
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, January 14, 1995                   TAG: 9501160056
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: B-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

PETTY NOT RACING TOWARD A POLITICAL CAREER

Richard Petty plans to remain a force in North Carolina conservative politics, but it won't be as governor, at least for the rest of this century.

``I see how time-consuming being governor is,'' he said Friday from his team's shops in Level Cross, N.C. ``You're on call all the time. It's a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week thing. I'd have to change my lifestyle completely, and I'm not ready for that.''

``I'd have to give up racing. I'd have to move. And right now, I'm still in the racing part of it. One day, I might say to [son] Kyle, `You come back and take over the deal and I'm gone.' Then I might be ready for that.''

Petty recently retired from the Randolph County Board of Supervisors, where he had served since 1978. So he's available.

But when he surveys the different statewide jobs that might be available, Petty thinks being U.S. Senator might not be as hectic as governor.

``It would be time-consuming, but it wouldn't be quite as time-consuming as being governor,'' he said. ``They don't meet every day. They're not on call every day. At least you'd get a day or two off every once in awhile.''

Would he consider a run for the Senate?

``That's a future deal, too,'' he said. ``I might not be doing that good in racing, but I'm still enjoying it.''

While Petty has ruled out a 1996 run for governor, he ``has an interest in being a political force in North Carolina and he's going to work to maintain that,'' said Paul Shoemaker, a political consultant working with the Richard Petty Political Action Committee. ``He's going to continue to work and we're going to continue to look for opportunities.''

by CNB