The hat says "45" but that does not mean that he will be in that car.

This week I have something I’m upset about. I believe many of us heard Kyle Petty say last week that Petty Enterprises had no qualms about switching drivers to make sure that both of their cars make the show.

“How is this legal?” you ask. Simple. Bobby Labonte makes it legal.

Many newer fans may not understand the important distinction between driver points and owner points. It is owner’s points which place a car in the top 35, the magic number of teams who are guaranteed a spot in each race as long as the owner points stay at 35th place or above. Driver’s points are awarded to the individual driver, and can be different from owner’s points (example: Gillett Evernham Motorsports ran Patrick Carpentier at Watkins Glen. The #10 car got points for the owners because it started. Carpentier also got points as an individual driver. Scott Riggs did not receive any points because he did not start the race in any car.)

The #45 Petty Enterprises machine is a sentimental favorite every week. Most NASCAR fans love the Petty family and shared in their grief when young Adam Petty, the driver of the #45, died in a crash at the racetrack. Father Kyle Petty keeps Adam’s dream alive by continuing to pilot the machine, sometimes without sponsorship. It is a dogged and headache-inducing trial every week to get the car in the show.

The #45 has hovered around the top 35 for almost the entire season. Many times they have had to race their way in (I say “their” because Kyle Petty stepped out of the car during the NBC Television’s Summer Stretch to broadcast, with Chad McCumbee and John Andretti taking over the car).

With the 2007 season winding down, the cars within reach of the 35th spot in owner points are in a heat race. By finishing in the top 35 points at the end of the season, the car is guaranteed a spot in the first five races of the 2008 season. As you can understand, competition is cutthroat.

This brings us to last week’s announcement that, if need be, Kyle Petty would strap into the #43, Petty Enterprises’ most storied and successful car, and Bobby Labonte, driver of the #43, would then take the #45. If the car does not have enough owner points to have a guaranteed start, Bobby Labonte has something just as powerful: a past champion’s provisional start. In fact, he has six of them, more than Petty Enterprises would need to finish the season.

You see, folks, now the focus has changed to the driver. The past champions provisional is awarded to the most recent past champion who is not in the top 35 and has not made the field on speed. Bobby won the 2000 Cup Championship. If he’s suddenly put in a car that can’t make the field on speed alone, he is still guaranteed a spot because of his past success as a champion.

No one, but no one, begrudges Bobby his provisionals. What fans are complaining about is the possible abrupt change in drivers and how easy it seems to be for Petty to get their cars into the field. It’s almost like buying your way in by wheeling and dealing with teams and getting their points, but Petty Enterprises is getting this one for free.

When asked about it, Bobby professed that he wasn’t aware of “that plan” and then went on to say that he essentially would do what he was told. It doesn’t sound like he’s 100% sold on the idea either. Why should he be? From a personal standpoint, I would bet my bottom dollar that he doesn’t want to switch cars at any point in the season. Perhaps he even resents this idea. I don’t know; I can’t speak for him. If I was in his situation, I would be pretty darn upset.

The very idea is not prohibited in the rule books, so it is perfectly legal and not something that NASCAR can address this year. It isn’t the type of rule that necessitates an immediate change, though you can be certain NASCAR will look into it. At the end of the 2006 season, NASCAR effectively threw a wrench in Michael Waltrip Racing’s idea to use Dale Jarrett for his past champion’s provisionals. It wasn’t long after the season ended that NASCAR announced provisionals would be capped to only six per champion.

I expect to see something similar here.

I really enjoy Kyle Petty and want more than anything for one of the Petty Enterprises to win. When I was four years old, Richard Petty was still racing, and it was my life’s ambition to be on his pit crew. You can imagine my devastation when he later retired. The point is that I am not the only fan who wants to see that ol’ #43 in Victory Lane. I’m not the only one who wants to see Kyle win one for Adam.

I want them to do it honestly. And switching drivers seems no more honest to me than the DEI/Ginn debacle. Sponsors are under great pressure to make the show, and they in turn put great pressure on the teams. Teams seem to have no other recourse than to reinvent the rules so they can help the sponsors justify their investment.

The ramifications of this could be widespread, and it all comes down to money. I used to think those writers who referred to the sanctioning body as NA$CAR were a little bitter and jaded. Now I understand why, and realize that they just weren’t talking about the France family and the NASCAR brass, but the teams and drivers who are just as deeply enmeshed in the millions of dollars that flow through this sport.

I hope we see a good qualifying effort on behalf of the #45. I want to see it run. I want to see Kyle Petty in the driver’s seat. I don’t want to see Bobby in the #45. He does not belong there, and Kyle doesn’t belong in the #43.

Questions and comments may be sent to samanthamaynard@sportsgrumblings.com