| | | | | | WAIT WHAT...? | Kyle Petty willing to move | |
| | By SceneDaily Staff FORT WORTH, TX -- Kyle Petty said he would consider driving for a different organization if "there's not a place for me here" at Petty Enterprises.
The 47-year-old veteran replied "Oh, yeah" without hesitation when asked Friday afternoon whether a new race team could be in his future if it is determined that Petty Enterprises wants to go in a different direction.
"Even though you think I make a living running my mouth, I try to make a living driving," he said. "And if there's no place for me here, then you'd have to go someplace else."
Petty is not in his No. 45 car this week because the management – namely his father Richard Petty and Executive Vice President Robbie Loomis – determined, along with Kyle's input, that he would step aside for youngster Chad McCumbee this week at Texas Motor Speedway.
Petty was not happy to be out of the car and said he wants to go out on his own terms and still has a passion for driving. As such, if the organization chooses to put McCumbee or another driver in the car, Petty said he could end up driving for someone else.
"I came back here [to the team] because this is where I wanted to be and this is what I wanted to do," he said. "But I don't want to stand in the way of this team being a better team. And if I'm the problem and they figure out that Kyle's the problem, then this whole deal is not working out. And if that's what they truly believe and they don't have confidence in me and I don't have confidence in them, no driver ever wants to be in that position whether you own the team or you don't own the team, no matter how it's connected to you."
Petty said that even though it's late in his career, "I'm still not ready to quit yet."
"I want to be the one who makes that decision, not somebody else," he said. "You want to be able to make that decision when you stop doing the job you do, whether you're a postman, whether you're a farmer, it doesn't make any difference. Everyone wants to think they control their destiny at some point in time, and that's why I'm going to be arrogant enough to say, I still want to control that part of who I am and that part of my life."
Petty said he "didn't think it would be a big deal" if he changed teams at this stage in his career.
"I'm just a driver," he said. "I'm not a superstar. I'm not the be-all, end-all of race car drivers.
"Do I still think I can beat a bunch of these guys out here? You bet your bottom dollar. I'm going to be that cocky. I wouldn't still be standing here if I didn't.
"To go to another team, if that was the option, I'm not going to close the door on that. I can't close the door on that. I've got a family, too."
Petty emphasized that such a move would not be made until his current team has chosen the direction it will take. Therefore, a change is not imminent.
"It's not like I'm handing out business cards," he said. "And it's not like people are knocking my door down, either. Let's be honest about that."
| | Posted April 04, 2008 , 11:27 pm EST
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