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Sprint Cup
CUP: RPM Haulers Heading To Phoenix
A team spokesperson says RPM’s haulers are leaving Texas Motor Speedway for Phoenix...
The Richard Petty Motorsports haulers and cars of Elliott Sadler (Left) and AJ Allmendinger (Right) sit in the infield at Texas Motor Speedway. (Photo: Tom Jensen, SPEED.com)
4:17 pm ET UPDATE FROM RACINTODAY.COM
Haulers carrying the cars for the teams of Richard Petty Motorsports had not yet left Texas Motor Speedway on Wednesday morning, track spokesman Mike Zizzo confirmed.
Haulers from other teams left the track shortly after Sunday’s AAA Texas 500 Sprint Cup Series race. Most returned to race shops in North Carolina so cars and equipment for this weekend’s race could be loaded.
This week’s race will be held at Phoenix International Raceway short track.
RPM spokeswoman Tiffany Breaux told RacinToday.com this afternoon that 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 – AJ Allmendinger, Aric Almirola, Elliott Sadler and Paul Menard – in their RPM cars.
“Nothing has changed,” Breaux said Wednesday afternoon.
—
As reported earlier Wednesday by SPEED.com's Tom Jensen
As of 10 a.m. Wednesday morning, the four Richard Petty Motorsports haulers were still in the infield of Texas Motor Speedway, but a team representative said the team plans to leave for Phoenix International Raceway later today and finish the season.
But the fate of the team remains very much up in the air. Minority stakeholder Richard Petty is trying to line up investors to take control of the financially strapped outfit, but so far has been unable to come up with a firm deal. Former majority owner George Gillett has defaulted on $90 million in loans he used to purchase the team, which is now in the hands of Gillett’s lenders.
Contacted by phone Wednesday morning, team spokesperson Tiffany Breaux said RPM would be at Phoenix. “I don’t know what the exact schedule is, but the haulers are leaving (Texas Motor Speedway) today,” said Breaux. “ ... The plan is to go to Phoenix and finish the season.”
But a source said Roush Fenway Racing, which builds the cars RPM races, could repossess the RPM fleet today. Roush Fenway is owed millions of dollars by RPM and last month, briefly took back RPM’s Talladega cars, before releasing them a day later.
RPM has been the subject of much scrutiny since prior to the race last month at Martinsville Speedway, when Kasey Kahne abruptly departed the team and employees were told that there might not be enough money to finish the season. RPM owes millions of dollars in debts incurred during the three years of ownership under the Gillett family.
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.
Haulers carrying the cars for the teams of Richard Petty Motorsports had not yet left Texas Motor Speedway on Wednesday morning, track spokesman Mike Zizzo confirmed.
Haulers from other teams left the track shortly after Sunday’s AAA Texas 500 Sprint Cup Series race. Most returned to race shops in North Carolina so cars and equipment for this weekend’s race could be loaded.
This week’s race will be held at Phoenix International Raceway short track.
RPM spokeswoman Tiffany Breaux told RacinToday.com this afternoon that 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 – AJ Allmendinger, Aric Almirola, Elliott Sadler and Paul Menard – in their RPM cars.
“Nothing has changed,” Breaux said Wednesday afternoon.
—
As reported earlier Wednesday by SPEED.com's Tom Jensen
As of 10 a.m. Wednesday morning, the four Richard Petty Motorsports haulers were still in the infield of Texas Motor Speedway, but a team representative said the team plans to leave for Phoenix International Raceway later today and finish the season.
But the fate of the team remains very much up in the air. Minority stakeholder Richard Petty is trying to line up investors to take control of the financially strapped outfit, but so far has been unable to come up with a firm deal. Former majority owner George Gillett has defaulted on $90 million in loans he used to purchase the team, which is now in the hands of Gillett’s lenders.
Contacted by phone Wednesday morning, team spokesperson Tiffany Breaux said RPM would be at Phoenix. “I don’t know what the exact schedule is, but the haulers are leaving (Texas Motor Speedway) today,” said Breaux. “ ... The plan is to go to Phoenix and finish the season.”
But a source said Roush Fenway Racing, which builds the cars RPM races, could repossess the RPM fleet today. Roush Fenway is owed millions of dollars by RPM and last month, briefly took back RPM’s Talladega cars, before releasing them a day later.
RPM has been the subject of much scrutiny since prior to the race last month at Martinsville Speedway, when Kasey Kahne abruptly departed the team and employees were told that there might not be enough money to finish the season. RPM owes millions of dollars in debts incurred during the three years of ownership under the Gillett family.
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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