Working On My Redneck ™ » richard petty motorsports

Almirola Set To Drive For Richard Petty Motorsports

Leon — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 00:19:32 +0000

(WOMR file photo)

Richard Petty Motorsports announced today that Aric Almirola has been signed to drive the legendary RPM #43 Ford for the 2012 season.

Almirola drove the Dale Earnhardt, Jr. JR Motorsports #88 Chevy in the NASCAR Nationwide Series in 2011 and capped off a successful season with a fourth-place finish in the championship point standings.

“It’s a great opportunity for me,” Almirola said. “I’m a little bit sad leaving where I left. I had a good home there with Junior Motorsports, but it was important for me to have their support to come and do this. I talked with Dale (Earnhardt) and Kelley (Earnhardt) quite a bit throughout this whole process and they supported me 100 percent. Dale said that was the main reason for him having a Nationwide team was to get guys in the Nationwide car at his shop and to give them an opportunity to go and make a career out of racing in NASCAR.

“For me, that’s come true. He gave me a great opportunity to go there and drive the 88 car and that’s led to this opportunity here at RPM. Like he said, if anything, it gives JRM credibility as a Nationwide team that they can take not only Brad but now myself and move them into their program and out of their program and on to a Cup ride. I’m very thankful for everything Junior Motorsports has done for me in my career and I’m excited about my new adventure here at Richard Petty Motorsports.”

Still another of the pieces of the driver puzzle have been put in its place this afternoon.

TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK

RPM Courting Kurt Busch?

Leon — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 04:22:36 +0000

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(WOMR file photo)

The latest rumors out of Charlotte is that Richard Petty Motorsports is in discussions with Kurt Busch to drive the flagship car for RPM, the #43 Best Buy Ford.

RPM currently fields cars for AJ Allmendinger and Marcos Ambrose. On Tuesday, the Sirius Speedway radio show reported that RPM was considering Busch for the #43 Ford currently driven by Allmendinger.

RPM co-owner, Andy Murstein, considers Busch “a great talent” and believes the former Penske Racing driver “will find a home sooner, (rather) than later.”

“Kurt’s issues are far less severe than what other athletes have done in other sports,” Murstein told FOXSports.com Tuesday. “Those athletes have all received second chances and Kurt will too. He wasn’t caught running a dog-fighting ring, he wasn’t caught with a handgun in a club, he wasn’t using performance-enhancing drugs, and unlike his brother he wasn’t even letting his temper get the best of him to cause a wreck.

Obviously, Andy Murstein seems willing to take a huge chance on, the loose cannon that Kurt Busch has become. It would also seem that the sponsor for the #43 Ford, Best Buy, is also willing to take a chance on the sharp tongue that has become the trademark of the brother’s Busch, in particular Kurt.

However, Murstein did not specifically address a possible move by Kurt Busch to RPM, and likewise RPM is still trying to get Best Buy signed for the 2012 season. Nevertheless, the signals seem to point towards the possible joining of Kurt Busch and RPM for the 2012 race season.

Now what will happen to A.J. Almendinger, the present driver of the RPM #43 Best Buy Ford, if RPM moves forward with their attempt to secure the services of Kurt Busch for their #43 Best Buy Ford? Will they, RPM, outright release the Dinger? Will RPM try to secure sponsorship for a third team? The questions abound!

Just when it was widely thought that Kurt Busch had shot himself in the foot, loosing his ride at Penske Racing, there appears to be actually a couple of race teams left, in the Sprint Cup garage, that might offer Kurt Busch a job driving their race car for 2012!

Everyone deserves a second chance, however, by my calculations this would be Kurt’s third chance. First was his initial opportunity with Roush-Fenway Racing, which he let his mouth runaway with his opinions about Sheriff Arpaio at Phoenix. Then Roger Penske rescued Busch’s racing career and tried to cultivate a more urbane Kurt Busch, an obvious failure!

Will wonders never cease to amaze me?

TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!

RPM Is Courting Clint Bowyer

Leon — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 21:12:57 +0000

(workingonmyredneck file photo)

Richard Petty Motorsports co-owner Andrew Murstein said the company has made an offer for driver Clint Bowyer.

