Richard Petty has son Kyle axed

When Richard Petty sold Petty Enterprises to Boston Ventures, he cut son Kyle completely out of the deal

If you want to know what's going down at Petty Enterprises these days, don't ask Kyle Petty. So says Kyle Petty, son of Richard and grandson of Lee, who founded the race organization in Level Cross, N.C., in 1949. Richard Petty is part owner of Petty Enterprises, which currently is in merger discussions with Gillett Evernham Motorsports. Petty Enterprises entered into a partnership agreement with outside investment firm Boston Ventures this past May. "I don't work for Petty Enterprises," Kyle Petty said Monday. "When they did their deal and sold to Boston Ventures, Chad [McCumbee] was going to drive the second car and Bobby [Labonte] was going to drive the first car; they pretty much let me know there wasn't a place for me there going into '09. My deal runs out at the end of the year, but I don't go over there [to the shop in Mooresville, N.C.] because I don't work there. It was a different business and it got into a different place than where Boston Ventures wanted to be — and I just don't think they have the stomach for it. It's their company and they can do with it what they want to. That's the way it works."

When Boston Ventures came on board, Richard Petty said he would still be heavily involved in the day-to-day operation of Petty Enterprises. But Kyle Petty made it sound as if those from the investment company are pulling most of the strings for the organization now. "I don't know what the division is, and it's got nothing to do with me because it's my father's company," Kyle said. "So it's between Richard Petty and Boston Ventures. Me talking about it is about like anybody else talking about it from the outside looking in. I was not privy to any of the meetings. I was not a part of it. Once David Zucker took over as CEO, then I was out of the loop. So I've got no skin in this game." ESPN.com