 |  | | Kyle Petty will have some big-name guests with him on his charity ride this week. Credit: Autostock |
By B. Duane Cross, NASCAR.COM
July 26, 2005
08:07 AM EDT (12:07 GMT)
With the Nextel Cup Series on hiatus for a week, Kyle Petty is taking to the road for the annual Kyle Petty Charity Ride. But even though he'll be off the track, Petty's thoughts are never far from his No. 45 Dodge. The motorcycle ride, which began in Portland, Ore., this weekend (while Petty was in Pocono for Sunday's race), is taking a different route this year. Instead of trekking from California to North Carolina, the trip started in the Northwest, through Wyoming, South Dakota, Iowa, Kentucky and Tennessee before ending at the Victory Junction Gang Camp. "We're pretty excited about this year because we're coming through parts of the country up in Wyoming and South Dakota and parts of Iowa and Minnesota that we've never been through before on the charity ride. So, we're hitting a different part of the country this year. "This will be our 11th year, and we've raised $6 or $7 million for different charities," he added. "And this year we're really excited that Matt Kenseth is going with us, and Jeff Green, and obviously my father [Richard] and Harry Gant and those guys. "But we were kind of caught off guard a couple of weeks ago; Tony Stewart drug his motorcycle over here and we loaded it up on the truck and sent it out. He's riding for two or three days with us, so it's going to be exciting to have some new blood on the ride. And when you're a rookie on the ride, they're going to give Tony a hard time for the first couple of days, that's for sure." Speaking of hard times, Petty's season hasn't been the most memorable. Georgia-Pacific announced it is ending its three-year sponsorship of the No. 45 Cup team, and Petty has only one top-10 with an average finish of 26.0 through 20 races. "Hopefully, before too much longer, we'll be able to make some [sponsorship] announcements," Petty said. "When Georgia-Pacific chose not to come back next year as the primary sponsor we started working on a totally different program more in line with some of the stuff that the Roush organization has done, with multiple sponsors and grouping multiple sponsors together.  |  | | The No. 45 Dodge has one top-10 finish this season. Credit: Autostock |
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| Inside the Numbers |
| Petty Enterprises' Cup stats |
| Category |
Stat |
| Races |
2,639 |
| Wins |
268 |
| Top-5s |
886 |
| Top-10s |
1,252 |
| Poles |
151 |
| Laps |
641,280 |
| Laps Led |
61,465 |
| Earnings |
$58,743,400 |
| Avg. Start |
14.5 |
| Avg. Finish |
14.8 |
|
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"Sometimes that's easier said than done. But, what we really want to do is have a format that really promotes a couple of different things besides the racecar. And I think that's what we're working on right now. And when we get all of our partners put together and we make the announcement and we lay it out for everybody, everybody will see it's a variation on some of the things that have already been done, but it's a little bit different than something that hasn't been done in this sport before." But even with the off- and on-track hardships, Petty said he's still focused on returning Petty Enterprises to the top of its game. "The driving part is still always as much fun, even when you have a bad day driving," he said. "It's like we all joke, it's all smoke and mirrors, a bad day driving is still better than having a real job. The driving part is still just as much fun. "And there are guys who are stepping aside, Mark [Martin] and Rusty [Wallace], obviously, and then you've got myself, Sterling [Marlin], Dale Jarrett and Ricky Rudd. There are guys that are our age that are 45 to 50 years old, that yeah, over the next four or five years, not only are we going to step out, we should be stepping out. "There are guys coming along like the Kasey Kahnes, like the Reed Sorensons, guys like that who are going to be stepping in. You can't just keep taking up a seat for ever and ever until the end of time," Petty said. "You've got to let somebody else have a seat. I think, from that perspective, yeah you look at it and the closer you get to it you look at it. "But at the same time, it's not something I think about every day because my main objective right now is to make sure that we build Petty Enterprises back to a state where we can go get young drivers who can come out and be competitive and hopefully compete and win races. But, if we're not at that stage, then we're not going to get good, young drivers and that's a problem for our company." Flags • Red -- Jeff Burton's roller-coaster season is in full swing. In the past six races, he has finishes of 11th, 30th, 11th, 30th, 14th and 37th. Through 20 races, his average finish is 19.0 with only two top-10 finishes -- third at Phoenix and 10th at Talladega. • Yellow -- Jimmie Johnson has two only top-10s in his past six races -- sixth at Daytona and third at Chicago. Since Michigan, his average finish is 14.8 despite an average starting position of 7.1. Nonetheless, his points lead has been about 75 points despite losing the points lead to Greg Biffle for one week. • Green -- With six consecutive top-10 finishes, Tony Stewart now has 12 for the season, second-most behind Jimmie Johnson through 20 races. Stewart hasn't finished outside the top 30 since Talladega and his average finish in the past 12 races is 8.25 with three wins and three second-place finishes. Quote, Unquote "The NHL has its work cut out for it. Let's face it -- television, advertising, marketing, licensing . . . all of that stuff comes back to the fans; if they are mad, they won't be buying -- whether it's tickets or souvenirs. ... It's like walking out on your wife for a week. You can't walk back in the door, give her a wave, tell her you missed her and expect her to start cooking dinner." -- Brandon Whitt, who won his first Truck Series race Saturday at Memphis, on the return of hockey |
