Petty Miscommunication Will Make Sponsors Wary

(Originally published on April 5, 2008)

I've been in the Yankees clubhouse and have heard conversations in Japanese, Spanish and English within a five-minute span. If something gets lost in translation in that mini-UN, it's understandable.
Petty Enterprises does not have a similar excuse.
Yet you would think there was some kind of language barrier these days. Robbie Loomis says Kyle Petty took himself out of the No. 45 Dodge. Then Petty says Loomis and Richard Petty decreed that Chad McCumbee would be in the car.
And, oh, by the way, Kyle Petty was lukewarm about the move from Level Cross to Mooresville all along, even after it seemed that everybody agreed it was a necessary step to attract top-flight shop talent.
McCumbee failing to make the field for Sunday's race is by far the least embarrassing moment for the team all week. There is obviously some misunderstanding about who, exactly, is in charge. And if I'm the CEO for a potential sponsor and witnessing this utter lack of organization at Petty Enterprises-in what already is a bear market for obtaining sponsorship-I wouldn't give them 30 bucks to mention my name while making a pit stop at a urinal.
For a time, it wasn't hard for the Pettys to pay the bills even when the performance wasn't optimum. The name cache of King Richard was often worth more than a nondescript driver running in the top 20. And, although I would never accuse anybody at PE of trying to benefit from tragedy, the Victory Junction Gang Camp made the No. 45 a good stop for a sponsor seeking a public relations victory even if an actual one was impossible.
But now General Mills has jumped ship, making its way to a much more prosperous Richard Childress Racing. As a sales veteran explained to me today, advertisers are followers. If one big cat leaves, the others are vulnerable. Should PE go ahead and get the URL www.sponsorpetty.com reserved (it's available, per GoDaddy.com) so it too can plead for cash on the side of its cars in the proud tradition of Yates Racing?
The funny thing is, last week I would have said that PE's management structure was pretty tight. I enjoyed Kyle Petty's weekly appearance on SPEED's Tradin' Paint, where he said that despite missing Martinsville he still would be against an in-season points switch to guarantee a spot in the field. (That stood in stark contrast to this Friday at Texas, where David Reutimann was whining on TV about having to qualify because Michael Waltrip Racing was denied a switch. In Root's case, "switch" rhymes with...well, you know.)
Petty looked strong in his appearance, like a real leader in the face of adversity who scoffed at seeking a handout. That as a lasting image would have kept sponsors interested.
But now that impression is dead. Reports that Medallion Financial Group will come in as a business partner would've given some comfort, knowing that a cash influx would keep Petty Enterprises alive.
But now, fearless leader Petty told SceneDaily.com that he'd jump ship and drive for somebody else if he were permanently dispatched.
This is a mess. If Medallion's suits aren't smart enough to rethink this pact right now, then they don't have enough business acumen to make the situation better, anyway.
What do you know? In one day, Petty Enterprises made Wood Brothers Racing look like Hendrick Motorsports by comparison.
Somebody needs to take charge at PE. Or is it too late to even matter?