Contract Status: Driver 2010; Sponsor: 2010

Kahne considering leaving RPM after 2010: from a Dodge Motorsports Notes & Quotes - Kasey Kahne Open Interview done at Homestead:
Q) HOW MUCH WILL YOU TRY AND STAY IN THE LOOP WITH RPM MANAGEMENT ON WHAT’S GOING ON?
Kahne: “I use to try and stay in the loop and then things don’t happen that they say will. At this point, I have one year left (on my RPM contract). I want to do the best job for Richard Petty Motorsports in my final year. It’s up to them what happens. They do their thing and I’ll do mine. All I can do is make myself better at driving race cars and communicating with Kenny Francis. If I do that, I’ll be happy next season.”
Q) SO YOU’LL TRY AND LOOK ELSEWHERE NEXT YEAR?
Kahne: “Yeah.”
Q) REGARDLESS OF WHAT HAPPENS NEXT YEAR, WILL NEXT YEAR BE YOUR LAST YEAR WITH RPM?
Kahne: “That’s hard to say. Come January, I can start looking around; I can talk to other people. I would imagine the Gillett’s are going to talk to me at that point. But as of right now, the Gillett’s haven’t talked to me and I’m just kind of doing my job, doing the best that I can through the end of the season. The ups and downs of the team has made it difficult for me to really say, ‘Man, I’m going to be here for 10 more years.’ I really don’t know what’s going to happen. Truthfully, I don’t know what’s going to happen right now.”(Dodge Motorsports Transcript)(11-20-2009)

Roush's Smith not retiring: Roush Fenway Racing president Geoff Smith has decided to delay his retirement. Smith said because of tough economic times and the merger between partner Yates Racing and Richard Petty Motorsports that he will stay on at least through the 2010 season. Smith is handling a lot of the paperwork in the merger that he said is agreed to on all major issues and should be announced soon. He also plays a major role in bringing sponsors to the cars for the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series. Smith has yet to wrap up a full season of sponsorship for the #17 of Matt Kenseth.(see more at ESPN Insiders)(11-17-2009)

Richard Petty says with merger nearing completion: Richard Petty said the Richard Petty Motorsports-Yates Racing proposed merger is still in the hands of the lawyers, but with the likelihood of it happening, RPM had to begin its staff reductions this week. Sources indicated more than 150 people were laid off earlier this week or were told they would be laid off after the season ends next week at Homestead-Miami Speedway. RPM, which fields four teams, and Yates, which fields two, announced in September they planned to merge – and with NASCAR’s four-team limit, the staff reductions were anticipated. “If we’re going to do what we’re going to do, we’ve got to start somewhere,” Petty said Friday at Phoenix International Raceway. “This is basically where we’re starting.” Many of those laid off were in the engine shop and the car manufacturing department, sources said. The new organization will use Roush Yates Engines and likely will be based in the current Yates shop in Concord, N.C. – about 45 miles from the current RPM shop in Statesville, NC. “I think we’re moving there to the [Yates shop near the] airport,” Petty said. “As far as I know. Tune in next week.”(SceneDaily)(11-14-2009)

RPM Engine shop to shut down UPDATE: What's left of the original Evernham Motorsports engine shop is expected to shut down on Monday, according to multiple sources. Richard Petty Motorsports will retain the necessary personnel to complete the final two races of the season when engine duties will revert to Roush Yates engines with the move to Ford. With the merger of RPM and Yates Racing, the Petty crew chiefs were told that each team would be able to keep 17 crewmen per team. The overall reduction for the organization is expected to be 200 of 250 employees once the deal is complete.(FoxSports)(11-9-2009)
UPDATE: The NASCAR workforce shrunk by 47 people on Monday as Richard Petty Motorsports took the first steps toward shutting down its engine department in Concord, NC. RPM is making reductions in its staff with the impending merger with Yates Racing. Additional cuts are expected in the car shop in Statesville, N.C. on Tuesday. Sources said on Sunday that the three remaining teams expected to join forces with Yates will retain 17 crewmen per team. But given the move to Ford — which started at Talladega with #19-Elliott Sadler on Oct. 30th and continued this past weekend with #44-AJ Allmendinger at Texas, there's no need to continue building new Dodge cars or engines. The engine department will continue to employ 14 employees through the end of the season to assist in the organization for the final two races. Roush Yates Engines will supply powerplants for the team in 2010.(FoxSports)(11-10-2009)

Kahne back running new Dodge engine: #9-Kasey Kahne, who qualified 2nd for the Dickies 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, confirmed that he is competing with Dodge’s latest R6 V-8 engine. “The engine is running awesome. It just felt really good,” said Kahne, winner of the spring race here in 2006. “I could feel the racetrack around the whole corner and down the straightaways. It was really about all I had. I’m looking forward to this weekend. We’ve made some really nice gains in our engine shop here the last few months.”(Racin' Today)(11-7-2009)