During an interview on SirusXM Radio, Murstein said RPM was looking to expand from the two-car operation to three teams for 2012.

“When we had that media day opportunity at the beginning of the year, I perhaps went a little further than I should and I said I wanted to add a third team pretty quickly, and Danica (Patrick) and Clint Bowyer came to mind,” Murstein said. “And afterwards, Richard said, ‘You sure you want to make those aggressive assumptions?’ Again, it goes back to me having such confidence in these guys that I think they can deliver almost anything.

“So we’ve been thinking about the third team for the last six months or so, and we’re close to doing something. I don’t know if it will be Clint. It’s no secret that I like him and Richard likes him, and I think he would be a great fit for our organization. We’d never even had these conversations over the last couple of years. Richard told me drivers had not been approaching him for driving because perhaps he wasn’t as good as he is today. So I think it’s a great accomplishment for the team that people are even talking about us and Clint Bowyer in the same breath. That said, sure, we’d love to have him. We gave him an offer recently and are hoping to hear back from him.”

Bowyer is 11th in the point standings — 24 points out of the Chase. He has four career victories but has yet to win in 2011.

While Bowyer is rumored to have 5hour Energy as a sponsor for next season, there would be additional inventory to fill.

Murstein, whose day job is president of Medallion Financial, understands the challenge of advertising particularly in the current economy.

Murstein acknowledges that Bowyer has “one or two sponsors” who would be willing to come on board.

“Clint’s name and reputation are great and sponsors really like him. I’m not worried at all about the sponsors for him. If we signed him, I think we would have a sponsor for him 30 days after we signed him.”

Looks like possibly a domino is about to fall in the 2011 silly season of NASCAR.

TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!

The King Is King Again!

Leon — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 17:48:12 +0000

(photo courtesy Jeff Zelevansky)

Richard Petty and a group of financial associates have signed and closed a deal to purchase Richard Petty Motorsports from George Gillett. The investment group of associates are; Richard Petty, Medallion Group, and DGB Investments.

Petty, is a seven-time NASCAR champion who has won 200 races, including 10 Daytona races. Known in the NASCAR world as “The King,” Petty will serve as Chairman and will be actively involved in overseeing day-to-day operations of the company.

The team will operate the legendary #43 car driven by AJ Allmendinger and the #9 car driven by Marcos Ambrose.

“Today is a great day for me, my family, our fans and our wonderful sponsors. Ford, Stanley Tools, Best Buy, Valvoline, Reynolds, Air Force, Super 8, Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA), WIX Filters and Menards have supported me through thick and thin and I thank them from the bottom of my heart,” Petty said.

Jamie Allison, Director, Ford North America Motorsports, said in a statement: “We’re elated that Richard Petty has been able to complete this very complex task of restructuring Richard Petty Motorsports. Everyone knows that The King is a motorsports icon and to have him part of the Ford Racing family is something we cherish.”

“George and Foster Gillett deserve a great deal of credit for running a successful race team,” commented Petty. “They made a significant investment into the business and helped get back into Victory Lane. Going forward, we have put together an all-star ownership team consisting of myself, Medallion, and VeriFone CEO Doug Bergeron.”

Medallion Financial, a publicly traded investment company, has invested over $3 billion in companies since its IPO in 1996 and its board members include such notables as former New York Governor Mario Cuomo, former Connecticut Governor and Senator Lowell Weicker, and another “King” of his sport, Hank Aaron. The Murstein family is the largest shareholder in Medallion, owning approximately 20 percent.

DGB Investments is an investment vehicle of Canadian-born investor Douglas G. Bergeron, CEO of VeriFone Systems, Inc. (NYSE: PAY), San Jose, Calif. In 2001, Bergeron and DGB participated in the acquisition of VeriFone Systems from Hewlett-Packard in a transaction valued at $50 million. Today, VeriFone’s market value exceeds $3 billion dollars and Bergeron remains CEO and one of the largest individual shareholders.

Richard Petty concluded, “Our partnership with Andy Murstein and Doug Bergeron will help take us to a whole new level and I could not be more excited about our future.”

