Richard Petty Motorsports (RPM) is a two-car NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race team owned by seven-time NASCAR champion Richard Petty, Douglas G. Bergeron and financial company Medallion Financial. The team was founded as Evernham Motorsports in 2000, was renamed Gillett Evernham Motorsports in 2007 after former Montreal Canadiens and Liverpool F.C. owner George Gillett bought a controlling interest from founder Ray Evernham, and took on its current name after merging with Petty Enterprises in 2009.
In November 2010, an investment group including Medallion Financial Corp., Douglas G. Bergeron and NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty, signed and closed sale on racing assets of Richard Petty Motorsports. Andrew M. Murstein, president of Medallion, had been seeking a sports investment since 2008 when he formed a special purpose acquisition company together with Hank Aaron, a Medallion board member, and others. Petty, Bergeron, and Medallion Financial are the current owners of the team; Gillett no longer has a stake. Richard Petty says RPM ‘just surviving’ after signing new deals for 2013.
The team currently fields the #9 Stanley Black & Decker Ford Fusion for Marcos Ambrose and the #43 Smithfield Foods Ford Fusion for Aric Almirola in the Sprint Cup Series. RPM will run its first full Nationwide Series season in 2012, fielding the #43 Pilot Flying J Ford Mustang for Michael Annett.
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