| | | | | | DOWN BUT NOT OUT | Petty doesn't expect to lose Labonte despite losing STP | |
| | By David Newton / ESPN.com CHARLOTTE, NC -- Petty Enterprises lost the sponsor of its famed No. 43 car to Richard Childress Racing on Tuesday, but officials don't expect the driver to follow.
Robbie Loomis, the vice president for racing operations at Petty Enterprises, said the organization is in the final stages of negotiating a deal that would keep 2000 Sprint Cup champion Bobby Labonte there for the remainder of his career.
He said losing General Mills, the current sponsor of Labonte's car, will have no bearing on that.
"I'm not worried about that at all," Loomis said of losing Labonte to RCR. "I feel as good about it as anything I've felt about in a long time."
Labonte said his only concern right now is this season.
"I'm very humbled by the level of interest in my future, but at this time I'm concentrating all my efforts in getting Petty Enterprises back to Victory Lane," Labonte said, according to a statement. "I feel good about all the positive steps that Petty Enterprises has made and continues to make."
Speculation that Labonte would become the fourth driver at RCR intensified when General Mills announced on Tuesday that it would sponsor the No. 33 next season and leave Petty Enterprises looking for a sponsor for the car made famous by Richard Petty for only the second time since 1972.
RCR owner Richard Childress said in a statement that the driver of the 33 would be named at a later date.
"I've led a race after 499 laps and gotten turned on Turn 2 of the final lap and lost," Loomis said. "But when Bobby came to Petty Enterprises he wanted to be a part of the rebuilding process. I believe now more than ever he wants to see that through and be the driver that puts the 43 back in Victory Lane.
"I see us being together for a long time."
Loomis said the past week at Petty Enterprises has been like a "hurricane" between the expected announcement that General Mills would leave and Monday's announcement that Kyle Petty would step aside in the No. 45 at Texas this week in favor of rookie Chad McCumbee.
Petty made that decision after falling outside of the top 35 guaranteed a spot in the field each week in the first five races and failing to qualify last weekend at Martinsville Speedway.
Loomis said predictions that this is the end of NASCAR's most storied franchise, which won seven championships with Richard Petty, are premature.
"I know from the inside the Petty company is as strong as it has been in the 14 years I have been associated with it," said Loomis, who returned to Petty three years ago after a stint with Hendrick Motorsports.
Petty Enterprises moved from its Randleman, N.C., shop to Mooresville, N.C., prior to this season to be closer to the talent base of NASCAR. Loomis said he made two new hires within the past week that he believes will move the company forward.
He also said negotiations with a financial partner in New York -- Medallion Financial Group -- are moving fast.
"We have the best foundation we've had in a long time," he said. "You've got to have that foundation to build on."
Loomis also said it is premature to say this is the end of Kyle Petty's driving career. He applauded Petty's decision to see what McCumbee can do, adding he hopes to one day have Petty and McCumbee in cars.
"I really admire Kyle," Loomis said. "He and his dad talked about it. Kyle said with all the problems he's had getting a feel for the Car of Tomorrow that he would step back and watch and see if he can help develop Chad and see if he can learn something at the same time."
McCumbee drove in two races last season while Petty took a break to work as a television analyst for TNT. He finished 25th at Pocono and 41st at Michigan.
"Everyone at Petty Enterprises believes in Chad and his abilities," Kyle Petty said in a statement. "Texas gives us a chance to get another good look at Chad without throwing him to the wolves. He should be relaxed because he knows he can get the job done there."
Meanwhile, Childress is left with finding a fourth driver. Scott Wimmer is a potential candidate. He already has a Nationwide Series win for RCR this season and is scheduled to drive a handful of Cup races in a fourth RCR car.
| | Posted April 02, 2008 , 9:59 pm EST
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