Petty/Mopar

[Mopar Man]

What happened to the Petty/Mopar announcement that was supposed to happen at the SEMA show this week? Are the Pettys holding out for a better deal?

[caveman]

That was speculation ,no one out side the party's involved knows who the 2nd team is going to be.Some say Jeff Burton/Mark Martin,and there are more rumors .

[Christopher]

I also heard a announcement would be made the weekend of Nov 14.

[Hoov]

According to Jayski...It will not happen at the SEMA show and maybe Nov 14 like Christopher said and maybe not even then.

[dowling]

Roush supposedly has an ad out for a Chrysler mechanic to be hired. May or may not be connected. Penske may now be out of the running as Kranenfuss wants to stay with Ford and the Penske Indy team has stopped using Mercedes power for their cars.

[caveman]

Sounds like penski wants to buy Kranafuss out ,thats been going around lately,they denie it of course .We'll see.

[Mopar Man]

Rousch's ad for a Chrysler mech. doesn't mean that they will be switching...he has a large operation besides WC and even racing in general.

[dowling]

Jayski is reporting today that the Petty's have informed Pontiac that they will be switching to Dodge for the 2001 season so that 2000 will be their last year with Pontiac. This is supposed to come from a GM source.

[HeavyMetal43]

dowling I think you are right I was on thatsracin.com they are saying that the pettys have informed gm that the 2000 season will be there last in a pntiac.also that adam petty will join the winston cup in 2000

[HeavyMetal43]

I mean 2001

[Mopar Man]

The Charlotte Observer ran the story as well. The Pettys have given notice to pontiac and will run Mopar starting in 2001.

[dowling]

I wonder if the delay with Petty signing is if he is waiting to see an engine on the dyno first to see where they stand performance wise? The chassis's are generic and the body will be made competitive by NASCAR so the only concern would be the motor. Petty may be developing his own or waiting for Evernham to get one on the dyno. Jayski site says that Evernham said on TV that they will go with a modified truck series block for now but that Mopar was to come up with a new engine specifically for Cup racing. While Petty is a natural choice for the Mopar team, he probably wants to see some dyno numbers before deciding to switch as he would still want his team to be competitive.

[Christopher]

Kyle has said also that whoever they sign with has to promote Adam Petty,similar to what chebby did with Jeff Gordon.I think they will switch,especially after they make a cast iron block of the WoO engine.

[attsr]

Anyone watch the QVC shopping channel last night with Richard Petty as guest? Well, an audience member asked if they might see Adam in a DODGE for '01. His reply: The decision to go with DODGE has not been made but they are considering it and if they go with DODGE for '01, then Adam would be in one. From observing his face during the question and trying to read between the lines, I would bet on the King's return to MOPAR!

[caveman]

He probably can't say much ,he is running a poncho this season so untill the end of next year he will probably not say to much on the subject.I'm banking on them going to Dodge.
Kyle has said that there relationship with pontiac has been longer than the one they had with Mopar back in the 60 s/70s.What he forgets is ,Thats when Petty did all of his WINNING.

[Mopar Man]

Damn right...I've heard Richard say that same thing about being with pontiac longer than Mopar. The key is that Petty Enterprises hasn't won jack with pontiac - all the winning and the glory years happened with Mopar.

pontiac is the red headed stepchild of NASCAR and PE is not even the lead pontiac team, so why not switch to Chrysler?

[Christopher]

I saw the deal with the "King" on QVC too.I agree,the way he looked when he answered,you would have thought the answer was going to be yes.As far as Kyle goes,his memory is faded,all he remembers is Pontiac as that's really what he started driving.Get used to a Dodge Kyle,that's what you are driving in 2001.

[Gary]

Kyle should remember Dodge. He won his first race in a Mirada!

I agree it's almost a given the Petty teams will be Mopar in 2001. They can't start promoting Dodge while getting factory support from Pontiac. I'd also bet that Dodge is very eager to promote Adam. That Petty smile will have every young woman falling all over themselves wanting a car that he promotes. Dodge wants a youthful image, and Adam can help that image without question.

[dowling]

Even if Petty does eventually announce his intention to run Dodge in 2001, he will probably try to delay the announcement as long as possible. He does still have to run the Pontiacs for the 2000 season and the sooner he announces going to Dodge, the sooner the help from Pontiac will stop. The manufacturers share info with all teams running a given brand and if they know he is going to switch too early, then they will stop sharing info with his team. This would hurt him thru the 2000 season to try and stay competitive. I believe Petty will switch but look for him to delay announcing it .

