DEI/PE?

BobbyFord

BobbyFord

Secret Agent Man
Contributor
Joined
Apr 6, 2005
Messages
73,350
Points
1,033
Location
Southern California.
DEI and Petty merger? Talks about a possible merger between Dale Earnhardt Inc. and Petty Enterprises are under way, according to sources familiar with the situation, and Wells Fargo's sponsorship money could be key to making something happen. However, the economic chaos that is wracking the country is also playing havoc with so many suddenly struggling NASCAR teams that it's unclear how any of the various scenarios might actually play out. And just what positives might even come out of a DEI-Petty merger aren't that clear, either. Richard Petty sold a "significant" stake this summer in Petty Enterprises, the family racing operation in business since 1949, to Boston Ventures, a private equity firm. Precisely how that joint NASCAR venture might fit into any DEI-Petty merger is unclear, considering the financial problems of many Wall Street investment firms. Petty Enterprises is looking for a 2009 sponsor for Bobby Labonte, who drives the legendary #43 car. #45-Kyle Petty, the other Petty driver, has been at odds apparently with some of the team's executives, and he appears to have the option to take the Wells Fargo sponsorship with him to another team. If Kyle Petty were to leave, that would, for the moment, leave Petty Enterprises with no major sponsors.(Winston Salem Journal)(10-17-2008)
 
A little more to this story is that PE has aquired the #44 again and it will be driven by Chad McCumbee. Kyle will continue to drive the #45 on a limited basis providing they can find sponsorship.

Poor Kyle should just hang up his helmet.
 
Yeah, he's good in the booth. Maybe he should try to pick up some more TV gigs.
 
Man PE and DEI no way. I have always been a Petty fan till the day Richard retired. No way am I going for a DEI car.:growl:
 
I have always been a Petty fan till the day Richard retired. No way am I going for a DEI car.
Click to expand...

I'm with you 100% on that. I don't see Petty going Chevy, though. Or DEI going Dodge. Don't they both have contracts with their respected car makers for a few more years?
 
Read that Petty is tied up with Dodge for 3 more years. Of course with the woes of Chrysler/Dodge they might want out of the contract.
DEI going to Dodge? You'll see a bear using indoor plumbing first.:p
 
SST55 said:
Read that Petty is tied up with Dodge for 3 more years. Of course with the woes of Chrysler/Dodge they might want out of the contract.
DEI going to Dodge? You'll see a bear using indoor plumbing first.:p
Click to expand...

SR. and JR. both diehard chevy but both are gone from DEI and I seriously doubt teresa and max gives a dam about loyalty, all they care about is $
 
steveluvs3 said:
SR. and JR. both diehard chevy but both are gone from DEI and I seriously doubt teresa and max gives a dam about loyalty, all they care about is $
Click to expand...

I don't think that is a fair statement. I don't know about Max but Teresa seems to be concerned with protecting the legacy of Earnhardt. I doubt that if DEI were to close she'd have to start using food stamps. She has a few dollars set aside no doubt.
 
If that was the case then why did'nt she keep her stepson with the company, what better way to keep the legacy alive than an earnhardt running the show.
 
She offered to sell Lil'E a share of DEI and he refused. He'd rather it be given to him. From what I've read she's maintained that DEI needs to be left to all of the kids not just Lil'E. Plus the fact that he went to Hendrick doesn't mean he won't be back at some point. And, to protect the legacy I'm sure she felt she shouldn't just give the company over to someone who is inexperienced in business.

Besides how many races did Sr. win at DEI?
 
Lil E wanted 51% of the company. She refused to give him any % IIRC. She wanted him as a employee only and she'd drive the bus. She even wanted to control his merchandising and take a cut, a big cut. I think both her and the kids want to protect the legacy of Big E but she went about it in the wrong way. Look what she ended up with. DEI will cease to exist as it is now within 5 years, mark your calender
Her legacy will be that of Sr's wife, a good looking greedy schrew.:D

<edit> She wanted to protect Taylor E and hers daughter. She could care less about the other kids. When Jr got burnt she refused to let Jr's mom fly on a DEI plane. Jr chartered another. Teresa is cold. I'm just sayin'
 
In no way am I going to defend Teresa Earnhardt, but there is one thing that I'm certain and that is no one here on this board knows the woman personally and as such, those opinions are just that and based on personal biases. Junior has his sister Kelly to run his business affairs and from what I've heard, they wanted control of DEI. If Dale Sr. had wanted Junior to have a controlling interest, I believe that he would have made it known, especially to his wife and children. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I've never heard anyone say that was what Dale made public or private.

SST55, you give DEI 5 years? How many years are you going to give PEI? How about MWR? GEM? Ganassi Racing? Five years from now NASCAR could be and probably will be totally different from the inside out.
 