Kahne to run Olympic scheme at Daytona: Budweiser announced that it will celebrate U.S. Olympians with a special paint scheme at next season's Daytona 500. Driver Kasey Kahne will pilot the #9 Budweiser Team USA Ford in the 52nd running of "The Great American Race" at Daytona International Speedway on Feb. 14, 2010, and the Auto Club 500 in Fontana, Calif. on Feb. 21, 2010, both which coincide with the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games (Feb. 12-28). Budweiser Team USA Olympic Paint Scheme die cast cars will be available for purchase beginning October 23 and can be ordered through BudShop.com, Nascar.com and at the tracks. Proceeds from the die cast car sales will be donated to the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) to assist athletes' training and travel costs for the Olympic Winter Games. Budweiser has been associated with the Olympic Games since the Los Angeles 1984 Games. Budweiser first sponsored a team on the NASCAR Winston Cup Series circuit in 1983. Budweiser also is the title sponsor of the annual Budweiser Shootout at Daytona, the exclusive beer and malt beverage advertiser of the Daytona 500, and the "Official Beer Sponsor" of Daytona International Speedway, the Daytona 500 and the Coke Zero 400.(Team USA), see images of the car on my 2010 #9 Team Schemes page.(10-17-2009)

McArdle back at the track: Mark McArdle, former director of competition at Richard Petty Motorsports, was at the track Friday for the first time since departing the team at Richmond in September. McArdle and the team parted ways after a disagreement between McArdle and car owner George Gillett. McArdle is looking for a position with another team in the sport but has to receive approval from Richard Petty Motorsports. Most contracts feature non-compete clauses and require a team's approval to move to another team. McArdle would not discuss details of his departure except to say it was time for a change. "I've always advised those who work under me that if the bus is going somewhere you don't want to go, then maybe you need to get off the bus,'' he said.(Roanoke Times)(10-17-2009)

RPM could use Ford engine this season: Richard Petty Motorsports is exploring the option of using a Ford engine in at least one of its four cars before the end of the season, team co-owner Richard Petty said on Thursday. Petty, whose team will continue to use Dodge engines this weekend at Lowe's Motor Speedway, said nothing can happen until the merger with Yates Racing is complete. He gave no timetable, saying only that "it's in the hands of lawyers." But Petty said switching at least one car to a Ford before the end of the season is the goal, if the transition can be worked out. He could not say whether #9-Kasey Kahne, who is in the championship Chase for the Sprint Cup, would be that driver. "Right now there are like 400 options," Petty said. "We don't know right now if we'll make the transition before the end of this season or do it all before the start of next season."(ESPN)(10-15-2009)

Roush to visit RPM: Jack Roush is scheduled to take a tour of the Richard Petty Motorsports facility on Wednesday. Other managers from Roush Fenway Racing will join Rosuh on the tour of the Statesville, N.C., shop. There have been ongoing talks since before September of a merger between Yates Racing, a sister organization of Roush Fenway, and RPM. Regardless of whether RPM merges with Yates, majority team owner George Gillett has said his team will be running Fords in 2010. Given that Roush is the principal supplier of Ford engines, RPM will be working directly with RFR in one form or another.(FoxSports), see an image of a real #9 Budweiser Ford for 2010 on my #9 Team Schemes page.(10-14-2009)

Phantom caution issue raised by Kahne: The [phantom debris] issue has come roaring back behind #9-Kasey Kahne's accusation that NASCAR threw a bogus caution Sunday to bunch up the field and avoid a boring runaway win by Jimmie Johnson at Auto Club Speedway. Kahne was likely headed to a top-10 finish when he was wrecked on a restart with 12 laps to go. Kurt Busch started the accident when he bounced off the wall and into Kahne. The contact sent Kahne into Greg Biffle, and both cars spun through the grass with enough damage to ruin their race. "It's disappointing that we had a bad race because of a caution to put a show on for the fans. That's a good part of the sport - we have to keep the fans excited - but sometimes it ruins people's days," said Kahne. There's one small problem with Kahne's contention. There was clearly debris on the track. "There was debris on the track, it was talked about on the (NASCAR) radio, it was identified as something being there and the caution was thrown," NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston said Monday. And if NASCAR had been wrong, and there was nothing on the track? Oh well. "NASCAR is always going to put the safety of the competitors first, and when it comes to identifying something on the track, we're always going to err on the side of caution," Poston said. And that's what will forever keep this issue alive. Because sometimes there may not be debris on the track, competitors and fans will always form their own opinions on NASCAR's intent at the time of the caution.(Associated Press)(10-13-2009)

