Filed under: Motorsports
REPORT: Petty Enterprises to close shop, merge with GEM
You don't have to be a NASCAR fan to bemoan the latest reports that Petty Enterprises is closing down. The team is one of the oldest and best known racing outfits in stock car racing, or in any other type of racing for that matter. Lee Petty, winner of the very first Daytona 500 in 1959, was its founder, and his son Richard Petty became the best-known driver in the sport's history, wracking up a record 200 victories. But after 60 years in operation, Petty Enterprise is shutting down.
Reports indicate that a deal was reached on Christmas Eve to have the team merge with rival team Gillett Evernham Motorsports. When the deal is officially announced, the new team may very well carry over the Petty name, but it's bad news for the company's staff who will, for the most part, be left without jobs in the new year.
[Source: FoxSports.com]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Sparkster 12:15PM (1/01/2009)
Sad to see them go. You wonder if Tony Stewart made the right move.
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Suzie 12:31PM (1/01/2009)
Tony made the wrong movie. He should have tried to get part or full ownership of a 4th car under the JGR umbrella. But he was more concerned about racing for GM.
Petty Enterprises was taken down by incompetence.
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Chris 2:34PM (1/01/2009)
Why did Tony make the wrong move? He's practically running Hendrick Motorsports cars, he just has his own team tuning them. Sure he's probably not going to be successful (successful as in winning some races) but I'm sure he will be up there in the top 15 or so for a majority of the races, but only time will tell.
TeamNutmeg 2:53PM (1/01/2009)
More like indifference. Kyle was basically running the team, the family, and trying to race, all while dealing with Adam's death. He really seemed to be the only one in the family who cared, from what I've read over the last decade, which just makes it that much more disappointing how they've treated him since the Boston Ventures investment.
They've had some excellent people on the team over the years, but never enough of them at the same time to really turn the place around. And for being such good racers themselves, they sure don't seem to do a good job of picking talent (Buckshot Jones, Jerry Nadeau) - or, at least, are willing to ignore a lack of talent to get a sponsorship check.
AZZO45b 12:20PM (1/02/2009)
JGR was NOT offering Tony an ownership option... Haas was (& did).
AB: You couldn't find a photo of the #43 PE car??? The #43 is much more significant/ historical than the #45. The #43 won the races & the championships.
Sadly the #45 was WINLESS & the number Adam Petty carried when he died. Guess that sums up the last few years of PE... even their obituary was goofed!
Black Cat 2:32PM (1/01/2009)
You can't get by on your name forever. Petty has been a completely unsuccessful operation for many years and finally sponsors just declined to keep propping it up. If Adam Petty had lived, things may have been very different -- he seemed to be a superstar in the making but was the victim of the devil-may-care attitude of that time.
But we can all be grateful for the memories that Lee and Richard and Kyle and all who were with them have given us. That sort of domination will never happen again.
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Bob 6:53PM (1/01/2009)
I honestly think this was the biggest problem. They just haven't had any success over the last 10 years or so. Kyle seems like a great guy and has done an amazing job off the track, but on the track things just haven't worked out.
I hope they find success in the years ahead.
Hol+ 4:09PM (1/01/2009)
Alright! One team down, how many more we have to go before this sport's gone?
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DC 5:19PM (1/01/2009)
You know just because you can, doesn't mean you should post.
LX builder 5:04PM (1/01/2009)
A very sad day for NASCAR and any fans from the "old days". Its too bad that the Pettys were unable to change with the times. They may not have been very competative in the last 20yrs, but they sure put on a show for the first 30 or so. The team never really made any real gains after Richard retired, and the awful loss of Adam really was the end of this team.
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DC 5:20PM (1/01/2009)
Really sad to see such a storied team die off. Hopefully there will be somewhat of a turnaround for both parties as a result of this, but GEM haven't been doing great either.
I hope that the new Dodge engines can make them more competitive.
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Sparkster 8:48PM (1/01/2009)
Nascar might start looking like F1 sooner than you think, Think about it two , three teams able to win on sunday and maybe one or two able to win a chapionship.
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