economy Helps NASCAR "Little Guys"

Perhaps the most time-tested adage in auto racing is that money buys speed. That's long been reflected in the upper reaches of NASCAR.

Last year the four richest teams controlled the 12 spots in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, a 10-race playoff-style format at the end of the racing season. The price tag for running a championship contender seemed to be at least $20 million.

But this year the recession has hit NASCAR in ways that will change what fans see on the track. Some sponsors — whose money is the lifeblood of race teams — have cut spending or dropped out, forcing teams to lay off crewmembers and trim operations. The four dominant teams — Hendrick Motorsports, Roush Fenway Racing, Joe Gibbs Racing and Richard Childress Racing — are as potent as ever, with big-name drivers such as three-time defending champion Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick.

But several midsized teams — which were spending $12 million-$20 million a year — are gone. That has spawned a new generation of low-budget teams that, like NASCAR teams a half-century ago, will run on shoestring budgets — and try to play David to the Big Four's Goliath.

The new teams, most with budgets of 10% to 25% of the Big Four's, will benefit from a confluence of factors that has opened up NASCAR races to more upstart drivers and teams.

2009 Bud Shootout Entry List

Here is the official Entry List for the 2009 Bud Shootout. Remember, the Bud Shootout will be February 7th, at 8:00PM (EST) on Fox.

Car #	Driver	Owner	Crew Chief	Car Make	Sponsor
00	David Reutimann	Michael Waltrip	Rodney Childers	Toyota Camry	Aaron’s Dream Machine
2	Kurt Busch	Walter Czamecki	Patrick Tryson	Dodge Charger	Miller Lite
6	David Ragan	Mike Dee	Jimmy Fennig	Ford Fusion	UPS
7	Robby Gordon	Robby Gordon	Kirk Almquist	Dodge Charger	Jim Beam
07	Casey Mears	Richard Childress	Gil Martin	Chevrolet Impala	Jack Daniels
9	Kasey Kahne	George Gillett Jr	Kenny Francis	Dodge Charger	Budweiser
11	Denny Hamlin	J.D. Gibbs	Michael Ford	Toyota Camry	FedEx Express
12	David Stremme	Roger Penske	Leroy McCauley	Dodge Charger	Penske Dodge
14	Tony Stewart	Margaret Haas	Darian Grubb	Chevrolet Impala	Old Spice/Office Depot
16	Greg Biffle	Jack Roush	Greg Erwin	Ford Fusion	3M
17	Matt Kenseth	John Henry	Drew Blickensderfer	Ford Fusion	DeWalt
18	Kyle Busch	Joe Gibbs	Steve Addington	Toyota Camry	M&Ms
19	Elliott Sadler	George Gillett Jr	Kevin Buskirk	Dodge Charger	Stanley Tools
20	Joey Logano	Joe Gibbs	Greg Zipadelli	Toyota Camry	Home Depot
24	Jeff Gordon	Rick Hendrick	Steve Letarte	Chevrolet Impala	DuPont
26	Jamie McMurray	Geoff Smith	Donnie Wingo	Ford Fusion	Crown Royal
29	Kevin Harvick	Richard Childress	Todd Berrier	Chevrolet Impala	Shell/Pennzoil
31	Jeff Burton	Richard Childress	Scott Miller	Chevrolet Impala	Caterpillar
43	Reed Sorenson	Richard Petty	Mike Shplett	Dodge Charger	McDonald’s
44	A.J. Allmendinger	George Gillett Jr	Sammy Johns	Dodge Charger	Valvoline
48	Jimmie Johnson	Jeff Gordon	Chad Knaus	Chevrolet Impala	Lowe’s
55	Michael Waltrip	Michael Waltrip	Bootie Barker	Toyota Camry	NAPA
82	Scott Speed	Dietrich Mateschitz	Jimmy Elledge	Toyota Camry	Red Bull
83	Brian Vickers	Dietrich Mateschitz	Ryan Pemberton	Toyota Camry	Red Bull
88	Dale Earnhardt Jr	Rick Hendrick	Tony Eury Jr	Chevrolet Impala	National Guard/AMP Energy
96	Bobby Labonte	Jeff Moorad	Brad Parrott	Ford Fusion	Ask.com
98	Paul Menard	Max Jones	Larry Carter	Ford Fusion	Menard’s
99	Carl Edwards	Jack Roush	Bob Osborne	Ford Fusion	AFLAC

 

The starting order is determined by a drawing for the Bud Shootout. It will be interesting to see which of these 28 drivers get the pole!

