Inside the Halls of Petty: Good cars, bad luck at TMS

There is an old saying that goes "if it weren't for bad luck, we'd have no luck at all." That pretty much sums up Petty Enterprises' weekend in Texas. The No. 43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge Charger and the No. 45 Marathon American Spirit Motor Oil Dodge Charger were both lightening fast, but neither team was able to really show there stuff.

Bobby and the No. 43 team were really knocking off some great lap times at the start of the race. But on Lap 39 he had to make his way down pit road to have debris removed from the grill. When he got back on the track the caution came out, sending him two laps down and he was never able to get any of them back. We will have to wait until November to get Bobby that "home" track win that he deserves.

Inside Petty

Each week on NASCAR.COM, Robbie Loomis will take fans "Inside the Halls of Petty Enterprises." A championship-winning crew chief, Loomis has 26 victories atop the pit box and as Vice President of Operations oversees both Petty cars.

As for Kyle, he was one of the fastest cars on the track at the drop of the green flag. Qualifying was rained out so he had to roll his No. 45 machine off from the 32nd position. That put him in a bad spot when a Lap 1 wreck occurred and he suffered some minor, cosmetic damage and had to come in for a short stop. But when he came back out he was running lap times right there with the cars in the top 10. However, a broken suspension piece in the right front kept him from capturing a possible top-10, or maybe even higher, finish.

It was an unfortunate weekend, but we had great cars and we can take some solace in that. It's a good indicator as to where our intermediate program is right now and we all know that intermediate tracks make up the majority of our schedule. That is a positive sign, for sure.

The luck part of the deal will turn around for us. With the misfortune that was thrown our way, I could not be happier with how our crews responded. Paul Andrews (No. 43 crew chief) and Billy Wilburn (No. 45 crew chief) have assembled two talented teams. Now it is off to Phoenix.

Phoenix will be another Car of Tomorrow race. And honestly, this is the race that most drivers and crew chiefs have had circled as one where we will really know what we are dealing with in regards to the COT. It is a 1-mile track where aerodynamics come into play. That is one reason the Richmond COT test that we had two weeks ago was very important. Richmond and Phoenix are similar and we were able to get a good baseline to take with us to the desert.

You will see everyone working with the adjustability of the front-end splitter and rear wing to maximize that downforce. You have to be strong through the backstretch dogleg at Phoenix to set yourself up for your entry into Turn 3. And you are really hard on the brakes getting into Turn 1, so we will be watching the brake situation, as well. It will be really interesting race to watch, for sure.

But we always see great races at Phoenix and I would expect nothing less this time around. Petty Enterprises has had some great runs at Phoenix in the past and we are definitely prepared to take the COT out there and contend for the win this time.

Trivia: Did you know that Petty Enterprises' first win in the post-King era came at Phoenix? In 1996 the late, great Bobby Hamilton piloted the No. 43 to Victory Lane at the track. It was also the first win of Hamilton's Cup career.

See you in Victory Lane,
Robbie Loomis