'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.

Sun setting on Petty

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• More cuts at Petty Enterprises
• Menzer: Petty dilemma tough
• Wake-up call to other teams
• Kyle no longer with Petty team

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.

"Boston Ventures came in, and they had high hopes and high expectations, and we all agreed that it sounded good, sounded great. I signed a contract for a lengthy period of time, and it was going forward from there. Unfortunately, their crystal ball got kind of cloudy ... and they weren't able to do the things they had wanted to do, and trust me, I know they feel badly about that. At a certain point, and it just happened to be last week, it was going to be tough for them to go on like they planned on," Labonte said.

Inside the Numbers

Bobby Labonte in the No. 43

Year	Races	W	T5	T10	Avg. Fin.
2006	36	0	3	8	22.0
2007	36	0	0	3	22.2
2008	36	0	0	2	22.6
Total	108	0	3	13	22.3
Career	546	21	113	197	17.3

"I think timing was everything. If they would have come in here the same time I did, three years ago, the economy was great, it was a little bit of an easier step at that point in time to get better and grow. Ultimately, you couldn't ask for a worse-case scenario. It was a perfect storm for them. Their desire and their heart was in it. They were real adamant about trying to make it happen. It was just bad timing."

Labonte was caught in the middle, with a car that suddenly didn't appear very competitive for 2009 -- if it even made it that far -- and a long-term contract his financially squeezed team owners likely couldn't live up to. Now he's a free agent, looking for a ride for next season, and eager to prove that he can still contend.

"Physically and mentally, I'm ready to go," said Labonte, who has 21 career wins, and had an average finish of 22.6 last season. "I know that's what I want to do, that's what my family wants me to do. There's way more thoughts of racing than anything else. I want to get back on the race track. Daytona can't come soon enough."

His name has already been linked to the No. 41 car with the merged Earnhardt Ganassi operation, but he says nothing is definite. "The DEI-Ganassi deal, there are a lot of things that still have to develop over there to make it happen. .... I don't have a signed anything," Labonte said. "There are talks happening, but that's not happened yet. A phone call could happen in the next five minutes, but it may not. I need to make sure people do know that that's not happened yet. The play has been that, well, that will happen. Well, it hasn't happened yet. It might happen, but it hasn't happened yet."

Will the proposed Petty-GEM merger become a reality? Labonte said he isn't sure, and that he hasn't talked to anyone from his old shop recently. If there's any anger, it's not toward Boston Ventures or the Pettys, but over the fact that he's looking for a ride instead of actively prepping a car for Daytona.

"I thought I was doing all the right things. I don't think I did anything wrong," Labonte said. "I'm not angry because of what I did or didn't do. I'm not angry because of where I'm sitting today. I'm more focused today than I was probably Sunday morning before Homestead, because I'm in a better position in one way, but I'm not in a better position in another way. My anger is, I wish I was working toward [the Daytona 500]. I'm disappointed and not happy about that. But I'm probably more relieved and focused toward getting to that point than I ever have been. So no anger. I can't say that I'm angry. I can say that I'm determined."