| Results |
| Pennsylvania 500 |
| Pos. |
Driver |
Make |
| 1. |
Kurt Busch |
Ford |
| 2. |
Rusty Wallace |
Dodge |
| 3. |
Mark Martin |
Ford |
| 4. |
Carl Edwards |
Ford |
| 5. |
Ryan Newman |
Dodge |
|
|
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Around the Track • Kurt Busch, who now has top-10 finishes in four of his past five races, chalked up his 13th career Cup victory Sunday at Pocono, tied with Tim Richmond and Dick Rathmann for 45th on NASCAR's all-time wins list. • Rusty Wallace posted his 16th top-15 in 20 races this year. Still fourth in points, 182 behind first-place Jimmie Johnson, Wallace extended a 33-race streak of running at the finish that began at Bristol last August. • Jimmie Johnson, who has a series-best 13 top-10 finishes in 2005, now has ranked in the top-10 of the point standings for 53 consecutive races -- since Atlanta in March 2004, the longest current streak. Junior & Jeff Watch • Dale Earnhardt Jr. was 32nd on Sunday and dropped from 13th to 14th in points, 537 behind leader Jimmie Johnson and 110 points behind 10th-place Dale Jarrett. • Jeff Gordon finished 13th at Pocono and remained 15th in the point standings, now 541 behind Johnson and 114 points behind Jarrett. • Only two of the top-10 positions in the standings changed at Pocono -- Tony Stewart moved to second while Greg Biffle dropped to third -- and only seven drivers remain within 400 points of Johnson with six races remaining before the Chase begins at New Hampshire. Up Next Off week The Cup Series takes its third (and final) week off before getting back on the track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard on Aug. 7. Mail Call Michael Waltrip was the topic du jour this week ... I think Mikey going to any team but DEI would help him. When you are told by your boss that you have to finish in the top 10 to have a job the next year -- and then he is one of the guys on the track that spins you out! If that is what teammates are for, I would rather be on my own. Mikey is a good driver, and given the chance and the opportunity he will shine like Gordon, Newman, Stewart and the rest. I think that right now DEI does not have any faith in him and he knows it.
-- Brenda Neal So the early scuttlebutt is a second car for Haas CNC? Eeewwwwwwww! I thought he wanted to end up in a quality ride? I think the key is whether NAPA follows him or stays with DEI. If NAPA stays at DEI, there's 'already sponsored' rides that probably will be available like the Nos. 11, 10 or the 07. I doubt that Mikey fits the No. 2 car's demographics. And what if Casey Mears bails from Ganassi ... or they release [Jamie] McMurray early? If Mikey holds on to NAPA, I've heard that Yates might want to start a new team. I hope the No. 22 or the No.32 don't enter into play, as again, Mikey wants a quality ride, right? But so does Ward Burton ...
-- F. Paul Diaco |  | EMAIL | |
|
Is this a possible landing spot for Michael? Other than it being a Dodge, I think it would be a great place for him. What is your thought on where he may end up. I can't believe DEI passed him up after what he has done there. The first half of this season he was the poster child of DEI with better average finishes than Junior. Without the engine problems in the first two races Michael would possibly still be a threat for the Chase. Where ever he goes I wish him well. I just hope it's a good team, not some single-car-with-little-pockets team.
-- Bryan Baker Fantasy Perspective • Bobby Labonte, Bill Elliott, Jeff Burton and Michael Waltrip have been running at the finish in all 11 races at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. • Rusty Wallace has nine top-10 finishes in his 11 races at Indianapolis. Wallace has finished second three times at Indy, most recently in 2002. • Rick Hendrick is the all-time winning owner at Indianapolis, posting four victories-- all by Jeff Gordon, most recently in 2004. He also won in 1994, '98 and '01. |
| Fantasy Racing |
NASCAR.COM's Duane Cross takes part in a weekly
fantasy racing segment on 790 The Ball in High Point, N.C.
The season-to-date standings: |
| Player |
Points |
This Week ... |
NASCAR.COM's
Duane Cross |
318 |
10 for Ku. Busch, 8 for Martin, 6 for Newman, 4 for Stewart, whiff on Biffle |
Show host
Marc Amazon |
310 |
8 for Martin, 4 for Stewart, blanked on Ky. Busch, Johnson and Kenseth |
Update anchor
Bill Kimm |
284 |
4 for Stewart, shut out on Vickers, Gordon, Junior and Johnson |
790 The Ball
Listeners |
276 |
10 for Ku. Busch, 8 for Martin, nada for Ky. Busch, Kenseth and Biffle |
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