King Richard Petty Reduced to Figurehead
Within the next few hours Petty Enterprises will announce that Boston Ventures, a private equity firm, has acquired controlling interest in the 60-year-old racing operation which has produced 10 NASCAR champions but struggled to remain competitive the last two decades.
NASCAR’s all-time winningest driver and racing patriarch Richard Petty will remain involved at a high level, but David Zucker, 45, will assume the role of CEO according to David Hovis, a spokesman for Petty Enterprises.
You gotta love that “involved at a high level” line. Put another way, and without the PR spin, King Richard has been put into semi-retirement (with his consent of course) in a last ditch effort to save the oldest remaining original team in the sport.
As part of the takover they will announce the resigning of Bobby Labonte to a new multi-year contract. (Hey Bob Margolis! will you retract the un-sourced piece of dung you published 4 months ago?)
At least Boston Ventures is starting out on the right foot be signing Labonte, given skill level and price of contracts of others that may be available at the end of 2008 he’s the best choice for the team.
Now if the new ownership can quietly move aside Kyle Petty as their next move I’ll be impressed.
Technorati Tags: NASCAR, Petty Enterprises, Richard Petty, Bobby Labonte, Robbie Loomis, Motorsports, Full Throttle
Lee Petty on a Ford?????
The is no God!!!!!!!!!
just sayin
I could’ve made it worse Okla… I could have included a pic of Petty during his brief and “mandated” drag racing career.
As a 30+ year fan of the Pettys, it really troubles me that this is what it has come to. Richard’s retirement in 1992 was tough to take. The journeymen from Rick Wilson to Jeff Green was tougher to take. But the sale of PE is the toughest to take. Yet Richard did what he felt like he had to do - extend the life of PE. That’s more than can be said for Melling Racing, Bud Moore, Junior Johnson, Rudd Performance Motorsports, Morgan-McClure or the Wood Brothers (just a matter of time). I can only hope that BV will stay in the game long enough to at least see if Labonte can make a play for the company to run after he’s done with the driving part.