Gillett Evernham considering merger with Pettys
"He's a man of great integrity, honesty," Gillett said of Petty. "His values are something like I've never seen. … I'd love to figure out a way to be associated with him. I'm not prepared to say any more than that today. Richard and I are good friends." GEM minority owner Ray Evernham said such a deal would make both organizations stronger. "From my point of view, I would like to see that happen," Evernham said of the merger. "For me, the sooner the better." Evernham has been looking to expand to four teams. The difference here, he said, is he would have four good teams that are solidly in the top 35 for next season. Gillett said expansion is the only way to keep up, and not just in terms of teams. He is looking to build a large shop in the Charlotte area that will become a destination for racing fans.
"Ray Evernham has every bit of technical skill and genius as the best of any one of those programs," he said of Evernham, who won three Cup titles as Gordon's crew chief. "So we will deploy ourselves in a way that gives us as much competitive strength as is possible to do within the rules."
To stay within those rules, specifically NASCAR's four-car limit, GEM would have to lose one of its three teams to merge with Petty. The #10 driven by Scott Riggs is the likely target. Riggs is 37th in points, well behind Kahne in 22nd and Elliott Sadler in 25th. Gillett acknowledged that he would like to get more seat time for Patrick Carpentier, who finished 22nd when he replaced Riggs at the Watkins Glen road course last month. "We had our first test with him yesterday on an oval," he said. "We're going over the data. … I can tell you he looked very good and very comfortable on the track. He was competitive. It doesn't appear there will be any significant learning curve."
Regardless, to merge with Petty Enterprises there would be no room for Carpentier in a Cup car. "It's all about the number of cars," Gillett said. "We would have to get rid of one of the cars here. Whether 'get rid of' means mothball or have it aligned with another team … there are a number of teams out there that don't have four cars, several of whom we already have relationships with." GEM and Petty, which would remain under the Petty Enterprises umbrella, potentially could have the knowledge of six to eight cars under that scenario as Roush Fenway Racing plans to do under its partnership with Yates Racing. "As you can see, we've got technical excellence, a commitment to technology and upstanding people," Gillett said. "We need to exploit that. That can be exploited in any number of ways." ESPN.com
09/08/07 The two-car operation owned by seven-time champion Richard Petty is having discussions with Montreal Canadiens owner George Gillett Jr. that would allow it to merge with Gillett Evernham Motorsports and form a four-car Nextel Cup organization.
"They have quoted some numbers,'' Kyle Petty, the CEO of Petty Enterprises and driver of the No. 45 Dodge, said on Friday at Richmond International Raceway.
Gillett recently purchased majority ownership of Evernham Motorsports, now known as Gillett Evernham Motorsports.
Petty said Gillett has floated an offer in which the companies would merge but allow Petty Enterprises to continue working under its flagship name. More at ESPN.com
[Editor's Note: All these mergers are going completely against what NASCAR was trying to accomplish when they stopped Roush Racing from having a 5-car Cup team. NASCAR wants more, not less teams. The way it is going now, the number of teams will soon be half of what they once were. Why are all these mergers happening? The teams are consolidating to become stronger in anticipation of Toyota's onslaught]