Petty Enterprises remains in discussions with Gillett Evernham Motorsports to merge into a four-car operation.
A report by SI.com that the merger would happen and that Petty Enterprises would not return in 2009, according to multiple sources, is premature.
Drew Brown, the director of communications at GEM, said the status of the company has not changed and there are no impending announcements. Officials at the office of GEM majority owner George Gillett were surprised by the report.
“We’re just not going to comment on speculation,” Brown said.
Petty officials have said for months that they were in merger discussions with multiple organizations, including GEM. Two of those, Dale Earnhardt Inc. and Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates, were scratched off the list when they merged last month.
Should such a merger happen it would shrink the garage by another car, the No. 45 driven by Kyle Petty, Chad McCumbee and Terry Labonte last season. The No. 43 of Bobby Labonte would combine with GEM’s No. 9 of Kasey Kahne, No. 19 of Elliott Sadler and No. 10 of Reed Sorenson.
Petty, the team founded by seven-time series champion Richard Petty, has no full-time sponsorship lined up for next season. The team fields its flagship No. 43 for 2000 NASCAR champion Bobby Labonte and a second car that Chad McCumbee and Kyle Petty shared this season. Kyle Petty was expected to have a minimal role — if any — with the organization next season.
Robbie Loomis, vice president of Petty Enterprises, said nothing has changed with the organization, and the team is continuing to talk to potential partners.
“We’re in the same place we were a month ago, when everyone was saying we were going to merge with (Chip) Ganassi,” Loomis said. “We’re still talking to everybody and seeing what’s out there.”
NASCAR has not been immune to the worldwide economic downturn, with over 500 jobs already lost due to mergers or teams closing up shop. This closure, however, marks the most high-profile organization to date that’s been forced to change course for 2009.
Many of the sport’s big-name drivers expressed sadness and surprise at the move.
“They’re probably the biggest family name in NASCAR, so it’s a huge change in our sport,” Tony Stewart said. “It just shows you how delicate the economy is and how it’s affecting racing. It makes you think it’s not really a good time to be a new car owner in the series.”
“It’s really tough,” added Jeff Burton. “It’s sad ... if you look back on our sport, there are lots of teams and car owners that built this sport that aren’t around anymore. That’s scary.”
“It’s extremely disappointing to hear that’s happening to the Pettys,” four-time champion Jeff Gordon said. “Who doesn’t want to have this sport with the Petty team in it? I hope they find a way to keep that. I don’t know all the details, but I think it’s important to our sport. But it’s also a huge wake-up call to all of us, that none of us are immune to what could potentially happen.”
