RPM considering Kurt Busch in #43 car
 

RPM considering Kurt Busch in #43 car? Sirius XM NASCAR Radio's Sirius Speedway with Dave Moody has learned that in an effort to retain sponsor Best Buy, Richard Petty Motorsports has proposed replacing AJ Allmendinger as driver of the legendary #43 Ford with Busch. RPM struggled to re-sign Best Buy a year ago, negotiating until early January before inking a one-year contract. The electronics retailer served as major sponsor of the #43 team in 26 events this season.
Richard Petty Motorsports Chief Operating Officer Robbie Loomis confirmed today that discussions have been held regarding Busch, saying, "Best Buy has been a great partner for a long time, and AJ Allmendinger has done a fantastic job for us. He's coming off his best season yet, but I can tell you there is a lot of interest on our part in having Kurt Busch in the fold. It makes sense to have Kurt with our team, if we can make it work.
"Our main focus is to continue building on what we finished the season with last year," said Loomis. "But right now, I feel like I'm running down two different sets of train tracks. From a personal standpoint, nothing has excited me more than when I heard Kurt had become available. I'm excited about the opportunity to add a driver like Kurt Busch to Richard Petty Motorsports. I would mortgage my house to make Kurt a part of this team. We value what he has done on the race track. He has won a (Sprint Cup) championship and worked for a first-class operation like Penske Racing. Guys like that don't come along every day."
Allmendinger finished 15th in 2011 Sprint Cup Series championship points, with one Top-5 and 10 Top-10 finishes. His best finish was a fifth in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in late May. Busch won a pair of races this season at Infineon and Dover en route to 11th in points, tallying eight Top-5 and 16 Top-10 finishes. He parted company with Penske Racing earlier this month, in the aftermath of a much-publicized verbal confrontation with ESPN pit reporter Dr. Jerry Punch during the 2011 season finale at Homestead Miami Speedway (Sirius Speedway).
AND no word what Allmendinger would do IF this happens; and not too sure Jack Roush [who Busch drove for before Penske and had issues with], who team supplies cars and engines to RPM would allow this to happen.(12-13-2011)

I could see why RPM would be interested in Kurt Busch. He has alot of knowledge and does know how to drive a race car. He is not afraid to give feedback to the crew chief. He will find the flaws in a race team.
I was hoping AJ could win several races. He is a very talented racer. However, I dont know if an ordained minister would be greedy enough to do what it takes to win races against Tony Stewart , Jimmy Johnson, and Jeff Gordan. To attract good sponsors, a team MUST WIN !!!!!

I don't think Jack Roush will allow Busch to drive one of his cars again.

I couldn't agree more! Kurt's bad judgment in the past really hurt him! Plus his attitude of late has been deplorable! Just google his name and youtube is loaded with negative publicity about his treatment of his team! IMO he acts like a real bung-hole!

Maybe he learned his lesson.... Wait, what did I just say..... Where is that Omega 13???

Jack may not want Kurt in cars he owns, but he cannot control what RPM might want for a driver in their cars they bought from Roush.

Agreed! But Im not sure Jack has any say in this. RPM is making a big mistake imo. Kurt is talented but doesnt play well with others. I hope he finds himself in the seat of a go cart the rest of his career. I would not give him the time of day if I were a team owner nor a sponsor. What the heck is Best Buy thinking? This guy is a problem child.

What Robbie Loomis wants now he might regret later! Kurt earned his reputation by his actions! That's hard to undo! Jack Roush may forgive but he certainly won't forget Kurt's bad judgment call in '05! He caused Roush Racing a lot of bad press over those driving charges! Ford already fights an uphill battle with Nascar! They don't need a hot-headed spoiled brat that acts like a juvenile delinquint driving their cars!

Busch has media's attention. I guess it doesn't matter to Best Buy if it's good or bad.

What people remember is who won races.Once a driver wins for a sponsor, all past behavior by the driver is forgotten. Remember that spoiled brat Tony Stewart, he is now the champion and all have forgotten his previous bad behavior. I think Best Buy wants the car they sponsor to be sitting in Victory Lane.

When why are Matt Kenseth and Trevor Bayne (as well as Ricky Stenhouse Jr.) having so many issues with finding a sponsor?

I thought I heard somewhere that JR wanted too much $$..?