With this latest transaction it would appear that once again, “King Richard Petty” will be able reign again as King of NASCAR!

What is your view on this latest financial twist of Richard Petty Motorsports?

TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!

RPM Haulers Still In Texas

Leon — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 00:46:41 +0000

(photo courtesy Getty Images/Texas Motor Speedway)

As of Wednesday morning this is the picture of the Richard Petty Motorsports race haulers still sitting at the Texas Motor Speedway! Haulers from all the other race teams left the Texas Motor Speedway Sunday evening shortly after the AAA Texas 500 was completed.

This week’s race will be held at Phoenix International Raceway.

RPM spokeswoman Tiffany Breaux said that this afternoon the haulers will be headed to PIR later today.

“All four RPM haulers should be en route to Phoenix and if they’re not already they will be soon,” Breaux said.

The RPM team has been co-owned by Richard Petty and George and Foster Gillett. Some of the Gillett’s other businesses have been experiencing financial difficulties and the majority stake in RPM is now reportedly in the hands of those who lent money to Gillett to buy the majority interest in the team.

The fate of RPM has, hence, been placed in doubt. Petty has reportedly been attempting to line up new investors but so far has come up short.

The team had said in recent days that the plan has been to finish out the season with all four of its drivers, A.J. Allmendinger, Aric Almirola, Elliott Sadler and Paul Menard, in their RPM cars.

“Nothing has changed,” Breaux said Wednesday afternoon.

However, one of the reasons that eight Richard Petty Motorsports Fords scheduled to compete this weekend at Phoenix international Raceway remain at Texas Motor Speedway today, is that they are waiting to be paid for so they can be released by Roush-Fenway Racing to travel to PIR. Reliable sources report that as of 1:00 pm/et today (Weds.), the cars sit on an unmarked, white Roush Fenway Racing transporter in a parking lot at Texas Motor Speedway. Alongside sit the respective Richard Petty Motorsports transporters, empty and waiting for permission to load the cars and begin their drive from Fort Worth to Avondale, Arizona.

“The plan was to take RPM’s Phoenix cars to Texas and hold them there until the check cleared,” said a source close to the situation, speaking on the condition on anonymity. “The money was supposed to be there Monday, but that didn’t happen. It didn’t happen again yesterday, and everyone is still there today, on hold. Everyone knew this was going to happen before they left for Texas. Our hands are tied and there’s nothing we can do but wait.”

A representative for Richard Petty Motorsports said early this afternoon, “(The transporters) are headed to Phoenix. We’re all scheduled to leave as planned tomorrow morning. Nothing has changed.” Federal regulations allow transporter drivers to drive for only 10 hours before getting 10 hours of rest. It is approximately 18 hours from Texas to Phoenix, and teams are required to sign in at the track at 7:45 am/et (5:45 am local) on Friday.

Richard Petty Motorsports employees have been required to work on their cars at Roush Fenway Racing in recent weeks, since Roush will not release the cars until they are paid for. RPM faces other financial obligations in the near future. The team is scheduled to make winnings and retainer payments to each of its drivers on the 15th of this month.

The RPM/George Gillett financial tale of woe continues! What is your view on this tragic tale?

WOMR is loading up his hauler/motorhome and heading over to the Phoenix International Raceway first thing Thursday morning for a great weekend of NASCAR racing. See you at the racetrack!

TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!

RPM Seeking Financial Assistance

Leon — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 02:17:39 +0000

(photo courtesy Leon Hammack)

This info is from FOX Sports.com.

George Gillett’s financial difficulty following the sale of Liverpool FC has thrown the future of Richard Petty Motorsports into doubt and left the NASCAR team’s owners and lenders searching for investors to keep the team afloat.

The Gilletts and Pettys, which are two of the NASCAR team’s principal owners, began an aggressive search for investors this month. RPM has hired the Gordian Group, a New York-based investment bank, to assist them in their search, while the syndicate of banks that lent Gillett more than $90 million to buy the team have been working with FTI Consulting, a global consultancy specializing in corporate finance, to find investors, sources said.