Allmendinger in a Ford at Lowe's? Sadler at 'Dega? Richard Petty Motorsports has had a Ford in its possession ready to race since after New Hampshire. It would not be a surprise if AJ Allmendinger is driving a Fusion at Lowe's Motor Speedway next weekend or the week after that. Once the #44 car flips over to Ford, it will remain a Fusion the rest of the season. In addition to Allmendinger, Elliott Sadler is expected to drive a Roush-prepared Ford with a Yates engine at Talladega. Whether or not RPM's proposed merger with Yates Racing goes through, team owner George Gillett has said his team will run Ford's next season.(FoxSports)(10-11-2009)

Gillett says Yates-RPM merger on track UPDATE: George Gillett Jr., majority owner of Richard Petty Motorsports [#9,19,43,44], said he hopes to form a stock-car league in Saudi Arabia as part of a contractual agreement he signed this week with Saudi Prince Faisal bin Fahd bin Abdullah al-Saud, a member of the Saudi Royal Family. But Gillett emphasized that he is not selling the team. He said he hopes to finalize a merger with Yates Racing soon, and that RPM will race Fords in 2010. Gillett felt the need to address many issues about RPM after some reports this week falsely stated Gillett's new deal with the Saudi prince would lead to the prince's sports management team taking over RPM. "I came back from Europe into a maelstrom of massively inaccurate stories," Gillett said Saturday at Kansas Speedway. "So I thought we could correct it and move forward. As part of out conversations [with the Saudis], it became clear we should have aligned interest. We discussed if they had an interest in buying a small interest in RPM. A majority? Heck no. It was a very early conversation, but it was completely distorted. I come here today as a man with a clear conscious and potentially a very attractive partner. If he becomes a small investor [in RPM] I can't imagine it would be anything but positive for the sport. That's the story." Gillett said he and the Saudis are in the talks to form some type of stock-car league overseas Gillett said the merged RPM/Yates operation will be at least a three-car team and hopefully four cars. He would not confirm who if those four drivers would be Kasey Kahne, A.J. Allmendinger, Elliott Sadler and Paul Menard, which was reported earlier.(ESPN)(10-3-2009)
UPDATE: “The Yates transaction is on track,” said Gillett, whose RPM organization fields cars for A.J. Allmendinger, Kasey Kahne, Elliott Sadler and Reed Sorenson in the Sprint Cup Series. “We’re going now from letter of intent to a full contract.”(Racin' Today)(10-4-2009)

Petty says merger neogiations still ongoing: Richard Petty Motorsports co-owner Richard Petty says that negotiations on the team’s proposed merger with Yates Racing are continuing, and he still expects the deal to be completed. RPM and Yates officials announced Sept. 10 that they planned to merge. At the time, Petty said he thought the deal would close within a few weeks. “It’s still in negotiations, and so far they ain’t signed nothing,” Petty said Wednesday following a news conference to promote the upcoming races at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. “I feel like if it went this far, we are going to go forward with it.”(SceneDaily)(10-1-2009)

Kahne using R5 Engine at Kansas...and beyond? UPDATE: #9-Kasey Kahne, Teleconference Transcript (in part) from September 29, 2009:
Q: What engine will you run this weekend at Kansas?
Kahne: I'm using the R5 again this weekend, the same as what we had last week.
Q: Do you anticipate going back to the R6?
Kahne: I think it will be all about reliability. If they think they can get it back where it's really reliable like the R5, then I would think we would probably go back to it. What I told them was that we have some points to make up and if we have anymore issues where we fall outside of the top 35, we're screwed…we have no chance. The very little power that you gain with the R6, it's not nearly enough power for me to say let's take a chance. We definitely want it to be reliable. Maybe we're down a couple horsepower, but that's it. At the end of the day it's not a big deal.(Dodge Motorsports NASCAR PR )(9-30-2009)
UPDATE: Kahne will be using the old R5 Dodge engine this weekend for the second consecutive race, and Richard Petty Motorsports co-owner Richard Petty said time will tell if he gets an R6 back in the car. Teammate #19-Elliott Sadler will have a developmental R6 in his car at Kansas. “Until it proves its reliability, we feel like it’s already got us behind, so we don’t want to take that chance,” Petty said.(SceneDaily)(10-1-2009)

Gillett, RPM partnering with Saudi Prince UPDATE2 Petty comments: In what could turn out to be one of the oddest pairings in the history of American stock car racing, Richard Petty Motorsports' primary shareholder George Gillett Tuesday signed an 'exclusive commercial collaboration' agreement for his stake in the team to Prince Faisal bin Fahd bin Abdullah al-Saud, a member of the Saudi Royal Family. The agreement signed Tuesday forms a partnership that will see the development of a NASCAR racing circuit and Richard Petty racing schools in the Saudi Kingdom and elsewhere in the Middle East. "The Middle East sport market has immense growth potential as eager fans in the region demand access to more diverse, higher caliber competition. I am delighted, enthusiastic, and honored to have the opportunity to partner with such a visionary in His Highness Prince Faisal," said Gillett after the signing. According to many however, the agreement signed Tuesday is the first step to Gillett selling his stake in the team. As the two were publicly confirming the agreement, behind the scenes, Gillett and Prince Faisal acting on behalf of the Saudi sports investment group F6 he chairs, have begun a process of 'due diligence', the examination of financial records, with the goal being that Gillett would be bought out by the end of the year. The primary deal in the works actually centers on British football club Liverpool that Gillett owns a 50% stake in, but the deal would also include Richard Petty Motorsports. The Prince was at Anfield Stadium in England on Saturday as a guest Gillett, who confirmed that he has secured funding from the Saudi prince for his NASCAR team and an agreement to build Liverpool-branded football academies in the Middle East. The entire deal is reportedly worth up to $560 million.(NASCAR Examiner)
UPDATE Foster Gillett has confirmed there are no major ownership changes contemplated at Richard Petty Motorsports. The Gilletts are the majority owners of Richard Petty Motorsports and plan on being so for a long time.(RPM)(9-29-2009)
UPDATE2: Richard Petty Motorsports co-owner Richard Petty said he didn’t know much about the business relationship formed between RPM majority owner George Gillett and Saudi Prince Faisal bin Fahad bin Abdullah Al Saud to explore commercial opportunities with Gillett and his soccer and motorsports properties. “That’s one of George’s deals,” Petty said. “You’ll have to talk him on that. That’s purely his deal. He’d been meeting with these guys for a pretty good while about his [English] football team.”(SceneDaily)(10-1-2009)

Drivers racing at East Lincoln Speedway: Kasey Kahne, Elliott Sadler and A.J. Allmendinger will join Ray Evernham at East Lincoln Speedway on Wednesday night September 30th as Stanley presents a special night to help raise money for the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Charlotte Affiliate to help fund life-saving breast cancer community outreach programs. Kahne, Sadler and Evernham will be aboard specially designed open wheel race cars in a match race and Sadler will also be the guest commentator for the event.(East Lincoln Speedway PR)
AND: David Reutimann and Erik Darnell are set to join a host of NASCAR stars at East Lincoln Speedway on Wednesday night September 30th as Stanley presents ‘Real Drivers Wear Pink.’(Gaston Gazette)(9-29-2009)

Allmendinger drove for free earlier; could be in a Ford by Talladega: Richard Petty Motorsports' Executive Director of Race Operations Robbie Loomis says the team could field a Ford before the end of the 2009 season. Loomis told FoxSports.com's Lee Spencer, "I don't want to talk about things that are pure speculation, but I don't think it would surprise anybody if we did." A spokesperson for RPM told Sirius Speedway today that there are no plans to field a Ford before 2010, but off the record, sources inside RPM say that the team has already built at least one Ford Fusion, installing a Ford powerplant in an existing RPM chassis. Initial plans were to have #44-AJ Allmendinger debut the car at Kansas Speedway next week, but that timetable was pushed back when Roush-Fenway Racing's Jack Roush expressed reservations about the quick ramp-up. Now, tentative plans call for Allmendinger to drive a Richard Petty Motorsports Ford at Talladega Superspeedway on November 1, with additional outings possible -- though not certain -- at Texas, Phoenix and Homestead-Miami Speedways. Calls to Richard Petty Motorsports seeking comment were not immediately returned. Loomis also confirmed today that #43-Reed Sorenson is not the first RPM driver to race for free, saying that Allmendinger also waived his paycheck for a time, in order to remain on the racetrack. "AJ and all the employees at Richard Petty Motorsports made sacrifices in order to continue being a four-car team," he said. "When those guys stepped up, it really said a lot to me about the character of Reed Sorenson, AJ Allmendinger and everybody at Richard Petty Motorsports."(Sirius-Speedway)(9-25-2009)