I agree with what you say! There's only one thing that keeps Kurt from winning and that's Kurt himself! You can't be blaming your team for every little thing wrong in a race! Heck, he even blamed Nascar for ruining his career for bringing the "Car of tomorrow" into the Cup series! Everybody else can win with it, why not Kurt?! He gets penalized for speeding down pit lane... who does he scream at? His team! You can't expect your team to be behind you when you act like that! It's a wonder sombody hasn't grabbed him and rattled his cage !

Allmendinger to Penske? Ragan to the #43? UPDATES: Rumors floating around that A.J. Allmendinger could be headed to the #22 Penske Dodge and David Ragan to the #43 RPM Ford. If true Allmendinger moves over from the #43 RPM ride and Ragan moves from the sponsorless possibly closed up #6 Roush Fenway Racing Ford.(12-21-2011)
UPDATE: AJ Allmendinger will be named the driver of the #22 Sprint Cup car at Penske Racing on Wednesday, a source close to the situation told ESPN.com. Allmendinger finished 15th in points this past season driving the #43 Ford for Richard Petty Motorsports. He became available after RPM lost primary sponsor Best Buy to Roush Fenway Racing. Allmendinger will replace 2004 Cup champion Kurt Busch, who reached a "mutual'' agreement to leave Penske Racing after a 2011 season in which he had several profanity-laced run-ins with the media and his team. He was picked over David Ragan, who interviewed with the Dodge team and sponsor Shell Pennzoil shortly after Busch was released. Ragan could be a candidate for the 43. He also could drive for Phoenix Racing, with which he had a tentative agreement before pursuing the 22.(ESPN)(12-21-2011)
UPDATE 2: Penske Racing has named AJ Allmendinger as the driver of the team's #22 Shell-Pennzoil Dodge Charger for the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Allmendinger, who has competed in the Cup Series since 2007, is coming off a strong season that saw him finish 15th in the series standings while battling for a position in the Chase for the Championship. The 30-year-old native of Los Gatos, Calif., earned one top-five, 10 top-10 and 22 top-15 results in 2011 while driving the #43 car for Richard Petty Motorsports.
"AJ is a very talented and motivated driver and we believe he will be a terrific fit with our team," said Roger Penske. "He has shown great promise and consistent results on the track over the last few seasons and working with Todd and the Shell-Pennzoil Dodge team will allow him to take the next step and compete for race wins and a spot in the Chase in 2012."
"Shell and Pennzoil are extremely pleased by Penske Racing's selection of AJ Allmendinger to drive the No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Dodge," said Lisa Davis, President of Shell Oil Products U.S. "AJ has consistently demonstrated great potential and continuous improvement as a driver, and with Penske's track record, our employees and customers can look forward to seeing him contending for wins and ultimately a championship in the NASCAR Cup Series. We know he will represent our brands well on and off the track and we look forward to a successful 2012 with AJ behind the wheel."(Penske Racing)(12-21-2011)
UPDATE 3: Statement from Richard Petty Motorsports: "Richard Petty Motorsports has released AJ Allmendinger to pursue other opportunities within the sport," stated team Chief Executive Officer Brian Moffitt. "AJ is a talented driver whom we all enjoyed working with and we wish him the best." Our plan remains to run a two-car team in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in 2012 and we are continuing down that path," said Moffitt. "We believe there are several very talented drivers who are still available and would embrace the opportunity to get behind the wheel of the legendary No. 43 Ford Fusion. We continue to move forward and are optimistic about the future of this race team."(RPM)(12-21-2011)

AJ would be a good fit with the Penske team. I am sure he will do very well at Penske. David Ragan is pretty tight with Ford. I could see him do well at RPM if he has a crew chief who is willing to gamble on pit strategy.

#43 driver to be announced today?: Sources say David Ragan is likely to replace A.J. Allmendinger [who went to the #22 Penske Dodge] in the #43 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford, with an announcement possible as soon as tomorrow [Friday].(Sirius Speedway)(12-23-2011)

I'm not too broken up abut AJ leaving RPM, that relationship just wasn't going anywhere, but I don't think Ragan is the best solution, either.

Sources, Sources . .

http://nascar.speedtv.com/article/cu...y-motorsports/

And if the sponsorship was in place I would put Stenhouse, Jr. in the #43. But I think Jack wants to place him firmly under the 'Roush' banner if possible . . .

