The Top 5 Worst Drivers in the History of Petty Enterprises


Top 5 Worst Petty Enterprises Drivers
By: Brian Cotnoir

I don’t think there is a name more synonymous in with winning in NASCAR than Petty.  Between 1949 and 2008, Petty Enterprises went to victory 268 times in the Cup Series alone!   They dominated the NASCAR Cup series for decades, but now in a similar fashion to Williams Grand Prix in F1, the Petty name has lost some of it’s luster.  A team once associated with Wins, Championships, and Glory, now struggles top finish in the Top 15 each race weekend.  The team has had a few wins in recent years, but not as often as they were once used too.  For this Top 5 I’m only focusing on drivers who drove for the Original Petty Enterprises, and not referencing any of the Richard Petty Motorsports drivers because of the mergers with Gillette Evernham Motorsports, and I just think the list would get too convoluted, so don’t I’ll be omitting drivers like A.J. Allmendinger, Brian Scott, and Paul Menard from this list, and I will only focus on the drivers who drove for Petty between 1949 and 2008.

5.)  Bobby Labonte

The 2000 Cup Series Champion drove the iconic #43 Dodge for Petty Enterprises from 2006-2008.  In his three seasons at Petty Enterprises his best points finish was 18th in 2007, and he had an average points finish of 20th in the final points standings.  He had only three Top 5 finishes with the team (all coming in 2006 with his best finish being a 3rd at Martinsville).


4.)  Jeff Green

Jeff Green had two mediocre seasons at Petty Enterprises driving the #43 car.   He did manage a Top 10 finish at Martinsville in 2004, but he only finished 30th in the point standings.  He ran mid-pack for most races, but struggled to stay and finish inside the top 20.  He was eventually released from the team and replaced by Bobby Labonte.


3.)  Kyle Petty

When your surname is the same as your team’s name, you have some pretty high expectations to live up too.  Kyle Petty did not have the same success as his father Richard, or his grandfather Lee, but his found his own moderate success in NASCAR…just with other teams.  Of Kyle Petty’s 8 career NASCAR Cup Series wins, 2 came with the Wood Brothers and 6 came when he drove for Car Owner Felix Sabates.   However, when it came to driving for the team his grandfather started Petty was never a factor or came even close to running for wins.  The best race I can remember Kyle Petty running at Petty Enterprises was when he scored a 3rd place finish at the 2007 Coca-Cola 600.  It was his first Top 5 finish in over a decade, and was the final Top 5 finish of his career.


2.)  Buckshot Jones

Buckshot Jones drove a little over one season for Petty Enterprises in the early 2000’s.  His results were disastrous to say the least.  In his only full-time season in the Cup Series he finished a dismal 41st in the final points standings.  The following season he failed to qualify for the Daytona 500, and was let go from the team 8 races into the 2002 season.


1.)  Christian Fittipaldi

I know this may be cheating having a Part-Time driver as the Worst driver as Petty Enterprises, but Christian Fittipaldi’s results in NASCAR were so absolutely terrible that I had to other choice, but to name him the Worst driver in the history of Petty Enterprises.  Christian Fittipaldi is the son of former Formula 1 driver (and owner) Wilson Fittipaldi and the nephew of racing legend Emerson Fittipaldi.  Much like Kyle Petty, Christian Fittipaldi had a famous name to live up too, but time after time he could not achieve the results.  His results on Formula 1 were so-so, and he actually won a couple of races in CART, but in NASCAR….he was total bust!  Fittipaldi attempted 17 races for Petty Enterprises in 2003, he failed to qualify for 3 of those races, his best finish was a 24th at Pocono Raceway, and at the two road course races he ran—where you think he’d have advantage—he finished 40th in both of them.


I should mention though that Fittipaldi has had a lot of success in the IMSA series and is a 3-time 24 Hours of Daytona winner, but as for NASCAR he’s probably one of the worst drivers ever.

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