Boston Vetures-Petty investment leads to Petty cash; Labonte re-signed
A monumental moment in the history of NASCAR took place on Wednesday, as Richard and Kyle Petty announced that Boston Ventures, an investor in many enterprises, bought the majority share of Petty Enterprises. The company had been the family business since 1949 and this marks the first time that it had changed hands.
Also announced at the press conference was the signing of driver Bobby Labonte to a four-year contract extension to remain as the driver of the #43 Dodge. That team, the one that the King used to drive for, does not have a sponsor signed up for next season. General Mills and the Cheerios brand will be featured on the new #33 Richard Childress Racing team next season. Labonte had been rumored to be the driver of that car. Labonte’s deal also may include options for partial ownership after his driving career.
As part of the agreement, Kyle Petty agreed to step down as CEO of the company, handing the reigns over to David Zucker. Petty said he sees this as a relief for him, as he can now focus more on being the driver of the #45 Dodge and running the Victory Junction Gang Camp. Richard Petty says that despite the change in the company, he is still the “King” as long as he is around there.
The Petty’s finally felt the need to sign an investor, after seeing race teams like Roush-Fenway, Gillett-Evernham, Michael Waltrip Racing, and Richard Childress racing all sell shares in their companies. Petty Enterprises has struggled mightily since Richard’s glory days in the 1960s and 70s, winning only two races in the 1990s and none this decade. The move with Boston Ventures is supposed to help generate the revenue to purchase better equipment and hire better employees.
Boston Ventures is no stranger to major investments. Among their entities are Motown Records, Six Flags Theme Parks, and Billboard Publications.
This weekend, Terry Labonte will pilot the #45 Dodge, while Kyle Petty is in the booth for TNT and his brother Bobby will also carry the Marathon colors.
Former Nationwide Series official sues over discrimination
Former Nationwide Series official Mauricia Grant is suing NASCAR, claiming wrongful termination, sexual harassment, and racial and sexual discrimination. She says that she had been called a “Nappy Headed Mo’”, “Queen Sheba”, and been told that she “worked on colored people time”. Grant, who is black, also said she was terrified of an official who constantly referred to the Ku Klux Klan. She is suing the sport for $250 million.
NASCAR CEO Brian France says that he received no report of any kind of misbehavior from Grant. Grant worked as a certifier of cars in the series from January 2005 until last October. She claims her termination was retaliatory.
Forbes ranks most valuable NASCAR teams
Forbes Magazine ranked the most valuable NASCAR teams this past week and the winners are no surprise. Hendrick Motorsports leads the pack, valued at $335 million. Following Hendrick are Roush-Fenway Racing ($313 million), Joe Gibbs Racing ($184 million), Gillett-Evernham Motorsports ($150 million), and Richard Childress Racing ($130 million). According to the magazine, teams’ values have gained 65% in value in the last two years.
Forbes also listed the top-5 highest paid drivers: 1. Jeff Gordon ($32 million); 2. Dale Earnhardt Jr. ($31 million); 3. Jimmie Johnson ($23 million); 4. Tony Stewart ($19 million); and 5. Kasey Kahne ($14 million).
Lack of fortune reported for MWR
Reports surfaced during the week that Michael Waltrip Racing is in financial trouble. These same reports have said that there have been layoffs at the operation that has had trouble making races and keeping sponsorship. The website that reported the MWR financial trouble is anonymous and is run by a crew member and a journalist. Waltrip and Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President Cal Wells III both handily denied the rumors.
Sponsorship commitments are up in limbo for the team. The #00 Toyota in the Cup Series still does not have a full-time sponsor and UPS is hotly rumored to be leaving the #44. There also have been some rumblings concerning NAPA’s staying on the #55 Toyota.
Things appear to be better with Montoya and Ganassi
Juan Pablo Montoya has not been a happy camper this season. His 20th place spot in the drivers’ standings and moving of his crew chief Donnie Wingo to the #41 team have left him with a sour taste in his mouth in his sophomore season. This has prompted him to publicly blast Ganassi’s moves in the media, forcing the two to have an unscheduled meeting to clear the air between them. Montoya’s name has also shown up in the Tony Stewart rumor mill.
The situation has seemed to improve however, as Montoya and Ganassi were seen horsing around in a motor home at Pocono last weekend. Montoya also says he feels like his team has improved after a couple of test sessions.
Sans Labonte, free-agent market pretty quiet this week
Free agent drivers looking for a ride next season now know that RCR’s # 33 driver’s seat will remain open, with Bobby Labonte re-signing with Petty. Greg Biffle is almost a lock to remain at Roush-Fenway and there have been no developments on the Tony Stewart situation.
With the possibility of Alltel being bought and fazed out by Verizon and leaving the #12 without a sponsor, Ryan Newman seems less likely to remain at Penske after this season. He has been non-committal about his future to the media, but did say that sponsorship would affect his decision of whether or not to remain with the team. Owner Roger Penske says that he is planning to field the team with or without Alltel.
Pocono ratings up with TNT debut
Despite an audio problem and a sometimes boring race, television ratings for TNT’s first race of the 2008 season were up 27% over the same race last season.
Leicht in the dark concerning full-time ride
A major casualty of the occupation of many NNS rides by full-time drivers is Stephen Leicht. He was scheduled to be the part-time driver, along with Bobby Labonte, of the RCR #21 Chevy. Since the ride was without a sponsor, the team shut down about a month ago. This leaves Leicht without a ride.
Leicht drove for Robert Yates Racing in the NNS in the #90 Ford and won a year ago at Kentucky. That team shut down, when Citi Financial opted to sponsor entries for Roush-Fenway Racing. Childress has been trying to line Leight up with a Chevy ride, but so far, that has been a futile effort.
Poor Pocono performance for Georgia gang
Unadilla’s David Ragan finished 24th in the Pocono 500 and remained 13th in the series standings. At Nashville, though, in the Nationwide Series race, he finished 5th and remains 7th in the NNS driver’s points. Brad Keselowski won at Nashville in the Dale Jr.-owned #88, for his and the team’s first win in the series. The Nationwide Series races at Kentucky this week.
Peachtree City’s Reed Sorenson had another disappointing finish in the 33rd spot and holds onto 31st spot in driver’s points.
Bill Elliott luckily qualified for last Sunday’s race and finished 31st. Kasey Kahne won the event.
In the Truck Series, Ron Hornaday beat out the Billy Ballew-owned and Kyle Busch driven #51 Toyota at Texas Motor Speedway. Andy Lally did not start the race, in lieu of T.J. Bell, who brought along some sponsorship for the Lally-owned #7 team. Bell will return to that truck this weekend at Michigan.
Tune into the Bellamy Strickland 120 with Capt. Herb Emory and myself for the latest NASCAR updates this Saturday, from 2-4 p.m., on News/Talk 750 WSB and on wsbradio.com
