Improved Petty team hopes Andretti will stay

DOVER, Del. -- Petty Enterprises CEO Kyle Petty said on Saturday that he hopes John Andretti returns for a sixth season in the No. 43 Dodge, but also acknowledged that Andretti is exploring other options.

"John's been out talking, and that's a fact of life in Winston Cup racing," Petty said, " We want him to stay. We would be remiss to change drivers."

Andretti's contract with Petty Enterprises is up at the end of this year. It's been a frustrating season for Andretti, 39, who has scored just three top-20 finishes in 12 races this season and is currently 32nd in points. He was 31st last year.

"We didn't give John the car last year he was capable of running up front with," Petty said. " John has the potential to win races. He's done it for us. We have got to put a package together for him."

Petty also said that the improvement of the No. 44 Dodge -- Steve Grissom finished eighth at Richmond, that car's best finish since 2000 -- has sparked interest among other drivers.

"We are hearing from people, yes," Petty said, "Would we have heard from people last year? No. We would not have heard from anyone.

"We have heard from other drivers about the possibility of coming to work for Petty Enterprises. For us, that's a step up."

Petty is also busy solidifying the future of his own No. 45 Dodge, whose contract with Sprint runs out at the end of the year. Petty's other two cars, the No. 43 and the No. 44, are fully sponsored for 2003.

"All of our stuff looks good," Petty said. Georgia Pacific and General Mills picked up our options. We are in that phase where we are waiting to hear from Sprint about theirs, but we are confident that we are in good stead there."