Broken Crankshaft cause of Kahne's blown engine: The conspiracy theorists are out in force, and this time their focus is #9-Kasey Kahne and that Richard Petty Motorsports engine that blew up last weekend at New Hampshire. Certainly everyone at RPM would deny that the engine was the victim of sabotage. They see each other work hard every day and wouldn’t be able to fathom that anyone they call a friend or a colleague would do such a thing. That’s the way Bill Pink, who directs RPM’s engines at the track, thinks. But he says there’s more than just the feeling that no one would do something to hurt the engine. He says the engines were built and done and ready for New Hampshire before the announcement of the merger Sept. 7. And he says that the crankshaft has been broken five times in tests, just never in a car on the track, and that everyone in the engine shop has known that the crankshafts were ticking time bombs. “We all know these cranks do not work,” Pink says. “But we got painted into a corner where we had to use them [with the R6 engine]. ... Unfortunately, we’ve got more of them just like it sitting here. Everybody was saying this was going to happen sooner or later. Fortunately, it happened later because we got in the Chase. We’ve been all holding our breath. And if the [team owners] Gilletts wouldn’t have announced [the merger], the crank still would have broke." In fact, Kahne will use the old R5 engine at Dover this week until some new, stronger crankshafts that have been in the process of being made are ready.(SceneDaily)(9-22-2009) Comment here

Miller Lite issues challenge to Budweiser: MillerCoors issued a “Beer Car Challenge for Charity” to Anheuser-Busch Inbev, in which the #2 Miller Lite Dodge of Kurt Busch and the #9 Budweiser Dodge of Kasey Kahne would race for their respective charity during the 10-week NASCAR Chase for the Sprint Cup. Both cars secured their spots in the Chase last weekend at Richmond. In MillerCoors’ proposed challenge, the higher finishing beer car in each race will win $2,500 for its charity, and the higher finisher in the final Chase standings will win $25,000 for the same charity. The #2 Miller Lite Dodge has already announced that, should AB InBev accept the challenge, they will be running for Operation Homefront, an organization that helps military families in need.(Tom Roberts PR)(9-18-2009)

RPM & McArdie part ways UPDATE: The deal between Richard Petty Motorsports and Yates Racing already has cost one top official his job. Richard Petty, the minority owner of RPM, said on Saturday that Mark McArdle, the vice president and managing director of competition at RPM, was fired on Friday after a heated confrontation with team co-owner George Gillett Jr. at Richmond International Raceway. Petty would not speculate on how many others in the engine and chassis department might lose jobs if RPM uses Roush-Yates engines and Roush Fenway chassis as planned. Petty said RPM is moving from Dodge to Ford because Dodge could not offer financial support for 2010 and beyond. Yates already has a financial commitment for two Ford teams, and Petty hopes that will increase once the economy is restored.(ESPN.com)(9-13-2009)
UPDATE: Richard Petty Motorsports today announced the departure of Mark McArdle, the team’s vice-president and managing director of competition. “The company and Mark have decided to go in different directions. It was an amicable departure and we are finalizing some details with him,” said Rick Russell, team president. “We appreciate all of Mark’s many contributions and wish him well in all future endeavors he may pursue.” McArdle said his departure comes after achieving his goal of restoring the team to championship contention. “We have all worked really hard to get Richard Petty Motorsports back in the Chase and we accomplished that goal Saturday night,” McArdle said. “Everyone at the team should take great pride in that. I wish the company nothing but success in the future. There will be nobody rooting harder for the #9 to win the championship than me.”(RPM)(9-17-2009)

Kahne discuss's being back with Ford:
KASEY KAHNE (#9 Budweiser Dodge) WHAT WAS YOUR REACTION TO THE NEWS THAT RPM WAS MOVING TO FORD IN 2010? “I was a little bit surprised with that, but I think that it’s better for Richard Petty Motorsports in the long run. They’re trying to build our company and make it stronger and I think that it will be a good thing.”
HOW DO YOU FEEL GOING BACK TO FORD? “I think that it will be a bit different because of the way that our relationship ended last time. We’ll have to figure out how to get through that and go on with it. What Ford’s done in racing has been really good with Roush and Yates over the years. I’m happy with Dodge and what we’ve done here, but it will be a bit of a change next year. I think it’s going to be beneficial for RPM. I think we’re going to help them out too. We have some things that I feel are better than Roush-Yates have. I think their engines are really strong and they have a lot of people to work hard on both programs. If we work hard, it could be a pretty cool deal.”
CAN YOU TALK ABOUT YOUR MOVE BACK TO FORD DESPITE THE CONTENOUS WAY THAT YOU LEFT THEM IN THE PAST? “It really wasn’t about me; it was about building Richard Petty Motorsports. Obviously I left Ford…we went through that whole lawsuit…I wasn’t a big fan and they weren’t a big fan of me. Time heals and I think some of those (Ford) people are gone that caused all that. They have new people there. Ford is really excited and I can work through things. I can figure how to get by and hopefully use those guys and work with those guys to become a better racer and help our company.”
WILL LEAVING DODGE NEXT YEAR HURT YOUR ABILITY IN THIS YEAR’S CHASE? “It’s not going to hurt us in the context of support. The people that we have that have worked hard to put us where we’re at…putting the 9 car where we’re at…are a lot of good people. They still want to win races. I want to win races and we want to run as well in the Chase as we can. Hopefully it doesn’t affect us. It could, hopefully it doesn’t.”(Darnell Communications/Dodge Motorsports PR)(9-12-2009)