I also read (somewhere) that Kurt didn't want to go to RPM . . . can't remember where I read it.

+1.

I don't think he'll have much success at Phoenix Racing.

It is hard to tell what kind of year Kurt will have at Phoenix racing. Kurt could do quite well. He does have Hendrick equipment and you know Hendrick does have enough influence in Nascar to keep his equipment up front. Look at how well Regan Smith ran this year. Smith was out running many highly sponsored teams.
I am hoping David Regan finds a Ford to race for someome. David Regan was just on the edge from becomming a superstar and had figured out how to win. Remember how close he came to winning the Daytona 500.

Looks like Almirola will take over the #43 in the Cup and Ragan will take over Almirola's ride (#88) in the Nationwide.

Wow! A ride is a ride I guess, maybe Regan can fine tune his abilities there...

I still don't know why Petty let Allmendinger go. Allmendinger had a great year behind him.

Just saw that on Speed ch. That's surprising...

If it is true David Ragan will drive in the 88 Nationwide series, that is a real shame. David deserves much better than that. David belongs in the Sprint Cup Series. Such a a waste of talent. Maybe David should go out on his own and get a sponsor and align with a smaller Sprint cup team.

I'm not sure that David deserves better than the Nationwide car.
I mean, he didn't really do much in his past 4 years with Roush.
If Roush does manage to find a sponsor for that #6 car in the Cup, I would rather see Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in than Ragan.

If David Ragan does not find a Ford team to drive for, he should rent a racecar from Roush and hire some of his former team members and try and get into the Daytona 500. David should have put away enough money from his days at Roush that he could at least afford a one race deal. He should have enough friends at UPS to get sponsorship for the biggest race of the year. If David really feels he belongs in Nascar, he should be willing to invest in his future by setting up a team to prove his true worth. People who go to college make a hugh financial investment in the hopes of graduating and getting a good job to make more money. No reason David should not make a big financial investment in his future.

Invest all of his life savings into one 2 hours long race? I'm not sure that anyone would do that ...

I am not asking him to invest his life savings for one race. He could be creative and make arrangements to have a racecar for the Daytona 500. We all know Nascar racing is very expensive, but the rewards can make up for the investment. Racers all over the country spend alot of money just to have fun racing. You would think David would have enough contacts built up over the years to help him get help from Roush, Ford , and UPS to get the necessary tools to setup a race team for the race he almost won last year. Renting a racecar from Roush would be alot less expensive than owning everything. It would be foolish to just walk away from racing without putting up some kind effort. In racing you have to make things work for yourself.

The only problem is - Ragan is not just another rookie who needs his big break to prove he can drive. He's been in NASCAR for like 5-6 years now - everybody already know his racing abilities.

True, David is no rookie, but he continually improved to make himself a contender for wins. There are many winning racers who did not perform as well as David did in 2011. His teammate Biffle always talked about winning but ended up dropping back as the race progressed. David cant afford to disappear from the Sprint cup if he wants to continue to be a raceer. David made very few errors racing and performed most pit stops perfectly. He may have only one one point paying race, but he put himself in position to win many races . He needs to focus on every chance at racing in the Sprint Cup.

Biffle was a Truck and Nationwide champ, he finished second and third in the Cup and he also qualified for the Chase pretty much every year so he can afford a off season.
Ragan drove for one of top teams in NASCAR and still managed only 1 win in 4 years. He was no better at Roush than Jamie McMurray was. Sometimes you just have to let a man go. Even if that #6 could find sponsor for the next season I would still replace Ragan with Stenhouse. Ragan will never be better than he is now. Stenhouse has a potential to be the next Carl Edwards or Matt Kenseth. It would be a shame to let that talent get wasted because of Ragan who, like I have said, didn't really do much during his 4 years with Roush.

It takes more than good equipment (which Ragan had) to win a race. It takes guts and stamina to drive that car to a win! All those guys out there make it look easier than it is! There's a lot of things to worry about when you are the one behind the wheel! Doing 140+ in a car that doesn't corner well will wear you out in every way imaginable! What's the first inclination you get when you almost loose the car in a turn? You slow down! But if you slow down in a Cup event because you lost nerve in a turn, there's the next turn staring you in the face! And if you don't charge it like there's nothing wrong, someone WILL pass you!

