When Robbie Loomis took over as the executive vice-president of racing operations at Petty Enterprises two years ago, the former crew chief had to do something he never allowed himself during his days atop the pit box: stay patient.
“When I was a crew chief, at the end of the day I didn’t sleep at all if there wasn’t performance,” Loomis said. “When I came into this job at Petty Enterprises, we looked at performance, but there are a lot of big-picture things we have to get in place.”
“It has been a real transition,” he said.
Things haven’t gone quite so well for the No. 45 car, which has seen a revolving door behind the wheel. Kyle Petty, Terry Labonte, Boris Said and rookie Chad McCumbee have all taken turns, making it difficult for the team to develop cohesion. The team is 40th in the owner standings heading into this weekend’s race at Atlanta.
Still, Loomis is optimistic about next year thanks in part to the surprising McCumbee, who managed a 25th-place finish in his first Cup start at Martinsville last weekend, better than stars Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Burton did in their first Cup races at one of NASCAR’s most demanding tracks.
Loomis hopes next year he can hear McCumbee say “rookie of the year.”
Rumours of a merger continue to swirl. Loomis admitted “everybody is talking to everyone about our merger,” but wouldn’t get specific about future plans, saying only that Petty Enterprises remains “very committed” to Dodge.
Loomis would know. He spent several years as Jeff Gordon’s crew chief watching team owner Rick Hendrick help his team become one of the sport’s most dominant racing franchises.
“Rick is doing a great job of making wise decisions along the way and putting the right people in the right place,” he said. “That’s why Hendrick Motorsports has the success today.
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