More details on the Petty 'buyout' of Yates: The deal that brought together Richard Petty Motorsports and Yates Racing for next season is more of a buyout than a merger, minority owner Richard Petty said on Friday. "We're basically taking over their deal," the seven-time Sprint Cup champion said before qualifying at Richmond International Raceway. "As far as I know all of that whole operation will be Richard Petty Motorsports." Petty said George Gillett Jr., who declined to comment earlier Friday, would remain the controlling owner. He said Robbie Loomis, the executive director of race operations at RPM, will continue to run day to day operations. He was unsure what role Max Jones, who co-owned Yates Racing with Doug Yates, would take but speculated that he would stay on as the general manager. Jones declined to comment. Sources close to the situation said Yates would continue to run the Roush-Yates engine program that will supply engines to RPM's four teams -- Paul Menard from Yates and Kasey Kahne, Elliott Sadler and A.J. Allmendinger from RPM. Petty said plans are to move from RPM's Statesville, N.C., shop to Yates' facility in Concord, N.C., to be closer to Roush Fenway Racing, which will continue to supply parts, pieces and technical support as it did with Yates. Because engines will come from Roush-Yates, RPM will have to shut down its engine department that employed more than 40 people. Petty said the potential of letting more people go during tough economic times was the tough part of the deal.(in part from ESPN.com)(9-12-2009)

Richard Petty Motorsports to run Fords in 2010, merge w/Yates: Richard Petty Motorsports and Yates Racing announced today they have signed a letter of intent to merge operations in time for the 2010 season. The four-car team will race Fords under the Richard Petty Motorsports banner.
Richard Petty: “This is a pretty big deal for us. We’re thrilled to partner with Ford. We’ve talked with a lot of folks, but in the end it came down to the success the Gilletts and I think we can achieve with Ford Racing. Right now this deal is real new. There are lots of details still left to be ironed out so we don’t have a lot of answers for anyone right now. We’ll be working on all that in the coming days, weeks and months, but we do intend to have everything in place before the start of next season. I’ve won races with Ford and plan to again.”
Team Managing Partner Foster Gillett: “Richard and Kasey (Kahne) showed us Sunday night in Atlanta that they like winning quite a bit and Ford is going to provide the support that we need to go to victory lane more often. If you are going to compete with the other teams in this sport you need a lot of support. We bring a lot to this relationship as well. We’ve won twice this season and the power of Richard Petty is hard to beat, plus we have the support of some of the biggest names in corporate America.”
Yates Racing Co-owner Max Jones: “This is certainly a great opportunity for both Yates Racing as well as Ford Racing. I have had a long-term relationship with Ford and look forward to continuing that relationship at Richard Petty Motorsports. Over the coming weeks we will continue to work with Ford and Richard Petty to lay out the best plan for Paul Menard and all of the employees at Yates Racing. We will continue to field both the #98 and #96 Ford Fusions for the remainder of the season and look forward to continued success on the track with Paul, Bobby Labonte and Erik Darnell.”
Yates Racing Co-owner Doug Yates: “This plan is clearly in the best interest of the Ford Racing community. On a personal level, I am excited about the opportunity to focus my full energy on building Ford horsepower. We look forward to working with Richard Petty Motorsports to produce power second to none. There are many details to be worked out with Richard Petty Motorsports and as we finalize those details we will keep everyone informed.”
Director of Ford North America Motorsports Brian Wolfe: "I am very pleased that Richard Petty Motorsports has made the decision to switch to Ford for the 2010 season. They had choices to consider other than Ford and it's gratifying to us that they have enough faith in the Ford Motor Company and what we're doing to make the switch. We believe we can provide them with superior analytical tools and powertrain, and we will work with them closely on the technical front to help them become even more competitive than they are. What's also really cool to me is the chance to have someone with the class and the legacy of Richard Petty involved with Ford. Combine that with the chance to work with the Gillett family, who we have great respect for, and add some great drivers to the Ford camp, well, it's hard not to be excited about this opportunity."
Note: Paul Menard will be one of the drivers in the Petty team joining #9-Kasey Kahne, #19-Elliott Sadler and #44-AJ Allmendinger.(Richard Petty Motorsports)
and the PR doesn't mention Reed Sorenson or what car number Menard will run and with this merger, looks like the #26 Roush Fenway Racing team may now go away as they it not merge with Yates Racing now, since Yates and RPM merging is at the four car limit mandated by NASCAR. So unless something changes, two more cars/teams are lost: would expect RPM to run the #9, #19 and #43 so either the #44 team or the #98 team would go away and the #26 Ford that was rumored to be going to Yates.
UPDATE: on Sirius NASCAR Radio Channel 128, Sirius Speedway radio show, Reed Sorenson, current driver of the #43 RPM Dodge, was interviewed and said he knew a few weeks ago that he would not be back with Richard Petty Motorsports in 2010 and he is looking for a ride in 2010. Sorenson says he has enjoyed working with all his current sponsors in 2009 and a few would like to stay with him.(9-10-2009)

