We have had to deal with changes to our sport over the last few years:  the chase, no more Southern 500, no more Rockingham, the COT, Dale Earnhardt’s death, no number 3 and on and on and on.  Now we see the demise of Petty Enterprises. 

You can argue the reasons for the downward spiral of PE.  Some of them are the fault of the Petty’s, some are not.   I was in Texas in the spring of 2000 when two very important things happened.  The first was Junior picking up his first career cup win and the second was the cup debut of Adam Petty.  I was able to talk to Kyle Petty about the big day for Petty Enterprises.  You could see in his eyes and hear in his voice that Adam was the future of Petty Enterprises.  Adam had a pretty good run going until the engine expired in his #45 Sprint Dodge.   We all remember what happened in just a little over a month in New Hampshire; Adam was killed in an on track accident while practicing for a Busch Series race.  I think that was the biggest single factor in the demise of Petty Enterprise.  Would they still be in the same place right now if Adam had lived?  Probably.   Sponsor’s want wins, and wins just weren’t coming at PE.  They have made changes that were supposed to bring back the glory at PE, but it was too little, too late.  The large infusion of cash from Boston Ventures was supposed to be the cure all for PE.  It hasn’t been.  Bobby Labonte has been released from his contract and will race somewhere else in 2009.

So what is left of the once proud Petty Enterprises?  A chance, with a merger, to keep the #43 car on the track and Richard Petty a part of the sport, what a sad way for a legendary team to come to an end.