The economic problems facing America is now even starting to effect the sports world. One of NASCAR's oldest and most respected teams, Petty Enterprises, founded by the late Lee Petty and made a household name by Richard Petty, is feeling the pinch. This past Thursday Petty Enterprises announced cutbacks including the possible sale of the #43 car and team to Gillette-Everenham Racing. The #43 car made famous by "The King" Richard had been driven by former NASCAR Champion Bobby Labonte up until this pat Thursday. Labonte had piloted the #43 Cheerios Dodge since 2006, and had just last year signed a 4 year contract extension with the team. Labonte said the decision to relase him was "in the best interests of both himself and the team" and that although difficult for both, it was a mutually agrred upon decision and there are no hard feelings on either part.
General Mills had announced earlier in the season that they were pulling sponsorship of the #43 car and instead were going to sponsor a car for Richard Childress Racing in 2009. This left the car and the team without sponsorship of any kind for 2009. Talks are underway with GEM about adding the #43 to the team which is already made up of three cars, the #9 driven by Kasey Kahne, the #10 driven by Scott Riggs, and the #19 driven by Elliot Sadler. No word yet as to who might be the driver for the #43 under the new deal if infact it does take place.
As for Labonte, it is rumored that he is in talks with newly aligned Earnhardt/Gnassi team about driving for them. Nothing is confirmed or finalized yet and Labonte siad he is keeping the matter private until something is finalized. The 44 year-old Labonte has no retirement plans anytime soon and hope to drive for several more years, win a few more races, and maybe even snag another championship or two. I will be following this closely and will keep you up to date.
Jim Chitty
Writer/Columnist/Blogger
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