Petty Busch Team Seeking Sponsorship Partners

LEVEL CROSS, N.C. - Virtually everything is now in place for Petty Enterprises in 2001, just a NASCAR Busch Grand National sponsorship remaining to be placed. Former Busch Grand National champion Steve Grissom of Gadsden, Ala., will be driving the car next season.

"The Busch program is really important to us, and we're looking for a good sponsorship partner to join Petty Enterprises," said CEO Kyle Petty. "There have been some changes this season but we're really excited with what's going to happen next year - from our Winston Cup teams to our Busch team to our truck team."

Petty Enterprises recently announced Georgia-Pacific would be sponsoring the #44 Dodge driven by Buckshot Jones next year. Other Winston Cup teams will include the #43 Cheerios Dodge of driver John Andretti and the #45 Sprint Dodge with Petty driving.

"Whoever sponsors the Busch car is going to find a unique and exciting situation, especially from a marketing standpoint," Petty said. "We tend to look at things a little differently when it comes to the companies partnering with us. Instead of just finding somebody to paint their name on the side of the car, we want somebody who can fit in with our philosophies and somebody who can fit in with all of the other companies partnering with us.

"It's incredible to watch the companies involved with Petty Enterprises working together, developing cross-promotions and really taking advantage of being involved in NASCAR racing," Petty said. "That's what we're looking for - another partner who can help everyone take advantage of the situation and ready to exploit the marketing opportunities we can offer them."

"We're excited about the Busch team. Steve has proven himself as a champion in the Busch series, and has won 11 races. We feel we have the right driver, the equipment, and the team to be a really successful Busch team."

The list of sponsorship partners with Petty Enterprises reads like a "Who's Who" of American marketing - General Mills, Sprint, Georgia-Pacific, Mattel, Red Wing, Dodge and Red Lobster.