Andretti

BRISTOL, Tenn. -- Now that Ricky Rudd and Elliott Sadler have shored up their 2003 plans, the focus turns to John Andretti and whether or not he'll be back with Petty Enterprises.

Andretti has been in the No. 43 Dodge since 1998, but his contract is up at the end of the season.

Kyle Petty, who runs the organization, has said they want Andretti back, but no deal has been reached and Andretti said he has spoken to other car owners about opportunities.

''I don't play games and I don't run from motorhome to motorhome looking for a deal,'' Andretti said. ''If somebody wants to talk to me, they can call me on the phone.''

But Andretti sounded as if he's leaning toward sticking with Petty, even though it's possible higher-profile teams like Chip Ganassi Racing could be wooing him.

Andretti has been with Petty during some of their leanest times and the organization is just now starting to turn things around.

He has one victory, at Martinsville Speedway in 1999, with Petty. His highest finish in the championship standings was 11th in 1998 and he's currently 29th in the points.

''It's hard to say you'll go somewhere else when you've dug the trenches, sweated the bullets and lived through some of the stuff we did,'' he said. ''I feel like I'm part of the deal here and if I did something different, it would almost be like leaving a family.''

One sticking point in the negotiations is Andretti's desire to run in the Indianapolis 500, which he did in 1994, but Petty refused to let him do this season. Andretti said he's not giving up on his bid to run in the race.

''They know it's important to me,'' he said. ''It was the focal point of my whole life and professional life until I came to Winston Cup and the fire hasn't gone out.''