Kahne wins at Atlanta: #9-Kasey Kahne won the Pep Boys Auto 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway for his 2nd win of 2009 and 11th of his career. Kahne moves up to 6th in drivers points, up 5 spots. #29-Harvick finished 2nd followed by #42-Montoya, #00-Reutimann, #5-Martin, #11-Hamlin, #83-Vickers, #24-Gordon, #39-Newman and #16-Biffle. Points leader #14-Stewart finished 11th, #48-Johnson has rear-end problems and finished 36th, #99-Edwards had debris go thru an oil cooler and lost many laps finishing 37th, #2-Busch wrecked and finished 38th. Other Chase contenders: #17-Kenseth finished 12th and #18-Busch 13th. Vickers is now 13th, 20 points out of 12th and Kyle Busch is 14th, 37 points out of 12th. Pole sitter #1-Truex Jr. finished 26th down a lap after leading 68 laps early in the race. There were 9 cautions for 42 caution laps and there were 31 lead changes among 13 drivers.
For race results, awards and more, see my Atlanta Race Results Page.
For drivers and owners points standings, see the Drivers Points Standings page.(9-6-2009)

Security guard ends civil suit against Kahne: #9-Kasey Kahne has finally been able to wipe his hands from an alleged shoving incident at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November 2007. According to Miami-Dade County court records, a lawsuit brought by track security guard Archibald Hutchinson against Kahne and NASCAR was dismissed Aug. 24. The Richard Petty Motorsports driver has maintained his innocence in the matter, and a misdemeanor battery charge was dismissed in June. “All matters and things in dispute have been amicably settled,” stated the stipulation for dismissal signed by attorneys for NASCAR, Kahne and Hutchinson. The terms of any settlement were not disclosed.(SceneDaily)(9-4-2009)

Petty staying with Dodge? It appears Richard Petty Motorsports will not move from Dodge to Toyota next season. At least that's the impression that Lee White, who heads Toyota Racing Development, gave last weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway. White said he believes that Mike Accaviti, the president of the Dodge brand, is doing all he can to keep RPM in the fold. He also said that would be a good thing, that the sport needs all four manufacturers to be strong. He actually seemed to wish them luck and didn't seemed bothered that Toyota will not be welcoming in another organization. It makes sense -- Toyota's interest in RPM was tweaked when Red Bull Racing appeared set to leave the fold for General Motors and an association with Hendrick Motorsports. Now that Red Bull is set to re-sign with Toyota, there is not the urgency to get another organization. Having said that, there are no guarantees that RPM will be back with Dodge even if Toyota is out of the picture. The organization has had talks with General Motors as well. But all signs point to Dodge fielding cars for RPM and Penske Racing moving forward.(ESPN Insider)(8-27-2009)

Kahne comments on engine change and Toyota: #9-Kasey Kahne Open Interview:
DID YOUR TEAM FIGURE OUT WHAT THE ISSUE WAS WITH YOUR ENGINE? “They’re saying it was a piston and when NASCAR gives them the OK to take the engine apart and go through it, (we can) kind of see why it happened. Our engine has been really reliable, so I was a little bit surprised.”
WAS THAT ONE OF THE NEW R6 ENGINES? “Yes.”
DID YOU PUT IN ANPOTHER DODGE R6 ENGINE? “Yeah, another R6…that’s our back-up (engine).”
DO THEY EAT UP MORE GAS THAN THE R5? “No. Our R6’s fuel mileage is good. We’ve been able to get pretty good fuel mileage and not kill the power doing that. Early on, we weren’t able to do that, but since we’ve had some time to work with it, it’s actually been getting pretty good(fuel mileage).”
ARE YOU ABLE TO PULL ANY INFORMATION FROM THE 44 OR 43? “We don’t use much from them. Everybody uses stuff from us.”
WHAT ABOUT THE REPORT THAT YOU HAD A PHOTO SHOOT WITH TOYOTA? “I don’t know what the deal is with that. I did my Budweiser photo shoot and obviously you guys know that it was a Toyota. Why? I don’t know why it was. I’m Dodge, man. I think I’ll be Dodge next year, truthfully. The Gillett’s put a car in there to do the photo shoot and I took my pictures and hopefully I don’t have to take my pictures again.”(Dodge Motorsports PR)(8-15-2009)

