CUP: New Owners For RPM

Sprint Cup

CUP: New Owners For RPM

Richard Petty Motorsports struggled to make it through the 2010 season...

Tom Jensen | Posted November 29, 2010 Charlotte, NC

Richard Petty will serve as chairman of Richard Petty Motorsports and will be actively involved in overseeing day-to-day operations of the company. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

The marriage of Richard Petty Motorsports and Medallion Financial Corp. ultimately came together quickly, but had been talked about for years.

On Monday morning, RPM announced that the assets of the racing team were sold to “an investment group comprised of Richard Petty, Medallion Financial Corp. and DGB Investments.” Although ownership percentages were not announced, it’s likely that Petty will remain a minority owner of the team, holding a small stake, as he did when RPM was owned by George Gillett, the disgraced sports entrepreneur.

Medallion Financial, a publicly traded investment company, had its roots selling taxicab licenses in New York City, a hugely lucrative business. Since going public in 1996 (NASDAQ: TAXI), Medallion has invested more $3 billion in other companies. The Murstein family, which founded Medallion, is the largest shareholder in company, owning approximately 20 percent. Andrew Murstein, 46, is the president of Medallion Financial.

DGB Investments is an investment company controlled by Canadian-born investor Douglas G. Bergeron, CEO of VeriFone Systems, Inc. (NYSE: PAY), which is based in San Jose, Calif.

Medallion Financial has been looking for an entry into NASCAR since at least 2006. Robert Yates spent more than six months in deep discussions with Medallion in late 2006 and early 2007 before abruptly pulling the plug on plans to sell what was then known as Robert Yates Racing to Medallion.

“I pretty much sent a letter to everybody and said right now I'm not interested in selling or anybody investing,” Yates told SPEED.com at New Hampshire International Speedway in June 2007. “I'm just going to try and focus on performance. I'm pretty much really tired of spending too much time working on something that doesn't benefit anything. Right now, the thing I don't need is money. The thing I need is performance, and I haven't found a person to bring me performance. That's what I'm looking for, just trying to focus on doing what I'm doing.”

During that period, Medallion talked with at least five other NASCAR teams about taking an ownership position. One of those was the old Petty Enterprises team, the outfit founded by Richard Petty’s father, Lee, in Level Cross, N.C. in the late 1940s.

“There has been speculation of our interest in Petty Enterprises for Sports Properties Acquisition Corp,” Andrew Murstein said in a statement issued by the Medallion on April 1, 2008. “We are looking to invest several hundred million dollars in the sports, leisure or entertainment-related industries. We are very interested in investing in NASCAR and the motorsports industry in general should the right deal come along.”

Ultimately, majority ownership of Petty Enterprises was sold to Boston Ventures, another investment firm, in June 2008 for a reported $60 million. But Petty Enterprises closed down at the end of the 2008 season, when sponsorship couldn’t be found.

Technically, Petty Enterprises “merged” with Gillett Evernham Motorsports in Jan. 2009 to form RPM, but that merger consisted largely of bringing Petty on board as the team’s front man in the NASCAR garage and Robbie Loomis on to oversee competition operations at RPM. No more than a handful of the old Petty Enterprises employees were part of the RPM merger.

Marcos Ambrose will compete for Richard Petty Motorsports next season. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

Now, it’s a new beginning, the third for Richard Petty in the last 30 months.

“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,” said Petty in a statement issued Monday morning.

“We could not be happier to be able to acquire these assets together,” said Murstein. “Richard is one of the greatest names, not only in NASCAR, but in all sports. His name and image are a world recognized brand with unlimited potential to grow and expand in racing. Ample working capital has been invested in the company to insure this great team and legend will not only continue to perform, but will thrive and be back in the winner’s circle.”

“With Richard Petty’s unmatched name and reputation in the motorsports industry, I know this investment is well-timed to succeed. We are going to help put Richard Petty Motorsports back in victory lane,” said Bergeron.

The deal is good news for RPM and its employees. In 2011, the team will field two Ford Fusions, one for AJ Allmendinger, the other for Marcos Ambrose.

Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief of SPEED.com, Senior NASCAR Editor at RACER and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. You can follow him online at twitter.com/tomjensen100 and e-mail him at Jensen is the author of “Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of Speed,” and has appeared on numerous television and radio shows. Jensen is the past President of the National Motorsports Press Association and an NMPA Writer of the Year.

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Tom Jensen

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