A spokeswoman for RPM declined to comment.

The search for funding for RPM follows a challenging financial year for Gillett. The team reportedly defaulted on its roughly $90 million loan last February, and Gillett, who owns as much as 70 percent of the team, has been unable to restructure it.

Gillett was counting on the sale of his stake in Liverpool FC to assist him in funding the NASCAR team. But Liverpool sold two weeks ago for $475 million, a sum far less than Gillett and co-owner Tom Hicks, the former Texas Rangers owner, expected and one that has put a heavy strain on Gillett’s liquidity.

Bankers met with Gillett last week regarding RPM. Wachovia and CIT, which lead a syndicate of about a dozen financial institutions that issued the loan, didn’t respond to requests for comment.

The banks reportedly offered Gillett a chance to buy out the loan for $35 million last summer, but he declined to do so, according to sources. It is unclear what the banks would accept from a buyer or investor interested in RPM.

In addition to owing the banks money, Gillett also owes Ray Evernham at least $20 million and Roush Fenway Racing several million dollars, sources said. Evernham founded the team in 2000 and sold it to Gillett in 2007 for more than $100 million. He retained as much as a 16 percent ownership stake in the organization.

The team was renamed Richard Petty Motorsports in 2009 after Gillett formed a partnership with Petty that gave the NASCAR great a roughly 4 percent stake in the team. The partnership followed the closure of Petty Enterprises.

Roush Fenway Racing began building engines for RPM after RPM merged with Yates Racing last year and switched from Dodge to Ford cars this season. Without RPM, Roush Fenway would lose one of the buyers and testers of its engines, and Ford would drop from representing two Sprint Cup teams—Roush Fenway and RPM—to one.

Evernham didn’t return calls seeking comment. Roush Fenway Racing representatives referred inquiries to RPM.

RPM, which employs approximately 240 people, down from about 300 when Gillett bought the team, was current as of last week on all of its obligations to its drivers and employees. The team has managed to stay current despite losing the support of Chrysler, which was one of the team’s major underwriters when it ran Dodge cars.

No drivers for RPM made the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup this year, and its premier driver, Kasey Kahne, left the team last week with five races left in the season. His No. 9 car is sponsored by Budweiser, which is leaving RPM for Richard Childress Racing next year.

RPM plans to run two cars next season after running four this year.

Only one of the 2011 cars, the No. 9 Stanley Tools Ford to be driven by Marcos Ambrose, is sponsored. The team remains in negotiations with Best Buy about extending its sponsorship of the No. 43 car driven by AJ Allmendinger.

Best Buy’s previous sponsorship was worth approximately $6 million a year, which is well below the $15 million to $25 million top teams command for primary car sponsorships, sources said.

RPM is the last sports property Gillett owns. He sold his 80 percent stake in the Montreal Canadiens in the summer of 2009 for a reported $550 million and sold Liverpool FC for $475 million earlier this month.

Gillett’s financial struggles coincide with the recession and the credit crunch that followed. He bought both RPM and Liverpool at the height of the market in 2007 and financed the acquisitions with debt.

As banks became less willing to extend or restructure loans in late 2008, his ownership of the teams was tested. Gillett and Hicks eventually were forced to sell Liverpool FC by the primary lender, Royal Bank of Scotland, and the sale added to the pressure Gillett faced at RPM.

Tripp Mickle is a reporter with SportsBusiness Journal.

What is you take on the whole George Gillett financial woes?

TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!

RPM Owes Millions

Leon — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 18:48:18 +0000

(photo courtesy Leon Hammack)

The details are starting to slither out of the garage area, revealing that Richard Petty Motorsports may owe approximately $12 million dollars to the team’s chassis and engine builders.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a source with knowledge of the situation told Sirius NASCAR Radio’s Sirius Speedway with Dave Moody that RPM had fallen $9-10 million behind in its payments to Roush Fenway Racing and Roush Yates Racing Engines for race cars, engines and rear gear assemblies. That debt prompted Roush to repossess the team’s Talladega cars, engines and gears earlier this week, but the cars were returned to RPM late Thursday morning after a partial payment was made. The engines reportedly remain in the possession of Roush Yates Racing Engines, awaiting an additional payment. (Sirius NASCAR Radio’s Sirius Speedway)

