Trouble in Turn2

What Happened

After a lot of nice accomplishments in 2006, this past year was more about maintaining that progress for Petty Enterprises. After years of stagnancy, the team is finally making serious attempts to regain their past power. GM Robbie Loomis is the driving force behind the team’s growth.

Kyle Petty stepped out of the #45 car and into the broadcast booth for six races in the summer. It could mean the first phase of his transition to retirement, TV or a more active role in ownership. Meanwhile Bobby Labonte pressed on, running consistently with the occasional top ten.

Both teams faced plenty of struggles. Like every other team, PE was faced with building two separate fleets of cars, transitioning to unleaded fuel and trying to figure out how to run with the Hendricks and Gibbs of the sport.

Petty Enterprises also began looking to the future with eyes on not only survival, but improvement for the historic team. One big step was the announced plan to move from Level Cross North Carolina to a new shop closer to Charlotte. Being closer to NASCAR’s hub means the team can pull from a larger pool of employees.

A bigger, stickier step that’s on the table is a possible merger with another team. On one hand it would allow the team to tap into additional resources, technology and sponsorship dollars. The problem is that the Petty’s greatest asset is their history and name. A merge could dillute that rich history, something the Pettys won’t take lightly.

What Went Well

Petty lit up race fan’s faces in May with an improbable 3rd place finish in the Coca Cola 600. It was his highest finish in 10 years. The result was the only top ten of his season, but he had nice runs at Talladega, Atlanta and Bristol. The best news was that Petty managed to keep the car inside the top 35, granting him qualifying immunity for at least the first 5 races of 2008.

Labonte was again solid on short tracks and had several good runs. He also took to the CoT pretty well. His average CoT finish was 21.8. While his top 5’s and top 10’s declined from 2006, he managed to run more laps and finish more races. That was reflected in his 18th place points position.

During Petty’s time out of the car, the team might have found a young driver that could maybe replace Petty long term. Chad McCumbee was plucked from the Truck Series to race the car at Pocono and did a steady job finishing 25th. He ran another Cup race later in the season at Michigan where he finished 41st.

What Went Wrong

Petty’s car narrowly hung onto a top 35 spot for the second straight season. The Toyota teams will be stronger in 2008 with 6 teams looking to take Petty’s spot. Petty can’t afford too many poor finishes early in the season or he will struggle to regain his guaranteed starting spot.

While Petty had planned on missing some races, he hadn’t planned on missing so many. After a 43rd place finish at Watkins Glen Petty slammed his hand on his car and broke it. He missed the next two races as a result.

The biggest problem for the Petty cars is that they simply can’t run up front on a consistent basis. Labonte is still a capable driver, but without the tools and information that the larger teams have, his success is limited. There are two things that could probably help the Petty cars improve. One is if Petty were able to successfully transition out of the car and into the shop. The other is the rumored merger with Gillett-Evernham. While both could probably help the team’s performance, neither is a sure bet.