General Mills' move to RCR has Petty searching for '09

Richard Childress Racing will field a fourth Sprint Cup car next season backed by General Mills, a move that leaves Petty Enterprises searching for a new primary sponsor for its flagship No. 43 car.

RCR will unveil the No. 33 Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Chevrolet for the 2009 season, with a driver to be announced at a later date. The newcomer will join stablemates Jeff Burton, Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer, all of whom won races and qualified for NASCAR's Chase last year. Despite that success, team owner Richard Childress viewed eventual expansion as vital if he hoped to keep pace with rival organizations with more cars.

Childress

"I think if you look at the two teams we're going to be racing for the championship against," Childress said, "Roush has four or five, seven, eight [cars], I don't know how many he really has. And Hendrick is the big number, they've had four teams and been a contender, and all their cars have been able to win races and run good. I think that's the bar that we have to shoot at. It just gives us more resources, it gives us more talent to work with. If we're going to beat these guys, we have to have the same amount of resources as they have."

Childress said he has a short list of four or five potential drivers for the car. But it didn't sound Tuesday as if Bobby Labonte, who drives the General Mills-backed car for Petty Enterprises this season -- and whose contract is up at the end of the year -- would be making the move to RCR along with his sponsor.

"I think he's going to end up staying at Petty," Childress said. "I don't know that, but I would think that we would end up staying there."

Labonte, who's driving a Nationwide car on a limited basis this year for Childress, was non-committal on his future in a statement released Tuesday.

"I'm very humbled by the level of interest in my future, but at this time I'm concentrating all my efforts in getting Petty Enterprises back to Victory Lane. I feel good about all the positive steps that Petty Enterprises has made and continues to make," he said.

"At this time, I have no intention to talk about my plans after 2008 because of the immediate tasks at hand. I respectively ask for everyone's patience in this matter and, again, am humbled by everyone's interest."

Childress said General Mills agreed to join his team last week. The decision comes just six races into the current season, partly because the company does much of its planning a half a year in advance, Childress said. The timing gives RCR a healthy 10 months to prepare for the No. 33 car's rollout in 2009. Childress said he'll likely promote some crewmen from his Nationwide operation, as he did when Bowyer's No. 07 team was formed.

"This gives us an opportunity to take our time, build new cars, do some testing hopefully before the year is over, and be really ready to go," he said.

Meanwhile, the Petty organization begins searching for a new backer for its iconic No. 43 car, which has had six drivers since Richard Petty completed his last race in 1992. Labonte, currently 21st in owner points, is in his third season in the car. The vehicle has had only two primary sponsors -- STP and General Mills -- since 1972. The team is also reportedly brokering a partnership with a New York-based financial group.

"While there is substantial sponsorship interest in Bobby and Petty Enterprises, we will carefully consider our options to ensure the continuation of our rich tradition and to build on current momentum," said Brian Moffitt, the team's vice president for marketing. "Prospective partners are well aware of the special power of the Petty brand, as numerous surveys and marketing groups have identified Richard Petty as one of the most iconic brands in all of sports."

Statement from Richard Petty

"I am proud of our organization's rich tradition. We look at bringing in fresh resources and new partners as a real opportunity to further grow and improve the Petty organization. Especially those who share in the same core values of integrity, dedication and winning that have come to define Petty Enterprises."

And that brand is what Petty will try to sell. Although Petty's 268 Cup victories are the most by any team, and the organization moved from Level Cross, N.C., to metro Charlotte this past offseason in a bid to become more competitive, Petty hasn't enjoyed much on-track success since John Andretti recorded the team's last race victory in 1999. Kyle Petty fell outside of the top 35 in owner points after the race at Bristol, missed last week's event at Martinsville, and will let 23-year-old Chad McCumbee try to qualify the No. 45 car this weekend at Texas (read more).

That means Petty is likely looking for a sponsor who can find value not in racetrack performance, but the intangibles Petty can bring.

"If $20 million is top and below $12 million you can't even compete, then what is their proposition worth on that scale?" asked veteran motorsports marketer Max Muhleman. "Maybe somebody will pay $20 million for somebody who will win every race. But for somebody who is the most revered team in racing, with The King, and the most revered family, and people who bring that much character to the table? If a person has never seen Richard and/or Kyle in person at a personal appearance, no matter what they think, they'll have their socks blown off. These are the most sincere, most committed, the most patient, the most admirable superstar athletes you'd ever want to see person-to-person."

Yet struggles on the racetrack can't be ignored. "Their racing side, they've got to be accountable for that," Muhleman said. "They've got to be able to say, 'This is what we can do and these are the people we want to do it with.' But at the top, their blue-chip delivery, their five-star delivery, is the Petty name and the Petty attitude and the Petty legend."

Petty is unique in the NASCAR garage in that it historically has been able to provide sponsor value despite struggles on the track. The King still holds plenty of significance to fans and potential customers, even though only one of his cars has finished inside the top 20 in points since 1999.

"I think it's very likely that there are many eligible sponsors out there that, upon being presented with exactly how the Petty reputation can work for them, would consider it, and would realize they had not considered it in the terms of being a character and a legend and a reputation play more than a performance play," Muhleman said. "I'm not saying that anybody can get the money that Dale [Earnhardt] Jr. or Jeff Gordon or the guys who are at the top of the sport from a winning standpoint get. But I think in NASCAR, there's always going to be a special case and consideration for character and quality."