kyle and this season

[isky3x]

I have not posted on here concerning Kyle in months, choosing instead to let the results speak for themselves. While Kyle and the 45 team have improved slightly by not having to take provisionals, overall this teams performance has still been poor despite a few brief flashes in a couple of races.

Early on the Kyle apologist on this forum suggested that Kyle's heart wasnt in it and he was just interested in running the team. I bought into this story until they switched the Georgia Pacific sponsorship from the 44 to the 45 and still kept Kyle as the driver for next year.

For a guy that just wants to run the team Kyle had no problem naming himself as the driver for next year so much for I just want to concentrate on running the team.

Jerry Nadeau proved that the Pettys need young aggresive new blood almost stealing a victory at the road course.

The question is this if Kyle truly wants to run the team and his hearts not in driving anymore as many people told me on this forum...... Then why was Kyle so quick to take the Georgia Pacific Sponsorship and name himself the driver ???

[SUN RA KAT]

Why did he pit at the end in last week's race with rain coming minutes away? He snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. Sad.

[GS -]

SUN RA KAT, absolutely correct....I was astonished he or more on the lead lap didn't stay out. Some crew chiefs were not on their toes on this one.


AND....that damn 97 car won.

Originally posted by SUN RA KAT
Why did he pit at the end in last week's race with rain coming minutes away? He snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. Sad.

[Glenn81]

I agree they certainly were sleeping last Sunday. They should have stayed out. Overall Kyle has improved I think he's 26th in points & like you said very few prov. He never was an awesome driver & never will be, I think he could still win the odd race who knows?

[Nightri1]

I wondered about the pit stop myself. HUH?
As far as a human I still like Kyle and always will.
As far as his driving it is most certainly time to put a new young guy in! Kyle just can't get it done. Sad.

[GaryS]

He's driving the car because he owns the team and has the right to do what he wants. We can accept it or not, but we can't change it and we have no right to demand otherwise.

[Stoga]

Originally posted by isky3x

Early on the Kyle apologist on this forum suggested that Kyle's heart wasnt in it and he was just interested in running the team. I bought into this story until they switched the Georgia Pacific sponsorship from the 44 to the 45 and still kept Kyle as the driver for next year.

[/B]

Don't worry isky, one day Kyle will retire, then you'll just have to find a new target to vent your spleen. And Nightri1 can back you up just like he has all along.
Pretty sad though, to have supposed Mopar fans kicking a Mopar driver on a Mopar website.
I got sick of this argument the last time, now I'm just disgusted.
Have fun.

[isky3x]

Poor old Kyle. Stoga I think you label my words spleen venting only cause my opinion differs from yours. Kyle is just riding it out and backing up to the pay window. You and others are just too blind to realize it or like Gary S. dont care one way or the other.

Kyle continues to milk the Petty name for money and sponsorship without backing it up on the track.

I am tired of reading how Kyle is too busy running the operation to concentrate on driving and other duties but yet he names himself the driver yet again. What a joke.

For a guy whos heart is not in it like I have read on here so many times, he sure does not have any problem collecting the pay checks and continuing to run poorly.

Thank goodness for the other Mopar teams that make us proud.

[Loghead]

Hope you never have, or never will bury a son...
Kyle did, and he vowed to drive the 45 for Adam. The entire Petty Enterprises showing has been a disappointment, to say the least.
I'll bet Kyle would opt for different circumstances if he could, but in light of those circumstances, some of the heartless criticism I read on this thread is unbelievable.

[Nightri1]

is that I want good things for the Petty organization. I have and always will be a fan of the Pettys. What I don't like is management making a decision to keep the team on the same level (poor to mediocre) as opposed to bringing on some newer talent that might take the team to higher ground. If Stoga wants to defend Kyles right to race then so be it. My OPINION (and I'm damn well allowed to have one) Stoga is that the Petty stable could be better if they would just add some new perspective, that's all. I don't say that Kyle is a bad person, just that he has a hard time racing. What if he were to concentrate on management and operations? What if he did that and was able to come to terms with his lifes situations? I guess we may not know for awhile as long as he continues to drive. Everyone knows that when ANY team stagnates that the best way to shake it up is with job changes and new blood. What's wrong with that? Guess you guys just like to watch Petty Enterprises the way they are instead of what they might become if given a chance.

[Loghead]

I just hate to see Kyle take the heat for doing something that only HE could possibly understand.

I'm glad I don't have to live with that situation!

Hey, he is running better than last year, and more importantly, they dumped Buckshot!

Better days are comin' (I hope)

[skydome]

Lee Petty was an ace mechanic and a pretty good wheelman too. Richard Petty was as gifted a natural as there ever was. Kyle didn't really want to drive race cars at first. Don't know what changed his mind, but he managed to make a living driving race cars. Good for him. Wish i could. Adam, we'll never know.Kyle has unfairly lived with his fathers shadow cast over him, and done ok,even with the trajedieswe'd all rather forget. Have faith Petty fans, brighter days must be ahead
Kev

[isky3x]

The bottom line is that Kyle is out there in the way. Yes its right to race whenever he wants and how he wants.
The easiest way to find Kyle during the race is one of two ways:

Look for a him to be in the front holding up the lead cars trying to get his lap back.

Or when they go thru the field summary at the top of the screen dont start looking until they get to about 25th place.

Greg Biffle has run well in a Petty car and so did Jerry Nadeau whats Kyle's current excuse ?

