Petty Enterprises drivers may swap points
BRISTOL, Tenn. – Petty Enterprises will wait until after today's Bristol race to evaluate its points situation.
Driver Kyle Petty is currently 81 points outside of the top 35, which switches from 2007 points to 2008 points after today's race.
Should he remain outside the top 35, Executive Vice President of Racing Operations Robbie Loomis said the organization would consider swapping Petty's points with that of Bobby Labonte – who could be guaranteed a starting spot based on a past champions' provisional.
"Realistically, we'll see how we come out of here at the end of today," he said. "I was just talking to Kyle about it, and ultimately it'll be up to Kyle and Richard [Petty]."
Petty Enterprises will have to see what other teams with past champions do. Kurt Busch, a more recent champion than Labonte, could switch points again with Sam Hornish Jr., for example.
"We'll have to see what everybody is doing, but we think there's a real solid chance of of getting Kyle back in there today," Loomis said. "We've let Kyle down with the car mechanically."
Sponsor General Mills would have to be on board with any change, but Loomis said it's mostly about helping them understand that there would be no on-track change visible.
It's been a frequent topic this weekend for reporters. Asked how many times he's answered questions about the possible swap, Loomis smiled and thought of the famous Petty number.
"Forty three," he said. "That's a good number."
