Finley Moves to Petty Enterprises as Technical Director

Derrick Finley is the next to switch to Petty Enterprises after Jeff Meendering. Finley who has had years of racing experience behind him will soon assume the position of technical director in Petty Enterprises.

The position of technical director is an honor for Finley. According to Finley, �Petty Enterprises is the gold standard of stock car racing. Their legacy of success is unequaled. From top to bottom they have shown a commitment to return to the top of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and I am honored to be part of that process. In crew chiefs Jeff Meendering and Billy Wilburn, we have two of the brightest minds in the garage area. Both Bobby and Kyle had several strong runs last year. Everything is in place to build on those finishes and have an even better year in 2008�.

Finley boasts of an impressive 10 year long career in racing. As a child, he had watched his dad, Dana, race in sprint cars. Finley graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of New Mexico. After graduation, Finley�s cousin, Garth (who was then working in Nascar), introcuced him to Dale Earnhardt. Earnhardt in turn, hired Finley as an engineer. Being an engineer in Earnhardt�s Craftsman Truck Series and Busch Series was Finley�s first job. During his stint as engineer, Finley, together with driver Ron Hornaday, won the Cup at the Tucson Raceway Park in 1997. A month later Finley reaped his next win with Steve Park in the Busch Series. Out of Finley�s stay at Dale Earnhardt, Inc. (DEI), he had helped achieve a total of 23 wins, 9 poles, 57 top five and 83 top 10 finishes. It was also during his stint at DEI that he won three championships, two with Hornaday, both in the 1996 and 1997 Craftsman Truck Series and one with Dale Earnhardt, Jr. in the 1998 Busch Series Championship. It was in DEI where Finley first met Philippe Lopez and Darrell Waltrip.

Finley then moved into Travis Carter Racing in 1999. While in Travis Carter, Finley worked with the likes of Darrell Waltrip, Jimmy Spencer, Joe Nemecheck, Todd Bodine and Donnie Wingo. In 2003, Finley made the move to BelCar Racing where he served as crew chief. Halfway through the race season, Lopez, whom Finley met at DEI, asked him to join Bill Davis Racing (BDR). Finley moved to BDR and was crew chief till 2004 for the No 22 team with driver Scott Wimmer. This coming 2008 Finley will begin his career as technical director for Petty Enterprises.

Among his first responsibilities as technical director for Petty Enterprises include overseeing Bobby Labonte�s No. 43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge and Kyle Petty�s No. 45 Wells Fargo/Marathon/PVA Dodge during the NASCAR Preseason Thunder testing at the Daytona International Speedway.

Petty Enterprises is pleased to have Finley on board. Robbie Loomis, Executive Vice President of Race Operations of Petty Enterprises, says, �Derrick brings a lot of experience to Petty Enterprises that will be tremendously valuable as the season draws near. He is an excellent engineer and he has been a successful crew chief. That is exactly the type of person we were looking for to supplement Jeff and Billy. We see Derrick as another key hire that will bolster an already strong foundation that we have here at Petty Enterprises.�

Source: Petty Enterprises hires Finley as technical director