Nascar's Petty Enterprises Has Steered Clear of the Young Guns

Since Tony Stewart's superlative rookie season in 1999, many of NASCAR's power teams have been searching for that guy who can take their organization to the next level.

In fact, a majority of today's NASCAR stars are drivers that began their careers after Stewart's rookie campaign- Jimmie Johnson (Hendrick Motorsports), Dale Earnhardt Jr (Dale Earnhardt, Inc.), Kevin Harvick (Richard Childress Racing), Matt Kenseth Roush Racing), Ryan Newman (Penske Racing), Kurt Busch (Roush Racing/Penske Racing), Kyle Busch (Hendrick Motorsports), and Kasey Kahne (Evernham Motorsports) just to name a few.

However, Petty Enterprises has yet to catch on to the young gun craze, as they have not been able to find that special young driver to carry the organization into the new era, and it doesn't seem as if they are even interested.

Since 1999, Petty Enterprises has employed John Andretti, Buckshot Jones, Jerry Nadeau, Christian Fittipaldi, Jeff Green, Bobby Labonte, and Kyle Petty himself. It is highly doubtful that you will see any of those drivers appearing in a Gillette Young Guns commercial any time soon.

It makes one wonder why Petty Enterprises has steered clear of the younger generation.

When you think of the Petty name, you think of old-school NASCAR. Most of the drivers that challenged Richard Petty in the 1960's and 1970's labored their way to top-notch rides. It was a logical approach- why hire a driver with little or no experience when there was plenty of experienced drivers out there that could get the job done. Back then, it was unheard of for a driver to begin his career in first-rate equipment.

Even when Kyle was in the peak of his career, car owners preferred experience instead of potential. It seems as if the Petty's have refused to abandon that old-school way of thinking.

Not all of the struggles that Petty Enterprises has recently encountered are because of the drivers, or lack of young drivers. It would not matter if Petty Enterprises got to Kasey Kahne or Kyle Busch first, they would still be behind the top tier teams, but sometimes a fresh face can help jump-start a struggling team.

Since the signing of the 2000 NASCAR Nextel (Winston) Cup champion Bobby Labonte, the Petty Enterpises group has displayed signs of improvement. They now have that stable veteran that could adequately mentor a promising young talent.

The Petty organization began to lag behind their competitors shortly after the tragic passing of Adam, Kyle's son, in the spring of 2000. Adam was the future of the organization, and was supposed to carry on the Petty legacy. Mournfully, he lost his life after a crash at the New Hampshire International Speedway during Busch Series practice. It seems as if the organization has yet to recover from the tragedy.

After a practically insufferable 2005 season, the Petty's decided to stop 'just going through the motions' and they began to take action to enhance their NASCAR Nextel Cup program. Not only did they lure Bobby Labonte away from his long-time home at Joe Gibbs Racing, but also they were able to add Robbie Loomis to their payroll. Loomis' career breakthrough came with Petty Enterprises as a crew chief in the 1990's, but he became more recognized for leading Jeff Gordon to the 2001 NASCAR Nextel (Winston) Cup championship.

Todd Parrott, the crew chief for Dale Jarrett in his 1999 championship season, began the 2006 season with Petty Enterprises, however, he returned to Robert Yates Racing midway through the season.

With Kyle's driving career winding down, perhaps it is time to find that promising young talent.