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It's never a good time to lose a sponsor, but Kyle Petty is happy he was able to make the announcement of Sprint's departure from his No. 45 Dodge at the end of this year before the series arrived in Chicago this weekend.
"The fact we announced last week we're looking for a primary sponsor for this No. 45 car next season may have raised the ante a little bit," Petty said. "We're not approaching Chicago any differently than we would have anyway, but everyone knows that we need to continue making the progress we've been making and we need to keep the consistent finishes we've been having."
And a nice showing in the big city wouldn't hurt, either.
Last year, Petty instituted several changes -- most notably the hiring of Rusty Wallace's former crew chief, Robin Pemberton, as team manager -- that were intended to make Petty Enterprises' three-car stable a weekly threat to win within three or four years.
The improvements have already begun, with the No. 43 Dodge driven by John Andretti, No. 44 Dodge driven by Steve Grissom and his No. 45 consistently making their way into the top-15.
But so far, Petty is still 18th in the standings and realizes that, on paper, the improvements are not as evident to a potential sponsor.
"We've been meeting our goals and we've been progressing," Petty said. "This is a three-car, one-team approach. And it is working for us. Having that translate into a good weekend at Chicago would be good for all of us. Besides giving General Mills and Georgia-Pacific (sponsors of the 43 and 44 cars, respectively) a nice boost -- and giving Sprint a nice boost as well -- it would give Petty Enterprises a pretty nice boost in looking for a sponsor. You want to run well everywhere, but running well in front of a Chicago audience sure wouldn't hurt any."
Petty is eager to show that his plan -- a slow, but steady rise back to the top where his father Richard once had the team -- is well underway.
"I'm really excited about what we're getting ready to do. It's like I said then, though, the changes we made last year, you'll see the results down the road," he said. "It wasn't a quick change. That wasn't what we were after. So, hopefully, we can get somebody on board that understands that and can stand by us."
The 'us' is not a definite group, however. Petty, obviously, will be back next year. But Andretti and Grissom are not guaranteed to be in their seats in 2003. Petty has said he would like both drivers back, but the team was working through things.
Andretti was angry with the team earlier this year, however, because it would not allow him run the Indianapolis 500. However, Petty thinks that issue has passed and is optimistic for the future.
"He understands now, I think, that we just need focus in bringing this team back to the top, where it was for so long before," Petty said. "I like the group we have now. Things happen in this business, so I don't know how everything is going to turn out, but it's a good group and we're slowly getting to where we want to be."
Rupen Fofaria is a beat writer for the Raleigh News & Observer.
"The fact we announced last week we're looking for a primary sponsor for this No. 45 car next season may have raised the ante a little bit," Petty said. "We're not approaching Chicago any differently than we would have anyway, but everyone knows that we need to continue making the progress we've been making and we need to keep the consistent finishes we've been having."
And a nice showing in the big city wouldn't hurt, either.
Last year, Petty instituted several changes -- most notably the hiring of Rusty Wallace's former crew chief, Robin Pemberton, as team manager -- that were intended to make Petty Enterprises' three-car stable a weekly threat to win within three or four years.
The improvements have already begun, with the No. 43 Dodge driven by John Andretti, No. 44 Dodge driven by Steve Grissom and his No. 45 consistently making their way into the top-15.
But so far, Petty is still 18th in the standings and realizes that, on paper, the improvements are not as evident to a potential sponsor.
"We've been meeting our goals and we've been progressing," Petty said. "This is a three-car, one-team approach. And it is working for us. Having that translate into a good weekend at Chicago would be good for all of us. Besides giving General Mills and Georgia-Pacific (sponsors of the 43 and 44 cars, respectively) a nice boost -- and giving Sprint a nice boost as well -- it would give Petty Enterprises a pretty nice boost in looking for a sponsor. You want to run well everywhere, but running well in front of a Chicago audience sure wouldn't hurt any."
Petty is eager to show that his plan -- a slow, but steady rise back to the top where his father Richard once had the team -- is well underway.
"I'm really excited about what we're getting ready to do. It's like I said then, though, the changes we made last year, you'll see the results down the road," he said. "It wasn't a quick change. That wasn't what we were after. So, hopefully, we can get somebody on board that understands that and can stand by us."
The 'us' is not a definite group, however. Petty, obviously, will be back next year. But Andretti and Grissom are not guaranteed to be in their seats in 2003. Petty has said he would like both drivers back, but the team was working through things.
Andretti was angry with the team earlier this year, however, because it would not allow him run the Indianapolis 500. However, Petty thinks that issue has passed and is optimistic for the future.
"He understands now, I think, that we just need focus in bringing this team back to the top, where it was for so long before," Petty said. "I like the group we have now. Things happen in this business, so I don't know how everything is going to turn out, but it's a good group and we're slowly getting to where we want to be."
Rupen Fofaria is a beat writer for the Raleigh News & Observer.