Kahne said RPM has met all its financial responsibilities to him, dismissing rumors that the decision to split early made sense for both sides. Red Bull Racing will pay Kahne’s salary the rest of the season. Kahne said talks about a split began on Monday, two days after the brakes failed on his car for the second time in three races (and third time this season), leaving the driver frustrated. Kahne defended his decision not to return to the race after repairs were made, saying he was sick and unable to continue. He was offended that an RPM official questioned his commitment, saying he needed to do his part to help the team. “Anybody that questions my commitment doesn’t know me very well,” Kahne said. “I don’t know if there is anybody out there that puts as much into it as I do throughout the week. I was sick to my stomach and it was time for me to call it a day. I’m happy I did it and ready to get on with this weekend.” Kahne said the decision to split was not based on speculation that financial difficulties concerning RPM. He said he wished the team well the rest of the season. Kahne said he has agreed to maintain his commitments to sponsor Budweiser for the remainder of the season, including all meet and greets. He added this was not the way he wanted to end his relationship with Budweiser or RPM, but reiterated it was best for all parties.

IRONIC:

As SPEED opened Friday’s NASCAR TV coverage, it showed the #9 Richard Petty Motorpsorts and #83 Red Bull Racing team haulers parked next to each other and the #83 is parked next to the #19 RPM team in the garage at Martinsville. Kahne was shown talking to a crewman at RPM, with Kahne in his Red Bull Racing driver suit.

It appears that the CEO of Richard Petty Motorsports, George Gillett and company’s house of “smoke and mirrors”, are beginning to crumple. “The house of Gillett” resembles the old card shark’s bait and switch game that we are all accustomed top seeing in the shadier sides of town!

No doubt there will be more details that will emerge on the financial news surrounding George Gillett and RPM.

TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!

Rumors Swirl At RPM

Leon — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 01:23:20 +0000

(photo courtesy Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)

The abrupt departure of Kasey Kahne from Richard Petty Motorsports fueled the rumor mill Thursday about the ongoing financial status of George Gillette and Richard Petty Motorsports.

Multiple sources confirmed to SPEED.com on Thursday that Roush Fenway Racing, which builds RPM’s cars, briefly repossessed RPM’s Talladega cars and engines because of non-payment. Roush Fenway Racing allowed RPM to take the cars back Thursday morning, sources told SPEED.com.

Additionally, sources said that one of the reasons Kahne was released from the team is that RPM owed him a substantial amount of back salary.

A team spokesperson contacted Thursday afternoon declined to say whether or not Kahne was owed money, Roush Fenway Racing was owed money, when team owner George Gillett would publicly discuss his team’s situation or what RPM’s plans were beyond this weekend. “There’s just nothing much to comment on right now,” said Tiffany Breaux of Richard Petty Motorsports.

Breaux did say that Kahne asked for his release from the team and the decision to split with RPM was “mutual.”

Ford Motor Co. officials declined comment, saying it was an issue involving teams only and not the manufacturer.

An RPM team source confirmed Thursday that the team is in a “state of turmoil” and that some team members have serious doubts about their futures – and their paychecks.

Gillett became embroiled recently in a dispute with John Henry, co-owner of Roush Fenway Racing. Henry, principal owner of the Boston Red Sox, bought the Liverpool, England, soccer team from Gillett and his business partner, Tom Hicks, but the sale has been tied up in a financial imbroglio. Repercussions from that dispute apparently played a role in the Roush Fenway Racing decision to put tighter reins on its affiliation with RPM.

There was no indication Thursday that RPM is in immediate danger of shutting its doors, but the team had not revealed its driver lineup beyond this weekend’s visit to Martinsville.

Now that he’s been released from RPM, Kahne will drive the #83 Red Bull Racing Toyota starting this weekend at Martinsville. Kahne will stay in that car for the final five races of 2010, before moving to the No. 82 Red Bull Toyota next year, which will change to #4, Kahne’s sprint car number. With Brian Vickers back in the #83 next year, it appears Scott Speed will be the odd man out next season at Red Bull.

