The 51st running of the Daytona 500, NASCAR’s premium event, signaled the end of an era for countless fans that have been weaned on having a Petty in the starting grid. The dynasty that began in August 1949 in the little town of Level Cross, North Carolina, always knew the only thing that could shut them down was money and up until just before June 11, 2008, that wasn’t a problem.

In 2008, Boston Ventures, a New England based buyout firm, assumed a controlling interest in Petty Enterprises (http://www.pettyracing.com/) and the Richard Petty Driving Experience (http://www.1800bepetty.com/)in order to provide the capital necessary to keep the Randleman, North Carolina, shop doors open. Later, the operations were moved to Mooresville and by the end of the year the sponsorship of General Mills was withdrawn, leaving the #43 car without a benefactor. At the beginning of 2009, Gillett Evernham Motorsports, after a great deal of speculation, announced their plans to partner, eventually forming Richard Petty Motorsports.

Four generations of competitors, ten NASCAR championships, hundreds of victories and a reputation that transcends the annals of racing history wasn’t enough to keep the Petty organization afloat long enough to reach the shore of self-sustainability. I suppose it could be said that their good name alone was the sole reason why anyone with deep pockets would even consider throwing in with an organization that hadn’t won a major race since 1999. Business is business but everything that matters can’t always be counted in terms of dollars and cents. For millions of fans, the name of Richard Petty is NASCAR, a visible face and presence representing a family and a way of life that has contributed so much for so many years to the sport of stock car racing. He’s a dinosaur that was able to survive the "Big Bang", an event that brought an end to a time in the distant past when he and his fellow dinosaurs roamed the anonymous fields of grass that were later renamed Talladega, Bowman-Grey, Gastonia, Tar Heel, Darlington, Southern States and Old Dominion.

The past can’t be changed but the future holds promise for those who will be able to adjust to the challenges these unpredictable financial times present. Thus far, the competitor’s place in this difficult economic landscape has made for some strange bedfellows and alliances that all have a common goal…..survival. There is one dinosaur that has been able to weather the slings and arrows of an uncertain future and he’s not about to disappear into the tar pits, never to be seen or heard from again. We are indeed fortunate that the Petty DNA will continue to be a part of NASCAR, for without it, this sport will not be able to survive and eventually pass the way of the other dinosaurs.