'Perfect storm' led Labonte to split from Petty team

When Boston Ventures bought controlling interest in Petty Enterprises six months ago, Bobby Labonte figured his new team owners had the connections and the financial wherewithal to survive an economic downturn. He turned out to be incorrect, and as a result the former NASCAR champion split with the organization last week.

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Labonte, who signed a four-year extension with the Petty team in June and was prepared to move into management once his driving days were over, is now searching for another ride as Boston Ventures negotiates a merger with Gillett Evernham Motorsports. Labonte's old team has been crippled by sponsorship losses, and an inability to find new corporate backing has Petty Enterprises near the end of its 60-year run in NASCAR's top division.

"I thought back in March, April, well, if the economy turns sour, [Boston Ventures] has all these connections and hopefully we can get a sponsor, keep a sponsor," Labonte said Tuesday. "But it seemed like a perfect storm. They had great intentions and meant well. But obviously, they don't have 20 years of racing knowledge either, and that probably hurt them some, because I think there were some surprises that anybody would [face] getting into it. They're not experienced in racing, even though they're great probably in business. But they weren't experienced in racing. They don't think they did anything per se wrong, it just happened that their connections weren't really willing and able to do what they thought they could do. They didn't have that plan maybe in effect because they didn't think it was a problem."

Following a model other teams have used to raise capital and improve their level of competition, Richard Petty earlier this year sold majority ownership in Petty Enterprises to Boston Ventures, an investment firm that boasts $2.4 billion in capital invested in such entities as Motown Records and Six Flags amusement parks. Petty Enterprises was the firm's first foray into motorsports.

The Petty team has laid off dozens of employees in recent weeks. The organization's flagship No. 43 car, which Petty drove to seven championships and Labonte piloted the last three seasons, will be absorbed by GEM or fielded as a single Petty entry next season, the team announced last week. (Continued)