Zastava_101

Bowyer has an offer on the table from RPM, according to majority owner Andrew Murstein, who said Saturday during an interview on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio that the organization was waiting for a response.

"We gave him an offer recently and are hoping to hear back from him," Murstein said.

The driver of the No. 33 Chevrolet is in a contract year at Richard Childress Racing.

Murstein told Sporting News in January that Bowyer was at the top of the list of drivers he'd like to hire if RPM expanded beyond the two cars it currently fields for drivers A.J. Allmendinger and Marcos Ambrose.

RPM's interest in Bowyer, however, raises serious questions about the viability of expansion in the current economic climate. Allmendinger's sponsor, Best Buy, also is in a contract year, and with sponsorship dollars as limited as they are, can RPM afford to hire Bowyer and add a third team?

Bowyer, who has four victories and three appearances in the Chase, hasn't been able to come to terms with owner Richard Childress. According to sources, the driver and owner have different perceptions of Bowyer's market value.


http://www.nascar.com/news/110827/cb...fer/index.html

Evil_Capri

While I'd like to see Bowyer with RPM, I think it may in the best interest of RPM to stick with Marcos and AJ as a two car team at least one more year. With some stability (finally) at RPM, perhaps another year will further strengthen the team . . . in my opinion.

Zastava_101

^^^+1.

jacostang

I agree also but I would Like to see a driver stolen from a Chevy Team!

Zastava_101

We got Matt Kenseth from Chevy.

I think Jack Roush should put Bower in that #6 and get rid of Ragan. Lets face it, Ragan's been in NASCAR for 5 years now and showed nothing.
Or at least give a chance to Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

jacostang

I would buy that....

Zastava_101

Allmendinger talks about a possible third RPM team: Frontstretch.com's Amy Henderson sat down with #43-A.J. Allmendinger in Atlanta to discuss many things, including his thoughts on a third team at Richard Petty Motorsports:
Henderson: "There has been some talk of adding a third team at RPM. That's a long way from the team that, a year ago, the speculation was you weren't even going to be here this year. You stuck around through that and it turned out for the better. Is adding a third team something that would be helpful to you?"
Allmendinger: "It's helpful if it's done the right way. The thing is that we can't try to take off too much right away, we can't bite off too much. If all the sponsorship is there for all three cars and it's done the right way? Sure, it can only help. If you get a guy, say, like Clint Bowyer who's won races and got great experience, that can only be a benefit. But it's got to be done in the right way. That's the stuff for me, that you look at. As you said, we're a team that just barely missed bankruptcy, and we're still making sure that we've got everything kind of buttoned up for next year among our two cars. It's only good if it's done the right way. There are other teams that have shown that. You look at Richard Childress Racing when they first went to four cars. They were terrible because of it. You take a team like Gibbs, who could easily do a fourth car, but they won't do it unless it's done the right way. I think that's the main thing."(Frontstretch)(9-7-2011)

jacostang

Hmmmmmmm.

Zastava_101

RPM no longer interested in Bowyer: Richard Petty Motorsports has withdrawn its offer to Clint Bowyer to drive a car for the organization in 2012. Team owner Andrew Murstein confirmed to FOXSports.com that RPM has decided to go in another direction with the program. "We are no longer in discussions with Clint," Murstein said. "We just feel that RPM is in a great place today, especially how far we have come since last year. Both #9-Marcos (Ambrose) and #43-A.J. (Allmendinger) are not only having career years, but they are both moving in the right directions and improving. "Clint is a great driver and we wish him the best wherever he ends up. For now, we will continue to focus on our two teams and continuing to make great strides as we return the King and his unmatched tradition and legion of loyal fans back into Victory Lane." The most recent organization in the Bowyer sweepstakes is Michael Waltrip Racing. Bowyer was seen touring MWR last Thursday. If he ends up at MWR, expect the company to a run a third team along with current drivers #00-David Reutimann and #56-Martin Truex, Jr.(Fox Sports)(9-14-2011)

Evil_Capri

Makes sense. I think RPM will be better off as a 2 car team next season . . .

jacostang

Yeah, I agree concentrate on the 2 you have....

Zastava_101

The only problem is ... Clint is a better driver than Marcos and AJ combined. I think Petty made a mistake.

Evil_Capri

I disagree. I think Marcos is a better driver than Clint.

Zastava_101

Maybe a better driver overall, but not in NASCAR alone.
I like Marcos, but I don't think he'll ever be a Chase driver (or at least Top 15 driver).

jacostang

What we need is a few more road courses!

Zastava_101

I would add one in the Chase, but that's pretty much it.

Evil_Capri

Marcos is only 46 points behind Clint (who is in 14th) and Clint is in a "more established" (better?) team. I'd say that's pretty equal footing . . . . especially considering how much longer Clint has been racing in NASCAR.

Zastava_101

Clint came to the Sprint series in 2005 (his first full season was 2006). Marcos in 2008.

Clint was Nationwide Champion and won 4 time in Sprint series. Marcos won once.

46 points is a lot, that's the maximum number of points that a driver can get in a race if he wins and leads the most laps. And Clint is also 14th in standings (one of his worst seasons since he came to the Sprint series) and Marcos is 20th (his best season so far).

Stats just works better in Clint's favor.
And it looks like he'll be driving a Toyota for Michael Waltrip Racing next season.