In the Richard Petty Dodge-Toyota debate, why isn't Dodge CEO Mike Accavitti weighing in with answers?

  It's time for answers from Mike Accavitti (R), here with Kasey Kahne (C) and former racing director Michael Delahanty (now with Ford). (Photo by Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR)
  

   By Mike Mulhern
   mikemulhern.net

   LOUDON, N.H.
   The latest on the Richard Petty Dodge-Toyota debate?
   Well, it seems to be changing day by day.
   "Remember, just because it's 'true' today doesn't mean it's 'true' tomorrow," one party to the ever-changing situation says with a grin.
   Petty himself has been all over the map on the debate.
   Business partner George Gillett hasn't been seen in weeks.
   And Dodge racing boss Mike Accavitti hasn't been seen in months.
   Just what is going on at Chrysler itself isn't clear, NASCAR and otherwise.
   For the moment – at least as the NASCAR garage at New Hampshire Motor Speedway opens for business Friday morning – the Petty camp is insisting it will remain with Dodge, all four teams, the rest of the season, and not change to Toyotas.
  However there are reports that Petty had a Toyota engine in his hauler at Indianapolis earlier this month during the tire testing for next month's Brickyard 400....though the Petty team apparently didn't put that motor in the car.
   And behind the scenes there are reportedly negotiations for a split with Dodge, sometime between now and the end of the season. And a major sticking point appears to be, surprise, money.
   Dodge, remember, sued team owner Bill Davis back when he was looking to move from Dodge to Toyota.
   Not that any such theatrics are in the works here, of course, but Chrysler's bankruptcy has made everything complicated.
   Petty himself is trying to leave everything up in the air, with a lot of "I don't knows."
   Perhaps because he and Dodge and all the parties involved really don't know what may happen next, or when.
   Petty and Gillett are apparently trying to negotiate a release from Dodge, in order to pursue the next steps. When that might happen is unclear.
   But at the moment the Petty-Gillett operation will likely be running Toyotas in 2010.
   What happens in the final half of 2009 is anybody's guess.
   And Toyota itself is being wary of getting too out-front in any of this, naturally.
   Plus, just how much money Toyota might want to spend in NASCAR is up for debate.
   And then there's the Team Red Bull situation: that camp is debating a possible switch from Toyota to Chevrolet. Or at least that's the semi-official line.
   According to one source familiar with the situation, Toyota, and perhaps NASCAR too, is not happy with Red Bull's NASCAR marketing/TV program. How many Red Bull ads are there on NASCAR's Cup events anyway?  Apparently not enough.
   Hence there is one scenario that Toyota might not be that interested in renewing its contract with Team Red Bull.
   Hence Team Red Bull officials are looking at other options too. Rick Hendrick's Chevy camp is the most logical starting point.
   However with Hendrick already running four full-time teams of his own, and with Hendrick supporting the Tony Stewart-Ryan Newman operation with engines and engineering support, would NASCAR executives be all that enthusiastic about Hendrick adding Team Red Bull to his engineering-and-engine roster?
   Then again, in this current economic climate, NASCAR officials are not likely to rock the boat.
   And what might all this mean for other NASCAR team owners?
   Stay tuned.