I know what it takes to win.
But I guess Ragan doesn't have it. And his excuse can't be "I can't do it because it's too hard". He needs to be replaced by a driver who has what it takes to win (whoever that driver is).

I just do not believe the blame should be placed on David Ragan for not winning enough in 2011. With spotters and crew chiefs playing such a large roll in winning a race, I dont think David had good spotters and did not have a crew chief that was willing to take risks to put David in victory lane. It seemed to me that all the Roush crew chiefs were more focused on having their drivers in the chase than winning races.
If David rented race cars for 2012 and ran his own team in selected events during 2012, I bet he could win races by using his own judgement as to when to pit and find the right strategy to win.

When is the last time this has happened in NASCAR? You are suggesting David own(rent), drive, and crew chief for select races . . . notgonnahappen.com. (I think Morgan Sheppard is the only driver in recent years who has done all three within a race . . . I think Morgan may have got out of the car at pit stops too if memory serves.)

Even if that happens, what team owner in the future will give him a car to drive with no crew chief?
Plus I don't think David has earned enough money in his NASCAR career to run a competitive team by himself. It's not exactly cheap to run its own team without sponsors (and there are no sponsors since none of them wanted to sponsor David in that #6 car).

I have never heard David Ragan make any excuses about not winning. David proved he deserved to be in Sprint Cup by winning a restrictor plate race. The restrictor plate races make everyone equal. For David to place himself in a position to win demonstrates he is a winner.
I dont think the number 6 team lost its sponsor because David did not win enough. Sponsors have had to pull out for many reasons. To sponsor a top team for the whole year will cost millions of dollars. David could more easily find sponsors who would like to sponsor a car on a race to race basis. He could maybe have a different sponsor for each race. Since Roush is going to a three car team, Jack may be willing to rent a car to someone for select races . With races teams down sizing, there must be crewmen looking to join a newly formed team. What other option does David have besides forming his own team ? We all realize it cost money to race Nascar, but there are ways cost can be decreased by renting equipment ?

Rent a racecar, a Pickup truck, a flatbed trailer... take a tool box, 2 sets of tires, (one for practice, one for qualifying) one tank of gas. No crew. Qualify....

Start and park! Boom! $50,000!!!


If you already had a car, I bet this could be done for less than a couple of grand per week...

UPDATE 5: Richard Petty Motorsports announced today that Aric Almirola will drive the legendary #43 Ford Fusion in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competition beginning in 2012. Almirola has made 35 starts in the Sprint Cup Series, his most recent stint coming in 2010 when he finished the last five races of the season in the #9 Ford. During the final race of the season at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Almirola posted a career-high, fourth-place effort. Almirola drove a JR Motorsports entry [#88 Chevy] in the NASCAR Nationwide Series in 2011 and capped off a successful season with a fourth-place finish in the championship point standings. "One of the things I am most excited about is to have the chance to drive a car as iconic as the #43," stated Almirola. "There is so much history surrounding that number and to have my name above the door will be really special for me. This is the first real opportunity I've had to drive in the Cup Series full time. Last year the #43 team had a lot of speed and was competitive on a weekly basis. Greg Erwin is a great crew chief and I'm excited to work with him. Everyone at Richard Petty Motorsports has a lot of enthusiasm and drive and I'm really looking forward to getting to work."
Almirola will join a team that is poised to compete for a spot in the 2012 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. Paired with veteran Crew Chief Greg Erwin, Almirola will get behind the wheel for a team that earned one top-five and 10 top-10 finishes in 2011 en route to a 15th-place finish in the owner point standings.
"We are thrilled to welcome Aric Almirola into the RPM family," said team Co-owner Richard Petty. "We feel extremely fortunate to have had a number of very talented drivers interested in joining our organization, but ultimately we felt Aric would be the best fit for the team and for our current and potential partners. We have had the chance to watch his progress for the past several years and we had success with him in the past. We are really confident in his potential as a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver. We think Aric has all the makings to be the next bright star in our sport."(Richard Petty Motorsports)(1-4-2012)

It will be fun to keep an eye on the progress of Aric during the 2012 season. I hope Petty is correct about Aric becoming a great driver.