Richard Petty Motorsports will contract from a two-car NASCAR premier series organization to single entry for 2017, the fourth team to either scale back or fold since the end of the 2016 season.
Richard Petty Motorsports downsizes to 1 team for 2017
RPM will field just the No. 43 car for Aric Almirola in 2017.
Photo by Robert Laberge/Getty Images
RPM will continue to field the No. 43 car for driver Aric Almirola with primary sponsorship from Smithfield Foods. The team, co-owned by NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty, had fielded a No. 44 car for Brian Scott, who retired last month and had brought sponsorship to the organization. But RPM was unable find replacement funding and elected to downsize to better concentrate its resources.
Corresponding with the announcement, RPM will lease the No. 44 car’s charter (NASCAR’s equivalent of a franchise) to Go FAS Racing for 2017. The charter will return to RPM for 2018 where the team must either use or sell it.
“At the conclusion of the 2016 season, we evaluated how to best improve our on-track product,” the team said in a statement. “… A concentrated effort on one team will position us for improvement while giving us adequate time to re-establish our two-car team in 2018.”
RPM’s announcement follows similar moves by HScott Motorsports, Tommy Baldwin Racing and Roush Fenway Racing since the 2016 season concluded. HSM shuttered its two-car operation, TBR closed its one-car team, and RFR went from three full-time cars to two.
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