[jimk]

isky3x:
You are certainly allowed your opinion, here or elsewhere, just as those who have a different view than yours.
Why don't you take it up with Kyle himself. All of the energy you are putting into making us listen in this forum could possibly be constructive if directed at the source of the issue.
Not wanting to be adversarial or anything, just think it's time to move on.
Thanks,

God Bless the U.S.A.!

[modracr41]

Alright, I've read and read both sides' opinion on this topic and I have something to add.
I have a friend that is real close to this topic. He's a personal friend of Kyle Petty, and he tells me that not only does Kyle not want to race, but that he would have retired long ago if it weren't for the reputation of being "The King's son".
He tells me that Kyle would rather ride his Harley and do charity work than climb into a racecar and compete.
I know some of you out there, Stoga and Loghead come to mind, may find this hard to believe and may think that I'm some guy that is just spewing for the opposition but hear me out.
Kyle took over the running of PEI and had some pretty good ideas. He was going to put Adam into the 45 car, and he was going to continue to drive the 44 car for two more seasons. This would have been the second of those. He wanted to have the same experience that Dale had with Jr. a couple of years ago in that he would be able to compete with his son in the Winston Cup circuit with all of the history that comes with going to the different tracks (Ie Daytona, Talledega, Rockingham, Bristol, Darlington, etc.) He wanted those memories. Instead, we all know too well what the outcome was.
Kyle took it on himself to drive the 45 car to not only try to keep his son's memory alive, but to heal himself.
That time is over. He may not be healed, and he may never be. But now, PEI, one of the most dominant teams in Winston cup in the past, is but a hollow shell of its' former self and Kyle staying in one of the cars and being out there with no heart in it does NOTHING to bring it around.
At some point, he has to do his job as the head of PEI and look at the big picture. He has to ask the tough question, "Is my being in a Petty car furthering PEI's cause to win in Winston Cup or hindering it?" I'm sure when that day comes, we'll see PEI has signed a top driver and spent that R&D money that the other teams do to run up front. Until that day, you can bicker back and forth on here about Kyle and his poor performance, and the other side can throw out the fact that he buried a son and neither will make any difference.
This was my two cents, and ............................See ya at the track!!

[RedIntrepid9]

Kyle can do whatever Kyle wants to do. His family owns the business, and he can run it any way he pleases. Maybe he likes driving. Maybe he is honoring the memory of Adam. Who know....who cares? Let the man live his life the way he wants, and can afford, to live it. He's not bitching about the way you do things, so lighten up on him. He is a human being and deserves to handle his own affairs. I personally don't feel Kyle is in the way on the track. He is much less a hazard than a lot of drivers I could mention (cough, Todd Bodine, cough), or even someone like Dale Earnhardt Jr. out there racing with a head injury and on a hang-over from the night before. Why don't ye naysayers jump on some of those guys?

[dr.crypto]

Much agreed with the previous comment! Kyle is not, never has been and never will be the racer his Dad and Granddad were, he has a lot of irons in the fire and may not, like most of us, make the best decisions everytime. The team and the company improved greatly over last years dismal showing. If you listen to Kyle, then you know the company is on track with the plan he has laid out for it. I don't always agree with their strategy or their efforts, but I remain a fan through thick and thin.
What about fat a** Jimmy Spencer? He is a danger on the track. How about Sterling and his attempts to back into the championship, yeah and how about Jr. with his hangovers and all, canceling appearances because he was too sick from the night before? A real fan is there in the good times and the bad!

[Loghead]

Dr. Crypto,
Will you please expand on your comment about Sterling backing into the championship.

I'm curious

[dr.crypto]

Yeah, I wasn't too clear on that. I am aggravated at Sterling and the efforts of his team after the start of the season. It seemed to me that after their initial successes, they lost sight of what they were doing and never kept the tempo up that would have allowed them to be the champs. Certainly his accident and neck injury screwed his chances, but it just seemed that they were never just quite hungry enough to go for the whole thing. Don't get me wrong, I wanted for him to win his 1st Championship almost as much as the spousal unit even though I am a huge Petty fan.

Of course that argument can be made for many of the other competitors as well. I don't know if it was a result of Nascar and their flexible rules, if the cars and drivers are just that close, or if no one just actually seemed to want to capture the crown and be the champ.

Hope that clears up some of my muddled thinking:grin:

Later,
Dave

[Loghead]

I thought you were going to say they were doing something dishonest or whatever.

The one-engine rule no doubt had something to do with the poor qualifying.
The aero charity for the GM makes and the mid-season engine rule changes for Dodge didn't help either.

[modracr41]

I make no bones about being a Sterling fan. I cheer him on every week, and I see what's going on as well as anyone else does. It's all about that mighty dollar.
NASCAR knows that there are more Chevy fans and Ford fans in the stands than there are Mopar fans, and to have a Dodge win the points championship would be like spitting in the face of Mr. Helton.(Which by the way would make my day)
I think that once the season has started, there should be NO rule changes until the off season UNLESS the rule changes are for the benefit of safety. If a Dodge wins 30 of 36 races, then that gives the competition something to shoot for in the off season, and if rule changes need to be made to insure parity, then so be it, but the change of rules during the season gives NASCAR the opportunity to slant the rules in favor of a certain make.
They haven't forgotten about the past, and the aren't about to let that happen again. You see how quick they made concessions after Daytona 00. Those Dodges were pulling out of the draft and passing at will and they couldn't have that. Oh well, no matter how right we are, it's not going to change a thing until we get a Dodge fan to be in charge of NASCAR, and I'm not going to hold my breath for that one. Just my two cents, and.......................See ya at the track!!