Reason I say 5 years. They have 4 teams, 01, 1, 8 & 15. Menard is leaving end of the season and taking his sponsor with him. The 8 team with Almirola is losing Army. Smith's 01 is basically funded out of pocket. That leaves the 1 and Truex whose contract is up next year. Rumor is where he goes, if he goes, Bass Pro will follow. Mark Martin left. Who's going to be left? A couple of rookies.

Sponsor dollars are tight even for the established teams and top drivers. Getting sponsors for the 15, 8, and 01 is going to be difficult without a proven driver. If Truex leaves and Bass Pro goes with him in '10 you'll have a 4th team without a major "name" driver as a draw. Not a envious position.

MWR will have to align with another Toy team to survive. GEM and Ganassi merging isn't a far fetched idea, especially if Penske provides some tech support. Don't know how Petty would fit in. But Dodge is pulling out of the trucks so how long will they stay in cup and nw is a good question.

Na$car is completely different now from what it was just 5 years ago, I don't doubt it'll be different 5 years from now. But will it be better?
 
UPDATE 2: Petty Enterprises appears on track to merge – somehow – with Dale Earnhardt Inc., which would turn the Petty Dodges into Chevrolets….apparently. Or maybe it’s just Kyle Petty ‘merging.’ Richard Petty Sunday didn’t have much to say about the DEI report; he didn’t deny the talks, but he insisted he didn’t have to panic about things: “We did our panicking last year. That’s why we did the deal with Boston Ventures. We’re ahead of the curve.” However there appears to be considerable internal disagreement between the father and son about the next business steps to take, though #43-Bobby Labonte still has no sponsor for 2009, and Kyle Petty himself apparently is looking to leave Petty Enterprises at the end of the year and take the company’s only full sponsor, Wells Fargo, with him.(Winston Salem Journal)(10-20-2008)

GM is currently in talks to purchase Chrysler so the teams may not have to switch manufacturers...??
 
No question that Kyle is on his way out. Won't be the first time he left. There's something going on behind the scenes there. I'll never understand why LaBonte left a winning team with Gibbs to go to Petty who was struggling.

Maybe instead of the gub'mit bailing out Chrysler in the early 80's they should have let it go under. It appears all that was done was delay the inevitable.

A struggling company GM taking on a failing company Chrysler is ridiculous IMO
 
SST55 said:
A struggling company GM taking on a failing company Chrysler is ridiculous IMO
Click to expand...

Except GM needs the $11B Chrysler has in reserves to keep their own ship afloat. GM is going thru ~$1B a month. At that rate GM will have a serious cash flow problem in less than 24 months. Unless they are able to divest themselves of some of their least popular lines.
 
Looks like a PE/Ganassi merger is more possible at this point. The question for the Dodge teams is what do they do next year? Looks like GEM is switching to Toyota. Not much being said about Penske.
 
Just saw this:


Petty Enterprises appears on track to merge – somehow – with Dale Earnhardt Inc., which would turn the Petty Dodges into Chevrolets….apparently. Or maybe it’s just Kyle Petty 'merging'’ Richard Petty Sunday didn’t have much to say about the DEI report; he didn’t deny the talks, but he insisted he didn’t have to panic about things: “We did our panicking last year. That’s why we did the deal with Boston Ventures. We’re ahead of the curve.” However there appears to be considerable internal disagreement between the father and son about the next business steps to take, though #43-Bobby Labonte still has no sponsor for 2009, and Kyle Petty himself apparently is looking to leave Petty Enterprises at the end of the year and take the company’s only full sponsor, Wells Fargo, with him.(Winston Salem Journal)(10-20-2008)"

and

"GM-Chrysler merger....by Nov 4th? If the General Motors merger/buyout of Chrysler does go through, and well it might, perhaps by Nov. 4, what happens to all those NASCAR Dodge teams? [GEM, Petty, Ganassi, Penske] Dodge racing executives haven’t had much to say lately about the situation. And what might happen to Dodge’s various NASCAR contracts if Chrysler is ‘sold’ to GM is up in the air. Dodge has a number of long-term contracts in place, and just a few weeks ago Dodge officials insisted things were fine.(Winston Salem Journal)(10-20-2008)"

What a mess this might turn into.
 
barelypure said:
Except GM needs the $11B Chrysler has in reserves to keep their own ship afloat. GM is going thru ~$1B a month. At that rate GM will have a serious cash flow problem in less than 24 months. Unless they are able to divest themselves of some of their least popular lines.
Click to expand...
Government will bail 'em both out. That's the only response to any problems they seem to have anymore... Bailout!

We all saw the $815B pos that passed Congress last month. Maybe, by the end of this recession, we'll all own a car company as well.

:mad:
 
barelypure said:
They already got theirs
Automaker Bailout
And now, $25 billion to Detroit
Click to expand...

Well, I'm glad the government feels so generous with my money! :mad:
banghead.gif
:mad:
banghead.gif
:mad:
banghead.gif
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom