Petty's 500 Entry No 'Publicity Stunt'

FanHouse's Holly Cain first jumped on the news Friday from the IRL IndyCar Series season-opener in St. Petersburg, Fla., and Monday NASCAR's 'King' officially announced his entry to open-wheel's highest affair.

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** AUTO RACING PACKAGE FOR APRIL 8 AND THEREAFTER ** In this Friday, April 3, 2009, photo, Sam Hornish Jr. helps push his car up pit road during qualifying for the NASCAR Samsung 500 auto race at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas. It almost reads like a misprint: former IRL star Sam Hornish Jr. is without a top-10 finish in 43 Sprint Cup starts, the equivalent of more than a year in NASCAR's top series. It's true, and it's not that much of a surprise, even to Hornish. He knew it would be a tough transition competing every week against the likes of Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Richard Petty looks over the car that John Andretti will drive for next month's Indianapolis 500 after an announcement at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Monday, April 6, 2009. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Richard Petty, right, and driver John Andretti laugh during an announcement on their participation in next month's IRL Indianapolis 500 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Monday, April 6, 2009. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Richard Petty, right, and driver John Andretti talk about their participation in next month's Indianapolis 500 after an announcement at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Monday, April 6, 2009. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Richard Petty, right, and driver John Andretti pose next to the car that Andretti will drive for next month's Indianapolis 500 after an announcement at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Monday, April 6, 2009. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Indie folk-rock artist Melissa Ferrick performs at the Canal Club in Richmond, Virginia, Friday, December 5, 2008. Her latest release, "Goodbye Youth" (Right on Record), serves up her most introspective material to date. (Chuck Myers/MCT)

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Indie folk-rock artist Melissa Ferrick performs at the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C., Friday, March 6, 2009. Her latest release, "Goodbye Youth" (Right on Record), serves up her most reflective material. (Chuck Myers/MCT)

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ST. PETERSBURG, FL - APRIL 05: Tony Kanaan, drives the #11 Team 7-Eleven Andretti Green Racing Dallara Honda down Bayshore Dr. during the IRL IndyCar Series Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on April 5, 2009 on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Doug Benc/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Tony Kanaan

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Yep, Richard Petty and a powder blue and red open-wheel car driven by John Andretti will make laps in about a month at the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway in preparations for the 93rd Indianapolis 500 on May 24.

But during Monday's announcement, Petty, 71, was sure to make one point clear: this is not a publicity stunt.

"[John] had approached me sometime last year before the race, and we just never could put anything together," said Petty. "And, as you know, over last winter and this winter we done a bunch of changing at Petty Enterprises. It's now Richard Petty Motorsports. That let me look at some more things once we had partners in our business there."

The failed attempt to get in last year's 500 actually helped seal the deal after Petty took up John's invitation to attend the 2008 edition of the 'Greatest Spectacle in Racing'.

"It was so impressive just to be here and just see the beginning of the race, with all the balloons, the whole deal," said Petty. "So I think I got kind of caught up in it. That was one of John's initial deals. He figured if he could get me here, get me all excited in what I seen, then maybe he could talk me into being involved. Basically that's what happened."

Andretti's car will be sponsored by Window World, who also supports his efforts in the Sprint Cup Series in 2009 with the No. 34 car. And thanks to a low expected car count in this year's race, Andretti's participation in the 33-car field is pretty much a given.

It's going to be pretty cool to see a Petty connection to the Indianapolis 500, but one thing will be hard to digest: the car will be a "Petty Honda-powered Dallara".

File that in the list of words you'd never thought you'd hear.

Anyways, I'll look forward to a stock car presence in one of America's premiere events, and it'll certainly give NASCAR fans an added bonus to their Memorial Day weekend TV watching.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)

4-07-2009 @ 6:04PM

illsell4u said...

Good luck. I know that IndyCar is very popular outside the US but I still cannot get over the fact that if two cars get within 6 inches of one another the harmonic vibrations they create blow the two cars into pieces. How is that a good thing?
mbl

4-10-2009 @ 7:45AM

Bob said...

1st thing Indycar is not very popular outside the state--open wheel is (F1)----and how good would a race car that goes 230 mph and protects the driver when they slam into a concrete wall, if they "blow apart" when they get close to each other??????---whoever told you that, was mistaken because it DOES NOT happen

4-10-2009 @ 10:02PM

Jim said...

Man, harmonic vibrations blowing cars apart???? Have you ever seen an IndyCar race?

4-10-2009 @ 7:23AM

darccheker said...

Richard keep your old tired butt out of that car, you know it is nothing but a publicity stunt

4-10-2009 @ 7:50AM

Richard isn't driving, he's an owner. Did you read the whole article? How is a NASCAR legend making his first entry into the INDY 500 just a publicity stunt?

