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 General Mills has sponsored the No. 43 the past nine seasons, taking over when STP gave up its role as primary sponsor of the car Richard Petty drove to 200 victories. Bobby Labonte currently pilots the flagship Dodge.
The car will need a sponsor for 2009, but Petty Enterprises thinks its secure with its driver.
Childress didn't say Tuesday who will drive his new No. 33 Chevrolet next season, but Labonte's deal with Petty is up at the end of this year. As the 2000 Cup champion, Labonte would be extremely attractive to Childress because his past champion status would automatically qualify the car for six races.
But Robbie Loomis, executive vice president at Petty, doesn't think Labonte is leaving. The team has offered Labonte an extension that the driver is considering.
"I think Bobby is extremely happy here and I think Petty Enterprises has done a good job of showing him we're committed to building him fast cars and continuing the program around him," Loomis said. "I just don't see Bobby leaving. I would normally say nothing surprises me in this business, but that would surprise me."
Labonte said he was pleased with the progress he's seen since his 2006 arrival at Petty Enterprises, and he'll continue to work toward returning the car to Victory Lane this season. But Labonte, who is winless with just 11 top-10 finishes in 78 starts with the team, said he won't talk about his future at this time.
"I'm very humbled by the level of interest in my future," he said. "Moving forward, I'm going to work hard each week to win races. I want to do the best I can for Petty Enterprises and everyone who puts great cars under me each week. That's our focus, and that's what I feel is the right thing to do for all our partners.
"At this time, I have no intention to talk about my plans after 2008 because of the immediate tasks at hand."
Brian Moffitt, vice president of marketing at Petty, indicated the team will try to sell sponsorship of the No. 43 with Labonte as the driver.
"He and his family share the ideals and values of the Petty organization and he remains a key component to the long-term future of Petty Enterprises," Moffitt said.
The announcement comes at the same time Kyle Petty has decided to climb out of the driver seat of the No. 45 Dodge this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway to allow Chad McCumbee a chance to qualify the car. Petty failed to qualify for last Sunday's race at Martinsville Speedway, and doesn't want to risk the car missing another race.
"Everyone at Petty Enterprises believes in Chad and his abilities," Kyle Petty said. "Texas gives us a chance to get another good look at Chad without throwing him to the wolves. He should be relaxed because he knows he can get the job done there."
McCumbee replaced Petty in the car twice last season while Petty took a summer hiatus to call races for TNT. McCumbee, who is probably best known for playing Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the TV movie "3: The Dale Earnhardt Story," finished 25th and 41st in his two Cup starts. He's also running the Truck Series this season, and has two top-10 finishes.
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All this movement comes at a time when Petty Enterprises is exploring taking on a business partner to help the team compete with the superpowers in NASCAR. But Loomis said the race team, which relocated this year from its longtime home in Randleman to Mooresville to be closer to the Charlotte hub of NASCAR, is not unsettled.
"It's just like Richard (Petty) told me, they had STP forever and a lot of success, but then General Mills came along and took the team to the next level," Loomis said. "While we never like to end a partnership that we've had so long, we're moving ahead as if our new partners will take us to the next level again."
Medallion Financial Group is reportedly in talks to partner with Petty through its newly formed entertainment/sports acquisition group.
"There has been speculation of our interest in Petty Enterprises for Sports Properties Acquisition Corp.," president Andrew Murstein said in a statement. "We are very interested in investing in NASCAR and the motorsports industry in general should the right deal come along."
Meanwhile, Childress has finally succeeded in putting together the fourth team he's coveted. He tried to sign both Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kyle Busch last season, and both drivers were presumably earmarked for a fourth team.
But neither driver signed with RCR, and sponsorship concerns hampered his movement toward a fourth car for this season.
General Mills now gives him the backing to field a new Chevrolet -- and Childress passed on resurrecting his famed No. 3 that has not been driven since Dale Earnhardt's death in the 2001 Daytona 500.
The ability to expand coincides with all three of his drivers ranking inside the top 12 in the standings, with Jeff Burton and Kevin Harvick sitting first and second in the Sprint Cup points. But Childress still must find a new primary sponsor for Burton's car, as AT&T must leave the series at the end of this season because of a conflict with NASCAR's series sponsor, Sprint.
[Associated Press; By JENNA FRYER]
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
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