RANDLEMAN, N.C. -- Richard Petty says putting his son Kyle in Hoss Ellington-prepared cars for superspeedway races the rest of the NASCAR Grand National season will help both father and son be more competitive.
Petty, seven-time Grand National champion, and officials of STP Corp., which has lifetime sponsorship contracts with both Pettys, made the announcement following a meeting in the Chicago area.
'Hoss will prepare cars for Kyle on the superspeedways only,' said Petty, operating director of Petty Enterprises Inc. 'We feel like this way both Kyle and I can be competitive in every race.
'The way things have been going it has been too gosh darned difficult for our operation to field strong cars week after week,' said Petty, 44.
The 22-year-old Kyle Petty, in his second full-time Grand National season, will drive a Buick prepared by Ellington and painted in the red and blue colors of STP with the No. 1 for his superspeedway races. The car will be serviced on superspeedway tracks by the Ellington crew.
For short-track events, the younger Petty will return to his No. 42 Pontiac and personnel from Petty Enterprises.
