LEVEL CROSS, N.C. -- The winningest organization in NASCAR announced on Wednesday its first move since its inception in 1949. Richard and Kyle Petty, in efforts to garner continued wins and championships, have agreed to move Petty Enterprises closer to the center of NASCAR activities in the greater Charlotte, N.C., area.

They have reached a multi-year lease agreement for shop space located in the city of Mooresville. The space was formerly occupied by Robert Yates Racing and its two-car Nextel Cup operation.

"We just felt like, over a period of years, we've been in Level Cross for 50 or 60 years, and it worked for us, but over a period of time the face of racing has changed so much," said team owner Richard Petty. "As it changed, we didn't change as quickly as some of it. We said, 'OK, we've got to get back into the fold here.'"

Petty Enterprises, founded by Richard's father, Lee, in 1949 as Lee Petty Engineering, is currently headquartered in Level Cross, N.C. At that location, the 60,000-square foot sprawling facility has become one of the most successful in motorsports history. The organization has 268 Cup Series wins and 10 Cup Series titles, and nine Daytona 500 trophies have been won from inside the hallowed ground.

"Level Cross will always be the home of the wins and championships that the Petty family built," Petty said. "It is where Petty Enterprises was founded and where the team has won and built a legacy in NASCAR. Petty Enterprises and Level Cross are the same as Lambeau Field and the Green Bay Packers, Yankee Stadium and the New York Yankees and Boston Garden and the Boston Celtics.

"At the same time this is a very exciting time for Petty Enterprises and our partners. We are going to continue the heart and soul that is in Level Cross to what now has become the center of the NASCAR world. This was a tough and emotional decision for our family. We care deeply about our roots and this community. We will always call Level Cross our home as we never forget where we came from. We are looking forward to continuing our legacy at this new location."

The move, to begin in December and completed by end of the year, includes the No. 43 Dodge driven by Bobby Labonte and the No. 45 Dodge driven by Kyle Petty. It's another move in the forward direction since 2006 when Robbie Loomis was named vice president of race operations and 2000 Cup Series champion Labonte was announced as driver of the famed 43 Dodge.

It has not yet been determined how the current location of Petty Enterprises will be used in 2008.

Petty said the decision to leave his family home was tough, and that the facility will always have a special meaning for Petty Enterprises. But facilities weren't the reason for the move.

"It's not the buildings and stuff as much as the personnel we hope to be able to attract," he said. "You got to figure that the majority of your pit crew or your workers or your engineers or your painters or whatever, when they come from Wisconsin or somewhere they come to the Mooresville area because that's where all the racing stuff is.

"If this is where the core of the people are then maybe we'll look at going to where the core is at and it won't take us long to figure out if that's the right solution or not."