been told that the #51 Competitive Edge Motorsports team has ceased operations and have confirmed that Marathon Petroleum Company will become major associate sponsor with Petty Enterprises with the #45 Dodge of Kyle Petty being most involved in the sponsorship as an associate sponsor at most races and primary sponsor of the #45 for a few races with the #43 Dodge of Bobby Labonte featuring the Marathon Petroleum Company logo at some races.(8-1-2006)
UPDATE: Marathon Petroleum Company announced that the company’s sponsorship in the Nextel Cup series is being moved to a new race team. The new sponsorship will begin with the Allstate 400 race at the Brickyard in Indianapolis. Marathon is proud to move our sponsorship to the #45 Petty Enterprises team, with driver Kyle Petty, said Mary Ellen Peters, senior vice president, Marketing. The team is owned by Richard Petty, the man known as the King of NASCAR.’ We believe this move provides a continued presence for Marathon in all of the remaining races this season. In addition to the Brickyard assosiate sponsorship [Tire KIngdom is the primary at Indy], the #45 car will carry the Marathon Brand as the primary sponsor for four races: Michigan, Bristol, Richmond, and Atlanta. Marathon also will be an associate sponsor on the car for this season’s remaining races. We’re grateful that Competitive Edge Motorsports is allowing Marathon Oil to transfer their sponsorship, said Kyle Petty, driver of the #45 Petty Enterprises Dodge. We are looking forward to developing a strong partnership with Marathon , starting this weekend at one of the biggest events of the season.(Petty Racing PR)(8-3-2006)
So what happens with Garvey? Mike Garvey is out of a Nextel Cup ride. His former team, [#51] Competitive Edge Motorsports, has been idled, and the sponsor, Marathon Oil has switched to Kyle Petty’s #45 Dodge. But Garvey said Thursday that that’s not all bad. Even though he qualified for four races this year he had grown weary of trying to race without enough funds, equipment, testing or crew members. “We did the best we could with what we had,” Garvey said. He said he’s talking to some teams about running some Busch races later this season, and he plans to run either Busch or Hooters Pro Cup next year.(Atlanta Journal-Constitution)(8-4-2006)
