Published: April 22, 2008 04:11 pm            

PETTY RACING IS AT A CROSSROADS

Monticello — With 200 wins and seven championships in NASCAR Sprint Cup competition,

Richard Petty is firmly woven into the fabric of Americana as a true icon.

The entire Petty family are noted for their generous giving of time and

energy in support of others. They are at the top of the charts when it comes

to giving and helping. They shun alcohol, and I have never heard any

negative rumors about their personal lives.

The problem they face isn't about honesty, morals or generosity. It's

about winning races.

The last Petty victory came in 1999 with driver John Andretti. Since

1983, when Richard won his last race, Petty Racing has only three wins.

Note: Kyle Petty's last win came at Dover in 1995, but he was driving for

Felix Sabates.

Rarely do teams survive as long as Petty has without fielding a winning

team. Morgan McClure Motorsports won three Daytona 500s, but they lost their

sponsor because of poor performance on the track.

Petty will be losing General Mills, one of their major sponsors, next

season to Richard Childress Racing.

As the big sponsors move to other teams, there is going to be a lack of

money to compete against the other top teams.

There are teams in the Cup series that are paid over $20-million by

their major sponsor. Toss in some associate sponsors, and they have an

operating budget of over $25-million.

Hendrick, Roush, and Childress Racing organizations do have teams with

that kind of budget.

How can a $10-million team compete against one of the mega-teams? You do

the math. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what's going to

happen.

Now, we don't think Petty Racing is going to fall off the face of the

earth, because the organization has several other means of bringing in

money, including the Richard Petty Driving Schools. Unless their two Cup

teams, the No. 43 and No. 45, are able to improve their on-track

performance, more and more sponsors are going to be switching to other

teams.

NASCAR and the fans need the Pettys, but racing is still about winning.

You've got to win to stay in the sport.

Next Week: Nationwide Series Going To New Car of Tomorrow

Weekend Racing: The Craftsman Trucks race at the one and one-half mile

Kansas Speedway. The Nationwide and Cup teams are at NASCAR's longest track,

the 2.66-mile Talladega Superspeedway.

Sat., Apr. 26, Craftsman Trucks O'Reilly Auto Parts 250; Starting time:

5:30 p.m. (EST); TV: Speed.

Sat., Apr. 26, Nationwide Series Aaron's 312; Starting time: 2:30 p.m.

(EST); TV: ABC.

Sun., Apr. 27, Sprint Cup Aaron's 499; Starting time: 1:30 p.m. (EST);

TV: Fox.

Racing Trivia Question: What was Harry Gant's nickname?

Last Week's Question: Which team does Alan Gustafson crew chief for? He

is the crew chief on the No. 5 Hendrick Chevrolet driven by Casey Mears.

You may contact the Racing Reporter at: hodgesnews@earthlink.net.

        

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