4-10-2009 @ 8:01AM

red5hilser said...

This is the best thing to hit the Indy 500 since the reunification. I remember when the guys from Formula 1 and Europe hit back in the 1960s.

That brought Indy to a whole new level. Guys like Jim Clark, Graham Hill and some of the old NASCAR types made it so much more interesting to watch.

Good luck to Richard, John and the rest of the team. I'll be rooting for them.

Note to darcheker: Who the hell said anything about The King getting into the car? Get a grip!

Yer pal, Ferrari Bubba

4-10-2009 @ 8:18AM

Rusty said...

Good luck to "THE KING" trying his had in Indy car racing. Just don't run into Danica,or she'll come to your pit stall and slap John....LOL

4-10-2009 @ 8:22AM

yellowlab1002 said...

Richard, hang it up. At your age you need to enjoy your time in the sun. Surely you can't need the money. You've put a lot of fans in the seats over the years and made yourself and the Frances' rich. Enjoy your life and thanks for the memories, but you're over due for retirement.

4-10-2009 @ 8:25AM

grumpylsmith said...

After indianapolis all other races are just junkers chasing each other at lower speeds!

macster199 said...

see all the stupidity isnt in washington

4-10-2009 @ 11:00AM

Earl said...

A.J. FOYT DROVE ANY THING THAT HAD WHEELS ON IT,ALONG SIDE RICHARD PETTY ,AND 4 TIME WINNER AT THE BRICKYARD,2 OLD NASCAR DRIVER/OWNERS IS JUST GREAT WITH ME

4-10-2009 @ 8:46AM

Mike said...

macster199:

you are right. you just proved your own statment. it ia ISN'T not ISNT

I never said they do not protect the drivers in a crash. They do that very well considering they end up in hundreds of pieces if they dare to touch anything while moving. I have never seen one yet that could bounce of another car and the outside wall at top speed and finish a race.
Yeah, they go 230 MPH. Keep in mind, Nascar goes 210 or so with a restrictor plate designed to keep them from going 230 MPH and probably weighs twice as much.
mbl

4-10-2009 @ 8:47AM

robert said...

Nascar is WAY better than indycar, so they should thank the king for coming over for this one race and giving a boost to their pathetic racing leage. Remember, open wheel drivers are leaving to go to NASCAR, not the other way around.

4-10-2009 @ 8:55AM

ray66v said...

LOL! All John Andretti ever does is drive around the track looking for a place to wreck.

4-10-2009 @ 9:20AM

shakerj279 said...

Open wheel racing is exactly that, racing. The added bumping, pushing, ramming, spinning, crashing of the NASCAR races is, in my opinion, not racing, its entertainment. Any driver with IndyCar knows that all that stuff will threaten the life and limb of his or her colleagues as well as themselves. The precision and technology of IndyCar is amazing. I seldom see an IndyCar go back on the track covered with duct tape! I guess the media agrees with NASCAR, those races sell tickets, merchandise, TV time, and sponsors. So be it, but for "racing" I'll pick open wheel IndyCars any day. (I think the drivers that migrate to NASCAR usually do so for two reasons, the money, and the challenge of trying a different form of autoracing after being successful in open wheel.But then again, I don't usually get to discuss that with them.)

4-10-2009 @ 9:24AM

HitTheDeckBoys said...

Ok,...Ok, Richard is not racing, however, as an owner and licenced driver, during test sessions he may "Hot lap" the car. There is a series of tests he may have to pass first concidering his age (71),the most important is 10 second rule. That is where a driver (test or otherwise), must exit the car in under 10 seconds.Richard is wiley I believe he can do this.John Andretti is the primary driver, he has to qualify the car,he who qualifies then races. If another driver qualifies then you(the actual driver)revert towards the rear of the field for doing so.Anyone can drive the car prior to qualifying (provided they pass IRL entry level testing).Age has nothing to do with it,abillity is all it takes.Some NASCAR fans should buy a book (other than "Comic") and learn about things before ya' shoot ya' Dang mouth off. Education is a wonderfull thing. Richard Petty has every right to participate and he has earned the right to do so at any age. Good Luck Richard ENJOY the fruits of your labor. Have "Fun". Win this race John, you can do it!!!

4-10-2009 @ 9:27AM

lilly grabowski said...

YOU GO RICHARD YOU ARE STILL THE BEST YET. I DONT THINK ANYONE WILL EVER COME CLOSE TO YOU.

4-10-2009 @ 9:28AM

Kim said...

Anytime the "King Richard Petty" wants to get involved with a new endeavor, I say great! He is a living legend! And John Andretti, a living legend in his own right as well. Instead of complaining about it or telling Richard to just hang it up, people should really just say thank you! This is going to bring a lot of added and much needed publicity and hopefully viewership as well to a sport that desperately needs it!

Kim