More Petty Enterprises fall out and other depressing news from the world of Nascar

Labonte out at Petty
After laying off over 3 dozen employees on Monday, Petty Enterprises announced they will be parting ways with the 2000 Cup Champion Bobby Labonte, fueling further speculation about the future of the #43 car.

In a prepared statement, Labonte had this to say about the decision:

"Petty Enterprises and I had serious and very sincere discussions about what was best for myself and everyone involved at Petty Enterprises moving forward.

“These discussions culminated with us agreeing that moving in a separate direction will be the greatest way to reach our end goals. It was by no means an easy decision. I am, and will always be, very appreciative of what Richard Petty and the Petty family, every employee of Petty Enterprises and members of Boston Ventures did to invest in bettering my career the past three seasons.''

The future of Petty Enterprises is unknown. They are currently engaged in “exclusive talks” with Gillett Evernham Motorsports about a possible merger.

Don’t worry about Bobby, he is a quality driver and there are still a few open spots like the #41 car fielded by Earnhardt Ganassi.

(Photo: Getty Images for Nascar; source)

Earnhardt Ganassi shutting down Nationwide Series Operation

Earnhardt Ganassi has announced it will be shutting down its Nationwide Series operation effective immediately. Driver Bryan Clauson and crew chief Brad Parrott confirmed the sad news. Parrott added that seven people would lose their jobs while four or five others would be absorbed into the Cup operation.

There is some good news for race fans out there, Ganassi is hoping to unload its stock of dodges, so if you’re in the market, I’m sure they’d give you a good discount.
(Photo: Getty Images for Nascar; source)

No More “Hot Pass”
DirecTV has announced its ending its Nascar “Hot Pass” subscription based service. The pay-per-view package controlled up to 10 channels and allowed viewers to exclusive views from in-car cameras while listening to team radio communications. Isn’t this kind of what Track Pass is like?

(source)