Stay tuned, the puzzle pieces are starting to fit together nicely now!

TILL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!

Kahane Out At RPM

Leon — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 23:09:25 +0000

(photo courtesy Leon Hammack)

Richared Petty Motorsports has released Kasey Kahne from his contract effective immediately, the team announced Wednesday evening. On Thursday, Red Bull Racing announced that they will be putting Kahne into the #83 Red Bull Toyota for this weekend’s race at Martinsville, and for the rest of the 2010 season.

RPM announced Kahne was out of the #9 Budweiser Ford effective immediately, and Aric Almirola would drive the car this weekend at Martinsville Speedway. Almirola had been on NASCAR’s entry list to drive the #83 Toyota for Red Bull. But the plans apparently were scrapped after Kahne’s blowup Saturday night, when his brakes failed at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Kahne exploded in anger on the radio when his brakes failed for the third time this season, second time in two races. It led to a wreck with Sam Hornish Jr., and then Kahne refused to get back in the car after it was repaired. He cited illness for not going back on the track, and the team used J.J. Yeley to finish the race.

For Kahne, the Martinsville weekend allows him to get acclimated with Red Bull Racing Team cars and personnel. He, crew chief Jimmy Elledge and the No. 83 crew open the weekend with practice Friday at 11:30 a.m. ET.

Kahne had reportedly been squabbling with RPM officials in recent weeks. On Saturday night, he refused to get back into the car after it was fixed because of a crash. He said he was ill and that was the reason he did not get back into the car.

With the bombshell announcement by RPM Wednesday night, there may be a few more handgrenades detonating over the next few days. With Kahne out of the #9Budweiser Ford, that might allow Marcus Ambrose to leave JTG/Daugherty Racing #47 Toyota early and jump into the RPM #9 Budweiser Ford for the last five races of this season. In light of all these potential switches, this would also allow Bobby Labonte the chance to get into his 2011 ride in the #47 JTG/Daugherty Toyota a little early, as well!

The pieces of the puzzle are beginning to fall out of the sky rapidly, now it is up to the team owners to grab them quickly, and reassemble them into some orderly place within their respective race teams!

What is your take on this latest development?

TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!

It’s An All RPM Starting Front Row At Kansas

Leon — Sat, 02 Oct 2010 16:20:39 +0000

(photo courtesy Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)

There have been many questions about the future of Richard Petty Motorsports during the 2010 season. However, there were no questions about who ended up winning the pole for the Price Chopper 400 at Kansas Speeedway Friday. Kasey Kahne turned a lap of 174.644 on the Kansas Speedway mile and a half race track, securing the pole position.

Probably one of the biggest surprises of the day was having Kahne’s RPM team mate, Paul Menard, turn in the second fastest lap of the day resulting in an all Richard Petty Motorsports starting front row!

The RPM #9 Budweiser Ford is on the pole for the third time this season, however, Kahne is still looking for his first victory of the year. In spite of their great qualifying performances, both Kahne and Menard will be leaving Richard Petty Motorsports for other race teams at the end of the 2010 race year.

“To me it (the good showings Friday) shows that myself and Paul and our teams are still really interested in running strong and not backing down at all just because we have other things we are going to do in the future,” Kahne said. “At the same time it shows that RPM is giving us great race cars. Roush Yates is giving us great engines. We have the package, we just need to put it all together.

“We have struggled. We had that deal in Atlanta that maybe made us miss the Chase and we haven’t run well since. It feels got to get on the pole today and hopefully it gives us some momentum for Sunday’s race. Hopefully we can carry that.”

So Sunday will be a very interesting race, the Chase climate will show a definite change. By the end of the race Sunday, there will definitely a growing division between “the contenders” and “the pretenders”! The Sun will be shining brightly on those contenders still firmly in “The Chase”, however for the bottom four race teams, this weekend’s performance will be very critical for them!

Here is the race line up for the Price Chopper 400 at the Kansas Speedway.

There are twelve drivers, eight races, and one championship, who will be the last man standing?

TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!