It was not a good year for Kyle Petty...

Aside from the race to win the Nextel Cup this year, perhaps the most hotly contested race was the race for 35th in the owners’ standings. As the cutoff for teams to have a guaranteed spot in the next race, and guaranteed the first five starts of 2008, 35th place represented a goal for many teams.

Finishing in 36th place was the No. 21, driven by Ken Schrader, Jon Wood and Bill Elliott and owned by Glen Wood, racing for the legendary Wood Brothers.

This year was interesting. Sponsorship was good, with companies like Little Debbie and the Air Force stepping up. Jon Wood, the third generation of the Wood family announced he would be making his Nextel Cup debut in March 2007.

Though the car was not in the top 35 for the beginning of the season, they had been made races on time until Talladega in April, where Schrader was unable to qualify the No. 21.
It was try, try again for the No. 21 but when another DNQ happened the following week at Richmond, rumors began flying that the team’s Director of Competition Michael “Fatback” McSwain was leaving the company. These rumors were denied.

Jon Wood had already been scheduled to run the Nextel Open during the May homestretch, but he would not run the Coca Cola 600. With the team out of the top 35 and two DNQs, the Wood Bros. called in veteran Bill Elliott. With past champion Dale Jarrett out of provisionals, Elliott was the next active past champion, guaranteeing him a spot in the Coke 600. It was then announced that Elliott would stay with the team until he used up his provisionals or the team reached the top 35. McSwain was tapped to guide Elliott through the races at Charlotte and beyond.

Then, in early June, Jon Wood was unable to finish a Busch practice. His father, Eddie Wood, issued a statement which said in part that his son may have been misdiagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and was possibly having an adverse reaction to his prescribed medications.

Elliott continued to drive the car as Wood and Schrader sat on the sidelines. Then came a major break. A failed points-buying attempt by the No. 78 team placed the No. 21 in the top 35, guaranteeing it a spot at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Elliott ran the No. 21, while Schrader was placed in the No. 49 Wood Brothers car to attempt the Brickyard 400.

Elliott would continue to drive the No. 21 but requested the team place Boris Said in the car for the Watkins Glen race. Jon Wood came back to NASCAR with a clean bill of health and announced he would finish his season in the Craftsman Truck Series.

Then, McSwain announced he would be leaving NASCAR at the end of 2007 to spend more time with his family. Some good news came at the beginning of the Chase when Schrader finally returned to drive the No. 21…but only because the car had been inside the top 35 for two weeks.

Schrader finished out the year in the No. 21, but just short of the coveted 35th spot. Placing 36th meant that the team would again retain Bill Elliott’s services in 2008 as a provisional starter if needed. Elliott, Schrader and Wood are all scheduled for 2008 races, and look for the team to be focused on building a solid foundation for young Jon Wood, the first pick for the team’s future.

Kyle Petty pulled into 35th spot essentially by the skin of his teeth. As in other years, 2007 has been a lesson in flirting with disaster for the No. 45 Marathon Petroleum/Wells Fargo Dodge owned by Kyle Petty and raced for Petty Enterprises.

Shakily they added sponsors to the team just weeks before Daytona. Marathon Petroleum came on board in mid-January. Wells Fargo joined up at the beginning of Speedweeks. Also around that time it was announced that Petty Enterprises was seriously considering relocating to the Charlotte area from its historic shop in High Point, N.C.

Kyle was announced as the newest member of the NBC Network’s broadcasting team during the six week “Summer Stretch.” Five of those six races Petty would be in the booth with veteran announcers Bill Weber and Wally Dallenbach, Jr. Many were surprised but pleased, as viewers felt that Petty could add that much needed shot in the arm to NBC’s lackluster coverage but only partially fill the shoes of the late, great Benny Parsons.

A driver had not been chosen to take over for Kyle when he stepped out of the car, but several replacements were rumored, including teammate Bobby Labonte’s older brother Terry Labonte, who also had champions’ provisionals as a bonus. Bobby quickly quashed these rumors. Later, it was announced that newcomer Chad McCumbee and racer John Andretti would handle the driving duties during Kyle’s stint in the booth.

The No. 45 did an admirable job of staying in the top 35 for most of the year. When Kyle stepped out to broadcast, he won rave reviews. The only black spot on his skills was the inadvertent swear word picked up by his microphone during a wreck as he handled the in-car reporter duties for the NBC booth.

Petty was involved in a crash at Watkins Glen which made him so furious that he punched a wall in the No. 45 hauler, requiring surgery for his hand and having to sit out the second Michigan and Bristol races of the year, returning to Fontana at Labor Day.

In mid-September, a proposal which had been floating in the air was finally explained in greater detail. George Gillett, majority owner of Gillett Evernham Motorsports (GEM) had long been a fan of The King, Richard Petty. As a result, with both organizations struggling a bit, Gillett proposed a merger with Petty to combine into a four-car superteam. The likely loser in the deal would have been Scott Riggs and the No. 10 team, since both the No. 45 and No. 43 were in the top 35. Richard Petty ultimately decided not to merge his team, but thought about the possibility of a partnership with the flagship Dodge team. Gillett and Petty did continue their arrangement of sharing technical information between teams.

At the same time the details were coming out about the possible Gillett affiliation, Kyle Petty had an altercation with Denny Hamlin. After a crash, Petty confronted Hamlin, who still sat in his car. Petty shouted at Hamlin, then thumped him on the helmet. Hamlin was furious and had a few choice words to say about fan-favorite Petty. Petty was not fined.

In October, Petty announced that he might switch cars with Bobby Labonte should the no. 45 fall out of the top 35. If the move was made, it would guarantee both a starting spot. Labonte was safely in the top 35 with owner’s points, and if Labonte moved to the No. 45, he would be able to use his past champion’s provisional to start.

This prompted public outcry, especially as Labonte was having a great year and contended several times for wins. While NASCAR’s rules for 2007 didn’t prohibit the practice, it did not have to be put into motion as both cars stayed in the top 35 to end the year.

It was announced that in 2008 Petty Enterprises would move to Robert Yates’ former shop in Charlotte and that Chad McCumbee is slated to run five races with the possibility of more. In addition, sponsors Wells Fargo and Marathon are back for next year. The team has also announced that it will not consider any partnership or merge with Gillett Evernham Motorsports.

The No. 45 is a place to groom new talent as Kyle Petty moves toward the broadcast booth. Look for newcomer McCumbee to do well and to flourish in the old-school setting of Petty Enterprises.