The Petty name and Richard Petty himself weren't the only valuable items to survive from the old Petty Enterprises organization when it merged -- or more specifically, was absorbed -- by the group formerly known as Gillett Evernham Motorsports.

“

I want to make sure I understand things before I get involved with changing anything. They might have a different way of doing something -- but just because it's different from what you might be used to doesn't necessarily mean it's wrong.

”

ROBBIE LOOMIS

The combined operation now goes by Richard Petty Motorsports.

Richard refused to cut the deal with the Gillett family without including a few Petty family staples -- like keeping his name on the marquee out front and finding places in the new organization for a handful of longtime Petty employees such as Dale Inman and Robbie Loomis.

For Loomis, joining forces with the former GEM group gives him his best chance at having a hand in returning cars to Victory Lane since he left Hendrick Motorsports following the 2005 season. As vice president of race operations -- the same title, incidentally, that he held at Petty since returning to the family fold in '06 -- Loomis will oversee all that takes place with RPM's four Sprint Cup cars: the No. 9 driven by Kasey Kahne, the No. 19 of Elliott Sadler, the No. 43 driven by Reed Sorenson and the No. 44 with A.J. Allmendinger in the seat.

The first three cars will run full-time schedules. The No. 44 of Allmendinger must qualify its way into the first five races and is assured only a handful of other chances beyond that, but continues looking for additional sponsorship dollars that might mean more.

If it seems to most that the Dodges favored by RPM are outnumbered and outgunned by the Chevrolet, Ford and Toyota manufacturers whose cars will make up the majority of Sunday's Daytona 500 field, pardon Loomis if he doesn't quite feel that way. After struggling to keep two full-time Cup cars competitive at the former Petty operation, he instead appears to feel like a new kid in an old but suddenly revamped candy store.

Quite frankly, he has more to work with heading into this year's Daytona 500 than he has had since amassing 23 wins in five years as Jeff Gordon's crew chief at Hendrick. That relationship ended after 2005, when Loomis elected to return to his Petty racing roots and found the cupboard there teetering dangerously toward the empty side. (Continued)