[Mopar Man]

Kyle's first win was in one of Richard's old Magnums...he ran the ARCA race at Daytona and won it first time out...don't ask me what has happened to him since.

It makes sense that the Pettys would not announce a new Dodge affiliation while they still have to run pontiac for another year, but if you look at it another way it doesn't matter. Going most of next season without the announcement but with intentions to run Dodge in 2001 would cause constant distractions due to rumors and the questions from the press at every track. Plus, pontiac has been trying to extend PE's contract and if these efforts fail they would probably start to assume that the Pettys will be running Dodge in 2001 and begin to cut back their support anyway.

The Pettys should just come out and announce their intentions to run Dodge and get on with it.

[dowling]

The Dodge truck teams were testing a new hood last Thursday and Friday and Steve Grissom was doing some testing in the Petty truck. He is now rumoured to be the replacement for Hensley next year. It was also rumoured that he would be a test driver for Petty built Intrepids.

[caveman]

The rumor is right on this time,I believe he's signed up.He doesn't have a cup ride,and I don't see any room in cup or busch next year.They got more drivers than cars,and so many cars they cant all get in to the race's.He's smart to take the Truck ride.

[caveman]

The 43 crew chief Robbie Loomis is signing with the 24 to be there chief.Now the 44 s old crew chief is rumoured to be taking part in a R+D prodject for PE,to develope the new Dodge race car.Supposedly Kyle and Richard are at odds about the desicion to go with Dodge or to stay with Pontiac.Kyle hasn't won much in awhile,but the pontiacs seem to have an advantage right now,and both Kyle and Andretti were running well the last part of the season.CAVEMAN 'S ADVICE TO PE,GO WITH THE DODGE.You won't be disapointed boys!!
Run with Dodge or get RUN OVER by a Dodge

[This message has been edited by caveman (edited December 07, 1999).]

[Mopar Man]

Absolutely they should run with Dodge. The pontiacs may have been running better, but Andretti continually slid down the points standings the last 2/3 of the season. I think the pontiacs still suck and the Pettys are not event their flagship team nor are they the best pontiac team. Why stay with a brand that you have not won with and that is the odd man out in NASCAR's eyes? Go with Dodge!

[caveman]

It would seem that pontiac has had a slight advantage this year,but we are going to see new bodies for 2000.The areo advantage the Pontiac enjoyed this year may be null and void this season coming up.If they do still have an areo advantage next year,nascar will take something away from them.

[Gary]

Parity is a huge problem for NASCAR(R). When they got into the automotive styling business, they opened a can of worms that can't be closed. Dodge will not be allowed to win the first season, so will get conscessions for the 2002 season. But if they win more than a couple of races, the rules will change because the Ford and GM folks will whine and moan. Winston Cup is nothing more than a quota system, and the best will never dominate.

[caveman]

The best will prevail,why is it the same teams are the ones winning.They are the best.Mopar has to have the best people,the best cars,they have to be the best as teams

[dowling]

Jayski's site has a report from Racer magazine that Petty has signed to run Mopar in 2001. The official announcement should come next year, probably on Jan. 11 at the car show when Mopar is set to debut an actual Winston Cup Intrepid.

[Christopher]

As posted on "The Petty Page".... A link to Racer magazine that says Petty to Dodge in 2001.The Petty response is (quote)"It's not official yet,but it looks like Dodge".I think that says it all.Supposedly,Pontiac tried real hard to keep Petty,but Richard must have talked some sense into Kyle.

[Hoov]

I am sure that Petty is going Mopar for 2001 and there is a reason for hiring Steve Grissom also. He is a little younger than Jimmy Hensley and has a lot more recent car experiance cause Jimmy has been in the trucks a lot and not in a car. This also will give them a lot of track time during the 2000 year to work out the bugs. I do not think that testing a new brand will fall under the testing rules they have to follow now. I hope it is "unlimited" testing and maybe even some actuall "racing" time during this season. With the trucks racing at the same track and same weekend with the cup boys this year, I bet we see Grissom trying to make a few races in a Dodge before this season is over. The other thing is that Jimmy Hensley has not gotten a ride for 2000 and that even has me thinking that he might be the test pilot for the test cars. Lots of speculation and such, but I just love to ponder. Merry Christmas and have a safe one!!!