Ford 400 - Kyle Petty Notes

Kyle Petty Notes, Quotes: Homestead 400

‘Cream will rise to top’ in season finale

One of the top names in NASCAR Winston Cup racing, Kyle Petty and the #45 Georgia-Pacific/Brawny Dodge team head to the newly-reconfigured 1.5-mile Homestead-Miami Speedway this week for Sunday’s 400-mile race. It will be the final race of the season for the NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the final race of all time under that name – it becomes the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series beginning in 2004.

Petty, 43, will be making his 679th career start this weekend. He is 10th on the all-time list in NASCAR Winston Cup career starts, and fourth among active drivers. His eight career victories place him 45th on NASCAR’s all-time list in Winston Cup wins. One of the most recognizable names in international motorsports, as is his sponsor, Georgia-Pacific, Petty’s driving career began with a five-race season in 1979. The native of Level Cross, N.C., has won over $17 million.

The thoughts of Georgia-Pacific/Brawny Dodge driver Kyle Petty heading into Homestead:

“There are a lot of races and it’s a long season but you end up with three groups this time of year. There is the group glad to see the season come to an end. There is the group that hates to see it come to an end. And there is the group that wants to race some more but not sure how much more.

“The group who wants it to end is either doing really well or really poorly. As good a year as Matt Kenseth and Robbie Reiser have had, I’m sure they are glad to see this thing end. They can finally be official, go to New York and pick up the trophy and celebrate a little bit. Somebody like Ryan Newman probably could race all winter, especially the way things are going for that team this year. Or Jeff Gordon and Robby Loomis, the way they have really taken off the last part of the year.

“Keep in mind the season never really does come to an end. Yeah, we stop running 2003 races but just about everybody has started work on 2004, and that will just become even more intense next week. There was a time you could end the season, take a breather for a week or two and get started on the next year. No more. You start on the next year in earnest by July of the year before. If you don’t, you are going to be way behind when it comes time for testing.

“Still, you can’t come into this weekend thinking all about next year. There is one more race to run. There is one last chance to do something pretty spectacular. No matter what happened all year, Homestead can dictate a lot of how things start coming into place in 2004. If you have a really good run, you can go through the off-season with a good attitude, feel like you have a little momentum and be chomping at the bit for Daytona. A good run in the last race can really fire your guys up.

“The key to this deal has always been taking it one week at a time, one race at a time. If you come into Homestead looking at doing as well as you can in this one race, you’ve kept that philosophy. If you come into Homestead thinking about 2004, it’s not going to be a great end to 2003.

“It’s going to be an interesting week. The total reconfiguration of the track and the fact only a couple of teams have been able to test on it before this week will make a difference. Having the extra day on Wednesday should help everybody. There won’t be quite as much guessing going on Friday for qualifying that way.

“I bet you see a lot of people on top of the trucks during the Truck race Friday and the Busch race Saturday, though. They are going to be watching what’s going on, how the track surface is handling things, how the cars are reacting, and things like that. And there will be plenty of Winston Cup crew chiefs down in the Truck and Busch garages after those races, asking questions and learning everything they can learn.

“The cream will still rise to the top on Sunday, though. You hear about how a track change evens things out all the time but it never seems to really work that way. You might see a less experienced driver or team make a brief splash but you can figure that the winner will almost positively be a regular front-running team, somebody you see up there relatively often anyway. They aren’t a top team because they can’t adjust.

“We’re looking forward to it. (Crew chief) Greg Steadman and the guys feel we can have a pretty good week at Homestead and end this 2003 season on a high note. That’d be a great way to finish the year for this Georgia-Pacific/Brawny Dodge team.”

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