Petty willing to move to a different team

[Sprint]

Wow I would love to see this



FORT WORTH, Texas – Kyle Petty said he would consider driving for a different organization if "there's not a place for me here" at Petty Enterprises.

The 47-year-old veteran replied "Oh, yeah" without hesitation when asked Friday afternoon whether a new race team could be in his future if it is determined that Petty Enterprises wants to go in a different direction.

"Even though you think I make a living running my mouth, I try to make a living driving," he said. "And if there's no place for me here, then you'd have to go someplace else."

Petty is not in his No. 45 car this week because the management – namely his father Richard Petty and Executive Vice President Robbie Loomis – determined, along with Kyle's input, that he would step aside for youngster Chad McCumbee this week at Texas Motor Speedway.

Petty was not happy to be out of the car and said he wants to go out on his own terms and still has a passion for driving. As such, if the organization chooses to put McCumbee or another driver in the car, Petty said he could end up driving for someone else.

"I came back here [to the team] because this is where I wanted to be and this is what I wanted to do," he said. "But I don't want to stand in the way of this team being a better team. And if I'm the problem and they figure out that Kyle's the problem, then this whole deal is not working out. And if that's what they truly believe and they don't have confidence in me and I don't have confidence in them, no driver ever wants to be in that position whether you own the team or you don't own the team, no matter how it's connected to you."

Petty said that even though it's late in his career, "I'm still not ready to quit yet."

"I want to be the one who makes that decision, not somebody else," he said. "You want to be able to make that decision when you stop doing the job you do, whether you're a postman, whether you're a farmer, it doesn't make any difference. Everyone wants to think they control their destiny at some point in time, and that's why I'm going to be arrogant enough to say, I still want to control that part of who I am and that part of my life."

Petty said he "didn't think it would be a big deal" if he changed teams at this stage in his career.

"I'm just a driver," he said. "I'm not a superstar. I'm not the be-all, end-all of race car drivers.

"Do I still think I can beat a bunch of these guys out here? You bet your bottom dollar. I'm going to be that cocky. I wouldn't still be standing here if I didn't.

"To go to another team, if that was the option, I'm not going to close the door on that. I can't close the door on that. I've got a family, too."

Petty emphasized that such a move would not be made until his current team has chosen the direction it will take. Therefore, a change is not imminent.

"It's not like I'm handing out business cards," he said. "And it's not like people are knocking my door down, either. Let's be honest about that."

[Sprint]

FORT WORTH, Texas -- Kyle Petty isn't happy about the decision to replace him with rookie Chad McCumbee for Sunday's Sprint Cup race at Texas Motor Speedway.



He made it clear on Friday that it was not his decision to step aside even though Robbie Loomis, the vice president of competition at Petty Enterprises, said it was.



"I don't care what he said,'' Petty said. "I said it wasn't. Why would I get out of a car?''



Petty would not say who made the decision, whether it was Loomis or his father, seven-time NASCAR champion Richard Petty. He referred to the decision-maker only as "they.''



"Everybody is they,'' he said. "Like a kid when you're little, everybody made me do it.''



The decision was announced on Monday, three days after Petty failed to qualify for the race at Martinsville Speedway and a week after he fell out of the top 35 in owners' points guaranteed a spot in the field each week.



"Quite frankly, Kyle is the one that came up with the idea,'' said Loomis, adding Petty will be back in the car next week at Phoenix. "On Monday, Kyle and Richard came to the shop and talked to me and said, 'Hey, I know you're trying to strengthening this team up. Let's try to leave as much as that intact as you can right now and let's put Chad in there and give him a chance.'''



There's nothing I want to do more than drive a race car. Nothing in this freaking world that I want to do more than drive a race car. I want to drive a good race car. I want to drive a competitive race car.
--Kyle Petty
That didn't mesh with Petty's story.


"I told them I'll do whatever it takes to make this team better,'' he said. "They felt in order to make this team better was me being out of the car and somebody else being in it. If that's the way they feel then that's their option because they run the place.''



Petty, who is 40th in points, seemed frustrated over years of being blamed for the struggles of his car that has finished no better than 22nd in points since 1998.



"Do I think I'm the problem?'' he said. "No, I don't think I'm the problem, but I'm pretty arrogant on that side. I don't think I'm a problem with anything. I just don't think I'm the problem. I think we have problems, but I don't think Kyle Petty is the problem.''



Petty was a big part of the decision-making process at Petty Enterprises before Loomis arrived two and a half years ago from Hendrick Motorsports. Petty has been at odds over several recent decisions, including the one to move the organization from Level Cross, N.C., to Mooresville, N.C. to be closer to NASCAR's talent base in greater Charlotte.



"I think there was a time when we needed to move to Mooresville, or we needed to move to the Charlotte area,'' Petty said. "That time had passed. So I was not a hundred percent moving to Mooresville.



"I felt we had some issues that we should fix and could fix whether we were in Level Cross or Mooresville. We have not fixed those issues yet. We're not running any better in Mooresville than we were in Level Cross.''



But Petty said he's not at odds with anybody at Petty Enterprises despite the contradiction over him not driving this weekend.



"It's not like we fight or anything like that,'' he said.



But Petty made it clear that he still wants to drive, even though he was scheduled to miss seven races -- six to be a television analyst for TNT and one to attend his daughter's wedding -- beginning in June.



And he made it clear that he still cares about being successful.



"I'm 47,'' he said. "I really don't give a rat's rear end about a lot of things anymore. [But] there's nothing I want to do more than drive a racecar. Nothing in this freaking world that I want to do more than drive a race car. I want to drive a good race car. I want to drive a competitive race car.



"We're not in a good competitive situation right now. We've got to make our stuff better. I think they're trying really, really hard to make it better. If I'm the problem then I'm the one that needs to get out of the way so it can get better. If somebody else is the problem then they've got to be big enough to step out of the way.''

[TAZZ]

Kyle will be 48 before next season

His driving record the past 8 season is UN INPRESSIVE

So where does KYLE even think he could be going

He's just blowing off steam B/C even Richard sees Kyle is not the answer in a Petty car .

Retire
And give PEI a chance to get their program up to par .

[Sprint]

Sprint has accepted the fact that Kyle's career has been over for some time now but I would still love to se him in a decent car just to see if he could have some decent finishes

[Bucamaniac40]

Put Kyle on the list with Nemechek for drivers who should do what Dale Jarret just did. RETIRE!