Richard Petty completes purchse of RPM
With the help of a couple of investment firms King Richard Petty is in once again in control of the NASCAR Sprint Cup organization that bears his name. Thankfully the George Gillette era of NASCAR is over, and Richard Petty Motor Sports can once again start building for the future. While keeping King Richard involved with this sport is certainly a win for NASCAR, this team actually has to go out and perform. Sure some of their struggles are do to the economic downturn, but this has been a team on the decline for quite some time.
Once again this team is going from four to two teams. In reality with all the mergers and downsizing that has gone on in NASCAR and with this team specifically the NASCAR garage has lost more like four of five teams. That is not good any way we slice it. We also have to consider how bad this tam has run in recent years. The switch to Ford equipment and an alliance with the Roush Yates engine shop has failed to improve its fortunes significantly.
RPM will enter the 2011 season with two full time cars. Marcos Ambrose will compete full time in the #9 car, reported to be backed by Stanley Tools while AJ Allmendinger will compete in the famed #43 car with backing from Best Buy. It looks like Todd Parrott will crew chief the #9 entry with Mike Shiplett chiefing the #43 team.
I wish I could say things were looking up for this team, but the reality is Petty and these investment firms have bought a team that has been on also ran status for a long time. With four teams in 2010 they managed just six poles and 17 top ten finishes. In theory shrinking down to two teams makes those teams better, but that math has rarely worked out in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
Related Links:
- MTR Auto Racing
- Joshua Lobdell.com
