Dodge Motorsports Media
This is an Update to:
Petty Enterprises In Merger Talks With GEM
These are sad days for NASCAR. Woeful days. The clock ticks toward the end of Petty Enterprises as we know it, through either an absorption by Gillett Evernham Racing, or another, much worse fate. The organization that mirrored the growth of NASCAR more than any other, that provided the sport with a bankable superstar when it needed one, that gave birth to a man in a hat who made fans handshake by handshake, is inevitably changing. And something will surely be lost along the way.
Now an organization that’s won 268 races and 10 championships is in survival mode, laying off employees and trying to negotiate a deal that will ensure Richard Petty and his flagship No. 43 car a place in the future of the sport. It will be a tearful day indeed when a Petty operation in existence since 1949 ceases to exist. But Richard Petty and his family will surely emerge from this in better shape than some other NASCAR team owners, who after decades of hard work were forced to sell everything at auction, and left with only pennies on the dollar for their efforts.
The Petty franchise has reportedly been in negotiations with Gillett-Evernham Motorsports about a possible merger. A GEM spokesman said the team “has no plans to make any announcement” on Thursday.
Speculation about some sort of merger between the Petty and GEM teams has raged since last week, although indications are that any deal would be less of a merger and more GEM absorbing some of the assets of the Petty team.
Petty was reacting to reports that the team his grandfather founded almost 60 years ago would likely not be around to start the 2009 Sprint Cup season, especially if reports of a merger with Gillett Evernham Motorsports are true.
“From a historic standpoint, if you start the season without a Petty Enterprises… it’s almost akin to not having the (Green Bay) Packers show up for an NFL season next year or not having the (New York) Yankees show up,” Petty said.
After starting just 15 races in 2008, Petty says he has already come to terms with the fact he won’t be back with Petty Enterprises as a driver anytime soon. Bobby Labonte and Chad McCumbee are signed to drive for the team next year, although McCumbee’s deal is reliant on sponsorship being found.
“Maybe it’s the time to close the doors and go do something else.”
UPDATE: December 12, 2008 06:48 am
Six months ago, the future could not have been more promising for Petty Enterprises and Bobby Labonte. The historic race team had just agreed to a partnership with Boston Ventures, an investment firm that would provide needed capital to an organization with 268 race wins, but none since 1999. The driver had just agreed to a four-year extension, with the promise that there would be a place for him within the franchise once his days behind the wheel were done.
Yet in the ensuing months, economic reality intervened. A recession hit. Sponsorship dried up. And so began the long tumble toward Thursday, when Petty Enterprises announced that it is negotiating with Gillett-Evernham Motorsports to field its flagship No. 43 car, and Labonte announced that he had been released from all ties to the organization. It’s another step toward the end of Petty Enterprises as the sport has always known it, the team that family patriarch Lee Petty founded in 1949.
“In over 15 years of racing in the Sprint Cup Series, I can’t remember a time when the sport’s landscape looks as it does today,” Labonte said in a statement. “Saying that, Petty Enterprises and I had serious and very sincere discussions about what was best for myself and everyone involved at Petty Enterprises moving forward. These discussions culminated with us agreeing that moving in a separate direction will be the greatest way to reach our end goals. It was by no means an easy decision.”
But Labonte, who took 21 Cup victories and a title to Petty when he left Joe Gibbs Racing in 2006, never came close to duplicating his previous success. He had just 13 top-10 finishes and finished no higher than 18th in the final season standings.
But Petty, who won 200 races and a record seven Cup titles, praised Labonte’s work.
“Bobby is a true champion who never failed to give everything he had when he was behind the wheel of one of our race cars,” Petty said.
Labonte said he does not have a job lined up for next season, and Chip Ganassi’s No. 41 is the only open ride with full-time sponsorship already secured. Ganassi recently partnered with Dale Earnhardt Inc., and has taken his time filling his vacant seat.
“I’ll continue to keep these matters private and will make the appropriate announcement and comments when my future plans are confirmed. I appreciate everyone’s continued support.”
