Kyle Petty insists Cup career not over
PHOENIX – Kyle Petty says he’s “not ready to quit racing yet,” but admits that with television obligations he’s not in a position to run a
full, 36-race schedule either. That doesn’t mean that while this weekend’s race at Phoenix will be his last of the year with Petty Enterprises, it’s not necessarily his last Cup start.
Chad McCumbee is scheduled to be in the team’s No. 45 Dodge next weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
“When I know it’s my last race, then it will be an emotional thing,” Petty said. “I don’t know that this is my last race. What you don’t know
can’t hurt you.”
Petty, 48, said he likens the winding down of his career to that of fellow driver Bill Elliott, who has continued to run a partial schedule
since deciding he no longer wanted to deal with the grind of a 36-race season.
“[Elliott] never said, ‘I retire.’ He’s never said, ‘I’m not coming back,’” Petty said. “He’s gone on and run the dirt [racing] stuff, he’s done
stuff with [son] Chase, he’s spent time with his family.
“For me, I kind of look at it more like what Bill has done. I’ll either be here [at Petty Enterprises] or I won’t be here.”
His television obligations – Petty has worked with Turner Network Television as a color analyst during the network’s six-race race broadcast schedule for the past few years and he’s a regular guest on Speed’s “Tradin’ Paint” weekly television show – cost him his full-time status before now.
Possibly expanding his role in television would cut deeper into a racing schedule.
“When I go down that road [with TV], “then I’m not a full-time driver here,” he said. “But I haven’t been for four or five years; that’s the way I look at it. So right now, I’ve got nothing. I’m just looking.”
Petty Enterprises will field two cars in 2009, the No. 43 Dodge for Bobby Labonte and likely the No. 44 for McCumbee. Petty could run a handful of races for the team in the No. 45 entry, but only if it’s financially feasible, he said Saturday.
Boston Ventures purchased a majority interest in Petty Enterprises earlier this year, and officials have already stated that he is not a part of the 2009 program for the two full-time teams. David Zucker, named Petty Enterprises CEO when the acquisition took place, said recently that the organization was committed to Labonte and to McCumbee.
“That was important,” Petty said. “I think it was important for our guys at the shop to know we had a direction. And I was not included in that, except to say that, ‘If Kyle has money and we can put some stuff together, we will run a limited schedule.’ And that’s what this team needs.”
Petty, an eight-time winner in the Cup series, said he has had conversations with others in the garage area about running a partial
schedule, and expects to race in the Grand American Series. But unlike several drivers in the garage, who are looking for full-time rides for 2009 and beyond, Petty says he can take a little more time before making any moves.
“I don’t have to know right away, because I’m not Tony Stewart,” he said. “I’m not Bobby Labonte. I’m not these guys that are going to run for the championship. I’m only going to run ... five, 10 or 15 races. If the economy turns around next June and they come back and say, ‘Hey do you want to run five races by the end of the year?’ Yeah, I’m in. I’m flexible. I’ve still got TV, I’ve still got something going on, I just wouldn’t be driving the first part of the year. But that doesn’t mean you won’t drive at all.
“I’m in a better position than AJ Allmendinger and guys like that. They have to know something. They’re out on a limb. They have to know what they’re doing to move forward. Right now, I don’t think I have to.”
