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George Gillett Jr. speaks with a sense of awe whenever he mentions the name of Richard Petty.
“There is a little tremble in my voice when I talk to him,” Gillett said Sunday at Phoenix International Raceway. “He is The King—and that’s not a title somebody gave him, it’s something he earned.”
Gillett, who took over majority ownership of what is now known as Gillett Evernham Motorsports on Aug. 6, has been involved in talks with Petty for months about possibly incorporating Petty Enterprises into his new racing operation. Those talks aren’t really ongoing at the moment; but they aren’t dead, either, according to both parties. Joe Menzer, NASCAR.com
The ball is in the court of Richard Petty as to whether there is a merger/partnership between Petty Enterprises and Gillett Evernham Motorsports.
“We hope to have at the least a commercial relationship with them in terms of continuing to supply their engines to them, and perhaps their chassis,” Gillett said. “They’ve got engines that make them go fast, and they’re doing well. They haven’t had any broken engines, and it’s been a good relationship.
“Whether it goes any further than that, that’s really up to Richard. It’s not up to us. We’re hugely respectful of him, and if he wants to talk in the future, we’d certainly listen. But at this point, it’s a commercial relationship.” David Newton, ESPN.go
