Turn 2

It was inevitable that, in this tough economic climate, and with the ever-inreasing cost of running a competitive NASCAR Sprint Cup team, the famous Petty family would need to find an outside investor to remain a viable company.

That's the way of the future in Cup racing, and it isn't necessarily bad. Boston Ventures Management will have the controlling interest in the company going forward. The infusion of cash the deal will bring may help make the team more competitive. Boston Ventures invests primarily in media and entertainment companies, like Motown Records, and Six Flags Entertainment.

But the Pettys also went far outside the racing business for a new CEO, and that's more troubling. Since its 1949, when Lee Petty formed Lee Petty Engineering, the business has been run by family members. That's one of the things fans admired most about the company, even recently, when wins have been few and far between. The selection of an outsider to run Petty Enterprises will not go over well with the same fan base that watched in disappointment as the company left its original home in Level cross for the old Yates shop in Mooresville.

Odder, though, is the person actually chosen for the CEO job: failed Midway Games exec David Zucker. During Zucker's rein, Midway lost $300 million, and watched its stock drop nearly 79% in value. In March, he was fired, or allowed to resign, depending on who you believe.

Before that, he was President and COO at Playboy Enterprises, and a few years prior, he was an Executive VP at ESPN.

Not exactly someone steeped in the racing tradition. In fact, Zucker admitted he's "not a NASCAR racing expert," and went on to explain that he'd be leaning on Robbie Loomis.

"It's just a different world out there than it was five, ten years ago," said Richard Petty.

Boy, no kidding. But it is hard to believe there wasn't a better choice for the job than Zucker out there someplace. Running a TV sports network is as close as he's come to working in the racing industry, and he was a failure at his last job. (Yes, at the announcement, he said he'd been a fan for years, but so have a lot of people--that's not a qualification to run Petty Enterprises.)

Richard Petty may indeed be correct that the company needs him (and Kyle, the "acting CEO") to step aside in favor of a new leader, but is this the right one?

The Petty name still has a lot of value in this sport, and for good reason. The last thing The King needs is to see it sullied by a suit who doesn't know what he's doing.