Loomis confident Petty team close to winning again
January 23, 2008
MOORESVILLE, N.C. (AP) -For Petty Enterprises, where winning was once as expected as the boss showing up in his trademark dark glasses and cowboy hats, that old feeling is beginning to return.
Winless since 1999, the pioneer NASCAR team is trying hard to leave behind its also-ran status.
Two years ago, the team owned by stock car icon Richard Petty and his son, Kyle, showed signs of new life by bringing championship crew chief Robbie Loomis, a former Petty employee, back into the fold as vice president of operations and hiring 2000 NASCAR champion Bobby Labonte to drive its famed No. 43 entry.
More personnel hires followed and, in an even bigger move to get back into the mainstream, the Petty team has left its home of 60 years in Level Cross, N.C., moving 60 miles to the hub of NASCAR racing in this Charlotte suburb.
The heart-wrenching move was completed two weeks ago and the members of the Sprint Media Tour were met with plenty of optimism Wednesday at the team's new shop.
Loomis is particularly excited by the recent arrival of Jeff Meendering, with whom he worked at powerful Hendrick Motorsports and who will take over as crew chief for Labonte after serving last year as car chief for four-time champion Jeff Gordon.
Asked if the team that has 273 wins and 10 championships in its past is close to getting back to its winning ways, Loomis gave an emphatic nod.
``Jeff (Meendering) and I talked about that a lot before we even started testing,'' Loomis said. ``We felt like a lot of places we were probably two-tenths (of a second) off last year. In the past we might have been four-tenths off. I think, when you get to that last two-tenths, every team out there has 80 percent of it.
``It's in the details to get that last 20 percent and that's what Jeff Meendering brings in his attention to detail and focus. And chemistry is important, too. We're trying to organize the team to where Jeff can spend more time with Bobby and find out his wants and needs and get what he wants into the car.
``To be honest with you, I think we'll win in the first eight races (of 2008),'' Loomis added boldly.
Richard Petty said the move to Mooresville was a long time in planning and got pushed up a year when the race shop belonging to longtime team owner Robert Yates became available.
``We think this is the first step in getting back to where we know we need to be and where we know we're capable of getting, and that's being competitive in all the races,'' The King said.
Loomis said the team lost only seven employees in the move, including one who retired. And the new location has already been a plus for the team.
``There's just so much more opportunity,'' Loomis explained. ``In the past, when someone wanted to leave or quit a team like Hendrick, Petty's might be the fourth or fifth stop. Since we've been here in two weeks, we're usually the first stop.
``It just shows it's a big difference when somebody has to travel 15 minutes versus an hour and 10 or 15. The heart and soul of the people we had are still here. We just want to add icing on the cake.''
TAME TONY: Two-time Cup champion Tony Stewart, known as much for his temperamental outbursts as his tremendous talent, isn't the least big upset that Joe Gibbs Racing has switched from Chevrolet, which won the manufacturers' title last year, to struggling newcomer Toyota.
Not only did the Japanese manufacturer fail to win a race in its first year in Cup, its teams often struggled just to qualify. But signing JGR was a coup for Toyota, and Stewart, who has had only three days of testing in his new Camry, doesn't sound the least big worried about the change.
``I know it sounds real elementary and plain, but any car is going to be one of three things: it's going to be tight, it's going to be loose or it's a four-wheel drift. Let's not reinvent the wheel. You're just driving a different car out there.
``Every one I've gotten into for the first time, you have to learn it's likes and dislikes. It's no different with this one. It's not a monumental change from last year.''
BATTLING BACK: After winning six races and make the Chase for the championship in 2006, Kasey Kahne and his Gillett Evernham Motorsports team struggled last season, failing to win a race and missing out on the Chase.
But the 2004 rookie of the year, considered by many one of the most talented drivers in Sprint Cup, is confident of a turnaround in 2008.
``I think the biggest thing for me this year is to make the Chase,'' said Kahne, who will be back in the No. 9 Dodge, hoping to qualify for the 12-man stock car playoff. ``I want to win races, but I know, at the end of the day, it's all about being more consistent, regardless of the situation.
``If I finish 30th, I've got to realize that's better than being 43rd. Once we make the Chase, hopefully, we can run well in those last 10 races. My main goal is to get in the championship battle.''
A FINE THING: Fines have escalated to record levels in NASCAR in recent years, and the sanctioning organization is taking steps to make sure that the missteps by drivers and crew chiefs does some good for someone.
After years of the money going into the season points fund, beginning this season, all fines collected by NASCAR will be contributed to the charitable NASCAR Foundation.
NASCAR spokesman Jim Hunter said the fines have averaged about $200,000 over the past decade, but totaled close to $1 million in 2007.