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#43 driver to be announced? UPDATE 5 Almirola Officially Named: 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."
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."
UPDATE 4: Whitt named new Jr Motorsports driver: JR Motorsports' flagship team will compete for a NASCAR Nationwide Series championship with one of the sport's up-and-coming stars, as Cole Whitt has been tabbed to drive the company's flagship #88 Chevy in 2012. Whitt, a 20-year-old native of Alpine, Calif., will also compete for Sunoco Rookie-of-the-Year honors. He comes to JR Motorsports from the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, where he finished ninth in last year's championship standings with one pole, two top-five and 11 top-10 finishes. To date he is the youngest driver ever to win the USAC (United States Auto Club) National Midget championship, as his title-winning effort in 2008 put him alongside esteemed former USAC national champions such as Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart and Kasey Kahne. The signing of Whitt completes the 2012 driver line-up for JR Motorsports, which will compete in Nationwide Series competition with Whitt in the#88 Chevy, Danica Patrick in the #7 Chevy, and Earnhardt Jr. in select races in the #5 Chevy.(JR Motorsports)
Reutimann joins Tommy Baldwin Racing: Tommy Baldwin Racing (TBR) added NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) driver David Reutimann to the team's 2012 driver lineup alongside Dave Blaney. Still seeking sponsorship for both Reutimann and Blaney, details regarding car number, sponsors and team members will follow in the upcoming weeks. "Tommy has built a really good organization from the ground up in a really short amount of time," said Reutimann. "One of the things I like about Tommy and what's refreshing about him is that he is just a racer. There are lots of things he could be doing but instead he is at the shop every day working hard to build the organization from the ground up. There are not a lot of true racers in the garage, and he is one of them. It's the way I was raised with my Dad, so we are on the same page. I'm just really looking forward to the season and see what we can do." TBR competed in every event in the 36-race NSCS schedule in 2011 and raced into the top-35 in NSCS Owner Points, meeting the team's 2011 season goals. Blaney drove to the team's best finish of third in the October event at Talladega Superspeedway. The team also fielded a second car for five events in the second half of the season.
"Reutimann will be a great addition to our program and to Dave Blaney," commented team owner Tommy Baldwin. "Last season, we met our goal of running the entire schedule and making the top-35 in points. This season, our goals is to continue our progress on the competition side. Having two veteran drivers in Reutimann and Blaney is a very important step in our program's growth. We are still working on finding funding for next year, but having a car guaranteed in the first five races, including the Daytona 500, is a big step for our team. We had success last year with our partners. Although Golden Corral will not return in 2012, they were very happy with the exposure they received. We hope they have shown other companies the value of our program and that our program will once again align with their business objectives."
TBR competed in every race and locked the #36 Chevy in the top-35 in NSCS Owner Points. TBR also fielded a second [#35 Chevy] car for select races in the past two seasons with multiple drivers.
"Reutimann will be a great addition to our program and to Dave Blaney," commented team owner Tommy Baldwin. "Last season, we met our goal of running the entire schedule and making the top-35 in points. This season, our goals is to continue our progress on the competition side. Having two veteran drivers in Reutimann and Blaney is a very important step in our program's growth. We are still working on finding funding for next year, but having a car guaranteed in the first five races, including the Daytona 500, is a big step for our team. We had success last year with our partners. Although Golden Corral will not return in 2012, they were very happy with the exposure they received. We hope they have shown other companies the value of our program and that our program will once again align with their business objectives."
TBR competed in every race and locked the #36 Chevy in the top-35 in NSCS Owner Points. TBR also fielded a second [#35 Chevy] car for select races in the past two seasons with multiple drivers.
Rusty Wallace Racing closing: Officials of Rusty Wallace Racing, LLC (RWR) announced today that the team's on-track activities will be put on a temporary hiatus. While the organization's day-to-day competition activities will temporarily cease, key elements of RWR's business staff will remain in place to continue development of future opportunities. The team is currently assisting #66 driver, Steve Wallace, in exploring several exciting opportunities for 2012, with backing from his current RWR sponsors. RWR will continue to maintain and manage those sponsor relationships on Wallace's behalf. #62 driver, Michael Annett has been released from the team and will pursue other 2012 opportunities with his longtime family sponsor, Pilot Flying J.
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