Thursday I will have a special post on the Bud Shootout called The Big Bud Shootout Shindig. This post will cover everything from the Bud Shootout history, famous events during previous Shootouts, former winners and much more!

Be sure you don’t miss it!

Follow The Chaos For The 2009 Season

As the 2009 season approaches, I felt like it would be a good time to list some of the new driver/crew chief/team changes. This Silly Season probably represents more changes than any other year I can remember.

So hang on and try to keep up as I list some of the biggest changes thus far for the 2009 Sprint Cup Series season.

 

• Mark Martin left a part time schedule, driving the #01 U.S. Army Chevrolet, to run full time again for Hendrick Motorsports. Martin will be steering the #5 Kellogg's/Car Quest Chevrolet with Alan Gustafson being the crew chief.
• Casey Mears left that Hendricks Motorsports #5 to drive for Richard Childress Racing. Mears will be driving the #07 Jack Daniels Chevrolet with Gil Martin serving as crew chief.
• Clint Bowyer, the previous driver of the #07 Jack Daniels Chevrolet, will move over to Richard Childress Racing's fourth team the #33 General Mills/BB&T Chevrolet with crew chief Shane Wilson.
• Ryan Newman left the #12 Alltel Dodge of Penske South Racing to drive the #39 U.S. Army Chevrolet of Stewart Haas Racing with crew chief Tony Gibson.
• Tony Stewart left Joe Gibbs Racing to become half owner of Stewart Haas Racing and pilot the #14 Office Depot/Old Spice Chevrolet with new crew chief Darian Grubb.
• David Stremme was hired by Penske South Racing to drive the #12 Alltel Dodge with crew chief Roy McCauley.
• Rookie Joey Logano was promoted to the Sprint Cup Series by Joe Gibbs Racing. He will steer the #20 Home Depot Toyota with crew chief Greg Zipadelli.
• John Andretti was hired to drive the #34 Window World Chevrolet for Earnhardt Ganassi Racing. This team is from an alliance between Earnhardt Ganassi Racing and Front Row Motorsports. The crew chief will be Scott Eggleston.
• Rookie Scott Speed has moved into the #82 Red Bull Racing Toyota vacated by A.J. Allmendinger. The crew chief will be Jimmy Elledge.
• A.J. Allmendinger has signed to drive the new #44 Valvoline Dodge with Richard Petty Motorsports (now a part of Gillett Evernham Motorsports) for 2009. As of this post, Allmendinger is set for eight races this season, but the team is working on getting more races.
• Reed Sorenson will be piloting the #43 Gillett Evernham Motorsports Dodge in 2009 with crew chief Mike Shiplett. Their will be five primary sponsors for the team in 2009, most notably the U.S. Air Force.
• Former Sprint Cup Champion Bobby Labonte will be driving the #96 Academy Sports and Outdoors Ford for Hall of Fame Racing with crew chief Todd Parrott.
• JTG Daugherty Racing will add a Sprint Cup Series car to their team in 2009. They have primarily fielded cars in the Nationwide Series. The new Sprint Cup car will be the #47 Little Debbie Snacks Toyota driven by rookie Marcos Ambrose. Frank Kerr will be the crew chief.
• Paul Menard has left DEI, after the merger with Ganassi, to join Yates Racing. Menard will drive the #98 Menard's Ford. The crew chief will be Larry Carter.

