Petty announcement set, likely regarding Labonte

The future of Petty Enterprises could be determined as soon as Thursday morning.

The once-great NASCAR organization, which won 268 races and 10 championships before falling on hard times due to a lack of sponsorship, will make an announcement -- most likely regarding driver Bobby Labonte and the team's flagship No. 43 car -- on Thursday.

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The Petty franchise has reportedly been in negotiations with Gillett-Evernham Motorsports about a possible merger. Representatives for Petty Enterprises did not immediately return telephone calls seeking comment. A GEM spokesman said the team "has no plans to make any announcement" on Thursday.

Speculation about some sort of merger between the Petty and GEM teams has raged since last week, although indications are that any deal would be less of a merger and more GEM absorbing some of the assets of the Petty team.

Although Petty Enterprises has been in business since 1949, the two-car team was left without a full-time primary sponsor after General Mills departed to back a fourth car at Richard Childress Racing. The Petty team last won a race in 1999.

GEM currently fields three cars, those of Kasey Kahne, Elliott Sadler and Reed Sorenson. Both the GEM and Petty organizations field Dodges.

A merger or absorption by GEM could mean the end of a Petty team that's run under its own name since patriarch Lee Petty founded the organization 60 years ago. In a bid to become more competitive, team owner Richard Petty last year moved the team's headquarters from Level Cross, N.C., to metro Charlotte, and sold majority interest to Boston Ventures, a investment firm. The team has released about 70 employees since the Nov. 18 season finale.

Raygan Swan contributed to this report.