The pressure in on Kyle Petty at Dover on Friday. Credit: Autostock

Petty's plight shines spotlight on unfair rule

Beloved veteran now sits outside of top 35 in owner points

On the surface, when Kyle Petty's engine blew with 10 laps to go last Sunday at New Hampshire, it didn't mean much.

For Petty, it meant everything.

Maybe his motor had a bleeder valve mysteriously installed by Richard Childress Racing. At least that's what I heard being reported Sunday night on cable television.

	RYAN SMITHSON •   E-mail Ryan •   Opinion archive

I'm kidding -- but not about the seriousness facing Petty Enterprises' second car.

Petty has been all but anonymous in the second half, and Loudon was the latest in a series of disappointments. Since the July race at Daytona, Petty has not finished better than 27th. Petty is now 36th in owners points.

Any time someone falls out of the top 35 in points, I start worrying about their career. Honestly. That's how serious the rule is.

If Kyle Petty can't get back into the top 35 before the year is over, where does that leave his career -- a career that has spanned four decades?

The top-35 rule is a ticking time bomb for the teams that live on its edge, and the more I study its idiosyncrasies, the more I don't like it. The rule threatens Petty's driving career.

It can even end it, and that is sad.

Take a closer look at Petty: He turned 46 in June and he drives for a two-car team. Those two things alone put him at a severe disadvantage, especially since he has to go out every Sunday and bang fenders with 25-year-olds who do not mind smacking a wall or two if it means leading a lap.

Petty can't afford to smack a wall -- or even blow another motor. If he does either, he certainly won't be able to get back into the top 35 before the year is over. And we already know how difficult it will be next year for the dozen or so teams that will be required to qualify on time.

	Credit: Autostock
	Inside the Numbers Kyle Petty's Cup career Starts 776 Wins 8 Top-fives 51 Top-10s 171 Poles 8 Laps Led 3,896 Lead-lap finishes 185 Avg. Start 22.6 Avg. Finish 20.8

At this stage in his career, Petty can't be considered a great qualifier -- he has averaged a 32nd-place start in 2006 -- but his poor qualifying this year may be partly attributed to the fact that he has enjoyed a guaranteed starting spot. Until this week, Petty has been in the top 35 all season.

Petty now finds himself relying on speed to make the field this weekend at Dover. If he misses the show just one time, he won't be able to get back into the top 35 before the year is over.

With Toyota's seven teams debuting in 2007, next year will be the hardest time for survival in Cup history, and that's what makes staying in the top 35 so important for next season.

Forget the Chase. It's what TV wants you to focus on. There is plenty of drama concerning the top 35 for next year -- and Petty finds himself in the thick of the battle.

It almost seems unfair. Petty hasn't won a race in 11 years and hasn't scored a top-five finish in nine years. Coincidentally, his last top-five finish came at Dover in 1997.

Kyle Busch was 12 years old.

The top-35 rule has its benefits -- NASCAR needs to do something to reward its week-in, week-out teams -- but perhaps Petty's impending plight will expose some of the unfairness of the rule.

Petty has been good enough to stick around for nearly 800 starts, and he deserves to have his career end on his own terms, not when a rule says he fails to qualify.

I feel for Petty. He is one of the most popular drivers in the Nextel Cup garage and would be even bigger had he not spent a large portion of his life helping others.

In the end, Petty's honorable and extraordinary philanthropic works will overshadow his driving career, but in the next nine weeks, his focus will be on ensuring the No. 45 franchise he has worked so hard to establish.

The opinions expressed are solely of the writer.