There have been some notable team mergers during the off season as well.

• Richard Petty Motorsports has merged with Gillett Evernham Motorsports. It will be referred to as Richard Petty Motorsports.
• Dale Earnhardt Inc. has merged with Ganassi Racing to form Earnhardt Ganassi Racing or EGR.
• Yates Racing has formed an alliance with Hall of Fame Racing. It will be called Yates Racing.

Boy! This stuff can get confusing. It is no wonder they call it the Silly Season. The team mergers can get real confusing, because different people call the new team a different name. It all depends on who you talk to.

It can get mind-boggling the first couple races trying to figure out which driver is driving what. Hopefully this list will help to clear it up a bit.

The Top 20 Drivers of 2009 Part 1

Today I will begin a pre-season look at how I think the points will end up for the upcoming year. The Top 20 Drivers of 2009 will showcase what I think will be the finishing order in points, starting at number 20 and finishing on February 7th with the 2009 Sprint Cup Champion. I will display three drivers each day until February 5th. On February 6th, I will have the second place driver, and on February 7th I will have who I think will be this year's champ. All just in time for the February 8th kickoff of the season - the Budweiser Shootout! It is just around the corner, so let's get started!

#20 Ryan Newman

Ryan Newman started off 2008 with a bang by capturing the 50th Annual Daytona 500. The rest of his year was somewhat disappointing, finishing 17th in the final points standings.

Newman was born December 8, 1977 in South Bend, Indiana. He received a degree in Vehicle Structure Engineering from Purdue University. He won the USAC Silver Crown National Championship in 1999. His Sprint Cup career began at Penske Racing South in 2000.

In 2008, Newman had 36 starts, 1 pole, 1 win, 2 Top 5s, 8 Top 10s, average start of 16, average finish of 20, and 3,735 points.

2009 looks to be a trickier ride for Newman, as he joins Tony Stewart at Stewart-Haas Racing. He will be driving the #39 Chevrolet Impala sponsored by the U.S. Army and Haas Automation.


#19 Joey Logano



Joey Logano will kick off his rookie season in 2009. Logano has shown much promise and has been the most talked-about newcomer all of 2008. Everyone has high expectations for the 18 year-old.

Logano was born May 24, 1990 in Middletown, Connecticut. Logano started racing at the age of six. He has won in everything from quarter-midgets to USAR Hooters Pro Cup to the Nationwide Series. Logano became the youngest driver to ever win a Nationwide Series race during the Meijer 300 at Kentucky Speedway. He was 18 years, 21 days old at the time.

Look to hear a lot about Logano during the 2009 season. He will have a bunch of good finishes and may even see Victory Lane this year, but he will also see some growing pains and rookie mishaps.

Logano will be taking over the #20 Home Depot Toyota Camry from Tony Stewart at Joe Gibbs Racing.

#18 Kasey Kahne



Kasey Kahne started the 2008 season in pretty decent shape, knocking off six Top 10s in the first ten races. Kahne even seemed like he was on track to challenge for a possible championship run towards the middle of the 2008 season. He posted wins for the NASCAR All-Star race at Charlotte, then winning the Cocoa-Cola 600, a win two weeks later at Pocono, and a second at Michigan the following week. After that Kahne's season fell apart, recording only six Top 10s in the next 21 races.

Kasey Kahne was born April 10, 1980 in Enumclaw, Washington. Kahne has driven everything from World of Outlaws to USAC Midgets. He started racing at the age if 14.

I expect Kahne's woes to continue in 2009. He will have the occasional spurt of good runs but most of his season will be as lackluster as 2008. Ray Evernham will not be as involved with the race teams in 2009, as he is pursuing other ventures. This will might have a negative impact on all the Gillett Evernham teams.

Kahne will continue to drive the #9 Budweiser Dodge Charger for Gillett Evernham Motorsports in 2009.


That is it for numbers 20 through 18 for The Top 20 Drivers of 2009. Check back tomorrow for numbers 17 through 15!