If and when the dust settles on the merger between Petty Enterprises and Gillett Evernham Motorsports, the Richard Petty Driving Experience may be the only entity remaining to uphold the storied Petty namesake.

"In the coming days we are hoping for some clarity, but I would be remiss to say that, yeah, the driving experience could be the only thing left with the Petty name," said Chris McKee, spokesman for the Richard Petty Driving Experience.

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I think the Richard Petty Driving Experience will be around for years to come. You would be crazy to think it wouldn't. ... They just need to have legends like Richard Petty stay in the sport.

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BRAD NOFFSINGER, Richard Petty Driving Experience Instructor

Created in 1994 as part of Petty's retirement plan once he stepped away from the car, he envisioned a business that would carry on his legacy outside of the race team. The vision became a reality for the seven-time NASCAR champion with the help from a friend in Australia.

NASCAR Australian champion Barry Graham first started a company called NASTRAK in Melbourne to teach potential race car drivers how to drive. The program was a driver search of sorts and graded drivers on their ability to hit marks on the track while following an instructor.

The program was a success, but Graham wanted to take his idea to stock-car racing in the United States, so he called Petty in 1990. Petty saw a need to create something the fans could enjoy -- the experience of driving or riding in a stock car at some of the most famous racing facilities in the country.

In 1994, the company completed its transformation and became Richard Petty Driving Experience with just two stock cars, a small shop in Concord, N.C., and four employees.

Petty had an instant gold mine on his hands and in the coming year expanded his operation to tracks all across the country serving thousands of NASCAR fans and sponsors each year.

McKee said it is a hugely profitable component of Petty Enterprises and one of the key reasons Boston Ventures, a private equity firm that largely invests in the entertainment sector, approached the Petty family about a partnership that became official in June.

"Boston Ventures saw the tremendous potential in the Richard Petty Driving Experience," McKee said. "That has been the vision from day one and continues to be that way today."

Details surrounding the negotiations between Boston Ventures and GEM regarding the fate of Petty Enterprises are unclear at this point but McKee said he is "confident the Driving Experience isn't going anywhere" regardless of the outcome.

Former Cup Series driver Brad Noffsinger, one of the original driving instructors remaining at the Petty-owned company, said losing the namesake and image of Petty would be a shame.

"I don't hear a lot of what is going on," Noffsinger said. "Some of it sounds good and the other sounds like they are taking it away form him. But I think the Richard Petty Driving Experience will be around for years to come. You would be crazy to think it wouldn't."

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Noffsinger said the Richard Petty Driving Experience is more than just a place where fans pay to take a ride in a stock car; it's a place where young drivers can make a start and even retired ones find continued life in the sport they are reluctant to leave.

"The driving experience created a lot of different opportunities for me and allowed me to still race," he said. "A lot of former drivers work for us and a lot of up-and-comers work for us."

Noffsinger recalled a visit to the Concord facility in the late 1990s from Tony Stewart right before his NASCAR career took off.

"He was racing open-wheel cars and needed to get some laps in a stock car so he and I gave rides for a weekend together," Noffsinger said.

Carl Edwards also used to frequent the Driving Experience and gave rides when he raced in the Truck Series.

"He wanted to learn the tracks," Noffsinger said.

And with NASCAR's recent ban on testing, Noffsinger said the Richard Petty Driving Experience could be one of the few remaining outlets where a young rookie driver could get much-needed seat time and track experience.

More than that, Noffsinger said the Petty name needs to remain prominent to educate NASCAR's ill-informed youth.

"It's pretty interesting, I train young kids to race during the year and you tell them, 'Hey, you have a driving style like Mario Andretti or Richard Petty,' and they don't know who I am talking about," he said. "They need to read a history book before they go racing in order to understand where this sport came from or they just need to have legends like Richard Petty stay in the sport."