Petty Enterprises finds new place to call home

CONCORD, N.C. — Richard Petty knew something needed to be done.

After watching race teams build lavish facilities over the last decade while his team fell behind the competition, Petty knew his organization needed to try and keep up with the ever-changing NASCAR landscape.

So that’s why Petty decided to move his operation out of its shop in Level Cross, N.C., which was a part of the team’s 268 wins, to an 80,000 square-foot facility, which housed Robert Yates Racing for the last five years.

The building came open when Yates moved near Roush Fenway Racing.

“We feel like this is the first step of getting back to where we need to be, where we are capable of being and that’s being competitive in all the races,” Petty said Wednesday.

Petty said the decision wasn’t an easy one and struggled with it for the past four or five years. After all, Petty was raised in the house located next to the shop and was where the work was done when he won 196 of his NASCAR-record 200 victories.

“We fussed and cussed about it for some time now,” Petty said. “That was home for 60 years and it was really hard to move. But it’s a gamble we need to do.”

Petty’s son, Kyle, said he got emotional when the moving process began. He recalled the days of riding motorcycles in front of the shop and having them fixed.

Kyle also noticed the little things in the building, such as his grandfather Lee’s initials carved in the concrete with the date every time they expanded the building.

“I didn’t realize how hard this was going to be until you walk through Petty Enterprises and you walk back and see no one working on race cars because that is how it is has been for 60 years,” he said. “This is more than a race team just moving from one race shop to another. That’s where a part of our history is.”

The Pettys are hoping this move can continue the upward trend for the organization, which went through bleak times at the beginning of the decade.

Three years ago they got Robbie Loomis, who led Jeff Gordon to the 2001 Cup title at Hendrick Motorsports, to return to the organization and be the director of competition. The team also brought over Bobby Labonte, a former Cup champion, to drive the No. 43 car in 2006.

The team saw gains with Labonte last season as he finished 18th in points, the highest finish by a Petty driver since John Andretti was 11th in 1998. Kyle also had his best finish in a race in a decade when he finished third in the Coca-Cola 600.

This year, Petty got Jeff Mendering, Gordon’s car chief at Hendrick, to come over and serve as Labonte’s crew chief.

“The commitment they showed by moving down here shows their level of commitment to the sport,” Labonte said. “I am appreciative of what they have and to be a part of it is exciting.”

There are no plans to tear down the old facility. The team operates its travel department out of the building. Richard Petty will still operate his personal business out of the facility and there is some fabrication work still being done there.

“No matter where we go or what we do, Level Cross will still be where the heart and soul of Petty Enterprises is,” Kyle said. “That’s where part of our history is but that’s behind us now and we need to move forward.”