Kyle Petty finished eighth Sunday at Bristol. Credit: Autostock

Petty: Pieces coming together slowly

Veteran driver knows long-term success takes time

Kyle Petty is savvy enough to know that one top-10 finish does not a season make -- but he's been around NASCAR racing long enough to know that it's the first step toward winning a race.

Petty's eighth-place finish in Sunday's Food City 500 at Bristol was his first top-10 in nearly three years, since a 10th-place run at Talladega in Spring 2002. It elevated him into the top 20 in the standings, to 19th.

	Inside the Numbers Kyle Petty has five top-five finishes at Martinsville Speedway Date Start Finish April 25, 1993 4 5 Sept. 28, 1992 1 4 April 28, 1991 17 2 April 27, 1986 12 5 Sept. 22, 1985 6 5

While Petty said a win might come this weekend in the Advance Auto Parts 500 at Martinsville Speedway, he stressed consistency is the first order of business for not only his No. 45 Dodge, but also teammate Jeff Green's No. 43 Charger.

"This is Nextel Cup racing, and nothing surprises you anymore in Cup races," Petty said. "If we won a race it'd probably surprise some people, but I wouldn't be surprised because you never know what's going to happen.

"To be there on a consistent basis is what we're looking for. Even though we had a top-10 finish, realistically we're smart enough to look at it and say we probably had a top-15 car."

Petty, 44, who is the day-to-day leader of Petty Enterprises' racing operation in addition to being its lead driver, has been snarled in a years-long struggle with personnel -- from crew chiefs and engineers to tire changers.

Those pieces have gradually come together until securing an engine deal with fellow Dodge owner Ray Evernham was seen by Petty as the most critical, and final piece of the puzzle.

"I feel like we've got a lot of the right pieces and a lot of the pieces we have we've got to continue to make stronger," Petty said. "We've got to get better, better, no matter what we're doing, whether it's our aero program or our engine program.

"I think the work we did with Dodge this winter, working with Ray's group on the Dodge Charger and to be able to have Evernham Motorsports engines, that's basically a good baseline for us (because) we can look at the 9 and 19 (Evernham's drivers Kasey Kahne and Jeremy Mayfield) and if they run well and we don't run well, then obviously that means our cars have to get better and our teams have to get better."

Petty said as much as winning begets winning, the process also works in the other direction. Last season the team's two cars finished 32nd (No. 43) and 35th (No. 45) in owner points.

"Yes, (we have the pieces in place), but we have to learn how to win," Petty said. "It's been a long time, and when you've been with teams that get out of the habit of winning you have to learn how to win."

The organization's last victory came in 1999, with John Andretti driving the No. 43.

"We're getting back to a point where we can be competitive," Petty said earlier this year. "First you've got to be competitive. We're just out of that practice as a team (so) that's part of our deal, getting back to that stage this year."

Accelerating that process, not only for the benefit of Petty's own racecar but the organization was hiring veteran mechanic Paul Andrews as crew chief just prior to Speedweeks 2005.

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"When Paul came in, I was not a part of his interview process," Petty said. "The interview process was with him, the guys on the 45 team and (Green's crew chief) Greg Steadman.

"If they can work together, that makes it a stronger team. That's the way we did it this time. It's kind of abnormal probably, but that's the way we did it (because) the other ways weren't working."

Bristol was something of a high-water mark, as Green qualified sixth before being knocked back to 29th by an accident; and Petty scored his good finish. Petty gave Andrews a lot of credit.

"What Paul has done is brought stability to the 45 team and that's spilled over and helped Greg focus on the 43 Dodge Charger instead of having to worry about the Brawny Dodge Charger, too."

But for right now Petty and company are savoring the results of their recent hard work.

"For us, it was a huge morale booster," Petty said of his Bristol result. "Our guys were sky-high when we went out of there. For me personally it was huge but it was big for all of us."

It has Petty anticipating his "home" race at Martinsville more than he has recently.

"There's not a hotter racing area in the country than Virginia from a fan base," Petty said. "Everybody in the state of Virginia pulls for somebody on the Cup circuit."

The Pettys share a good number of those fans, which makes the boss feel good about running better.

"I said to our guys at the shop (in February), after five years and a lot of missed steps, it's as solid a winter and as solid a group of people working together at Petty Enterprises than it's been over the last four or five years," Petty said. "Now with Paul Andrews and our engineering staff, we're just getting stronger.

"Paul brought in the experience. For four years, we brought in car chiefs from other teams and tried to train them as crew chiefs. We're past that point. We needed a crew chief, and Paul was a crew chief who could come in and get the job done."