RPM Still Talking To Toyota: Multiple sources at Richard Petty Motorsports tell Sirius Speedway that RPM is still mulling the possibility of moving its entire operation to the Toyota camp in 2010. RPM spokesmen have downplayed reports of a possible manufacturer switch in recent weeks, but sources say that talks are ongoing with both Dodge and Toyota. No decisions have been made, but in an attempt to cover all their bases, the team recently had a series of publicity photos taken of Kasey Kahne and a Budweiser-sponsored #9 Toyota Camry.(Sirius Speedway)(8-12-2009)

More on possible changes within RPM: Despite recent rumors that Richard Petty Motorsports would be a three-car team by Watkins Glen next weekend, the King said Sunday at Pocono Raceway that there will be four cars through the end of the season. "We're going to have four cars, but we're going to do some changing around," Petty said. "We're looking to finish up this season (and) preparing for next season. We've got one car, hopefully, that's going to be in the Chase and the other three we've got to get squared away and anticipate for next year. There will be some swapping around with different personnel and stuff like that to put in motion this year the opportunity to see how it works in preparation for next year. Then if it doesn't work, we've still got time to make changes for next year." Don't be surprised if there isn't a crew chief change among the non-title contending teams — #19, #43 and/or #44 — before the Chase begins.(FoxSports)(8-3-2009)

Petty says all four teams will stay...for now: Richard Petty shot down rumors that Sorenson was in danger of being yanked from the #43 Dodge for #44-Allmendinger for performance and financial reasons. "We're going to run all drivers the rest of the year," Petty said. "We'll sort of see what happens after this season and we'll make our decisions on next year." All four drivers are signed through 2010, but Petty said there are no assurances the team can keep all the drivers. "The economy is going to dictate to us what we need to do," he said. "Right now, we're just trying to keep our head above water, hoping that the economy comes around so that we can continue to run four cars." RPM laid off employees and sliced salaries earlier this year in the fallout from Chrysler's Chapter 11 filing. Petty's first choice is to run all four cars in a full Cup season, but economics may decide otherwise. "We can't sacrifice three to try and run a fourth car," Petty said. "Right now, we're still breathing air and we're able to run four cars the rest of the season."(in part from the Associated Press)(8-2-2009)

RPM downsizing? Sorenson out? UPDATE2 denied: Rumors persist that Richard Petty Motorsports will shrink to three cars in the next few weeks, with A.J. Allmendinger moving to the #43 Dodge, replacing Reed Sorenson, and the #44 team being shut down.(Ford Racing)(7-29-2009)
UPDATE: An internet report claiming that Reed Sorenson will be released by Richard Petty Motorsports as part of a downsizing of the team's Sprint Cup roster appears to be premature. The Ford Racing website reported on rumors that Sorenson will be replaced by former Champ Car star A.J. Allmendinger when Allmendinger's #44 Dodge is mothballed within the next few weeks. However, a source close to the team -– speaking on the condition of anonymity –- said today that while the move is being discussed, Sorenson's release is not yet a done deal. "No one is sure that it's going to happen," said the source, "but it's definitely being talked about. The team is working on the details right now." If RPM does indeed decide to trim its roster from four cars to three, Allmendinger's current sponsors would transfer to the #43 Dodge. Calls to Richard Petty Motorsports seeking comment were not immediately returned.(Sirius Speedway)(7-29-2009)
UPDATE: a Richard Petty Motorsports representative says that the team will remain a four car team and Sorenson will stay with the #43 team.(7-31-2009)

200th start for Kahne: #9-Kasey Kahne is set to make his 200th consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start when he takes the green flag at this weekend’s Allstate 400 at the Brickyard. Talk about making your 200th start this weekend at Indy. “It’s hard to believe this will be the 200th start. It doesn’t seem like that long ago that I was racing sprint cars in Washington. I feel pretty fortunate to be able to do what I do for a living. I’ve celebrated a lot of great moments in racing and I hope to celebrate more. I still have a lot of goals – I want to win races and compete for and win championships. I’ve had a lot of great support getting to this point and I’m thankful for the success that I have had in NASCAR. I’m lucky to work with the guys on this Budweiser team that support me each week and look forward to rewarding them with more wins.”(Elevation Group/RPM)(7-23-2009)