senor honda

[h=2]Sports car racer Billy Johnson tapped as Sonoma ringer for RPM[/h] Monday, 19 June 2017


By Kelly Crandall

Fresh off competing in the 24 Hours of Le Mans with Ford Chip Ganassi Racing, Billy Johnson will make his Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series debut at Sonoma Raceway this Sunday.

Richard Petty Motorsports will put the road course expert in the No. 43 Ford to fill in for the injured Aric Almirola, who has been out of action since suffering a compression fracture of his T5 vertebra in a crash at Kansas Speedway on May 13. Per the team release, Johnson and Almirola know each other as the two worked on road course racing at the Ford Performance racing school.

Johnson is also no stranger to NASCAR, having made five starts in the Xfinity Series between 2010 and 2013. He scored a career-best eighth-place finish with Roush Fenway Racing on the road course in Montreal.
"It is going to be awesome," Johnson said of making his Cup debut. "It will be my first NASCAR Cup race and to debut in the 43 car, one of the most iconic numbers to ever race in NASCAR, is a huge honor. Richard Petty Motorsports is a great organization. To have the chance to make my Cup debut for the King is surreal, and I appreciate them putting me in the car.
"I have run a lot of Xfinity races, but this will be my first Cup race. It is awesome that RPM and everyone at Ford Performance has the confidence in me to take on Sonoma. I have run pretty well in the Xfinity road course races I have done, so I hope that translates into a good showing this weekend."
After Regan Smith had driven the car at both Charlotte races and Dover, Darrell Wallace Jr. was named the team's interim driver until Almirola returns. Wallace drove the car the past two weeks, finishing 26th in his debut at Pocono Raceway and 19th in Sunday's FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway.

"It was a lot better than last week for sure," Wallace said Sunday of his performance. "I just didn't get all of it on restarts and what I thought was aggressive, going back to the Xfinity side I'm one of the aggressive ones, but you have to be 10 times more aggressive here at least. It's a learning curve. It was a solid run all day.
"I knew we would run a lot better than where we started – it was just a matter of getting around those guys, getting track position and clean air. The restarts were wild at the end. We should have ended top 15 but I didn't have my guard up enough. Top 20 is good. I'm pumped up about that. I didn't speed on pit road and I'm proud of that. It was all good."
Richard Petty Motorsports says Wallace will return to the seat at Daytona International Speedway on July 1.
"It's been important for us to put ourselves in the most competitive spot while Aric is recovering," said CEO Brett Moffitt. "We've worked with Ford and (sponsor) Smithfield to put the best driver available in the car each week. Both Regan (Smith) and Bubba (Wallace) have done a great job for us the last five weeks. We feel that Billy's experience on the road course will help us be competitive this weekend."

senor honda

Is that stock car airborn?

senor honda

[h=2]Petty assesses RPM's future beyond 2017[/h] Wednesday, 05 July 2017


By Kelly Crandall / Images by Getty Images for NASCAR

There is a place for Richard Petty Motorsports in NASCAR as long as "The King" himself is around.


When asked about the future of his organization over the weekend at Daytona International Speedway, Petty said with a small chuckle he's not sure his son, Kyle, would take up the mallet when he's gone. But for right now, Petty is focused on continuing his single-car operation into 2018.
However, the recently turned 80-year-old admitted there are important variables to be addressed.
"Everyone goes through ups and downs and ins and outs – NASCAR with all the rule changes, or point standings and stuff – they're trying to do everything they can to upgrade and bring back spectators. Well, we're doing the same thing, only we're struggling with making sure that [sponsor] Smithfield signs up for another year [and] Air Force does," Petty said.
"We got a deal with the racecar when we got all the people, got a driver, so it's a never-ending deal. And if you talk to me or you talk to any other teams, everybody is up in the air at this time of the year, most of the time, trying to figure out where are we with what we can do next year."

Right now, Petty said the organization does have a plan. But like any silly season, RPM is waiting to see how all the dominoes fall. Driver Aric Almirola, who is currently recovering from a compression fracture of his T5 vertebra, is signed through the end of this season.
The same appears to be the case for both Smithfield and the U.S. Air Force, two of RPM's primary sponsors.
Smithfield has increased its support of RPM over the years, having started at seven races in its inaugural season in 2012. That number has ramped up to over half the season since 2014. The Air Force has been a partner for equally as long, adorning the No. 43 Ford in two races annually.
With Almirola injured, Petty has had the opportunity to work with young talent Darrell Wallace Jr. The former Xfinity Series driver for Roush Fenway Racing is doing his best to showcase himself well as he, too, looks for a ride not only for upon Almirola's return but going into next season.
"We're all in a situation where we depend on a lot of other people, or a lot of other circumstances to get done what we want to get done," Petty continued.
The good news for RPM when it comes to closing out this season is the organization could have Almirola back in the seat as early as New Hampshire on July 16. After that there will be a little over four months until the last checkered flag of 2017 falls and decisions for 2018 must be made.
"Right now, things are looking decent," Petty said. "I won't say they're looking great; I won't say they're looking bad. But we're in the middle of some transition deals here, and we should be in pretty good shape."

senor honda

Smithfield blasts 'patently false' RPM statement

Tuesday, 12 September 2017


By Mark Glendenning / Image by Matthew Thacker/LAT



3.5k Shares
The split between Richard Petty Motorsports and sponsor Smithfield Foods descended into acrimony late on Tuesday, with the latter issuing a sharp riposte to what it described as "patently false" statements by RPM.

Following the announcement that Smithfield will head to Stewart-Haas next season, RPM issued a statement attributed to Richard Petty expressing disappointment in the company's "late and abrupt change of direction," and accusing Smithfield of backing out of a handshake deal.
"I come from a time when we did major deals with sponsors like STP on a handshake," Petty said. "I'm sad to see this is where we are now."
Smithfield responded with a statement of its own attributed to president and CEO Kenneth M. Sullivan in which it rejected any notion of having made any agreement to continue its relationship with RPM, and said that its decision to switch teams was entirely due to RPM's poor performance.
"We are extremely disappointed that Richard Petty Motorsports (RPM) has chosen to disparage Smithfield – its lead sponsor – after five years and tens of millions of dollars of unwavering financial support, despite years of subpar performance on the track," the statement read.
"RPM's claims of a 'handshake deal' are unequivocally and patently false. Smithfield's numerous discussions with RPM over the past several months have focused exclusively around one issue: RPM's inability to deliver on the track and the organization's repeated failure to present a plan to address its lack of competitiveness. Smithfield is a performance-driven company and we demand performance from the people we do business with. For that reason – and that reason alone – Smithfield decided not to renew its contract with RPM when it expires at the end of this year.
"It is very unfortunate and disheartening that RPM has chosen to disseminate false statements regarding our communications with NASCAR fans who we have supported wholeheartedly with more than a $100 million investment in the sport over the last several years."
Aric Almirola, driver of RPM's No.43, is also destined to leave RPM at the end of the season. His sole win with Smithfield's backing came in 2014, and he is not involved in this year's championship playoffs.