Richard Petty Motorsports Sells Racing Assets

One of the few teams in the NASCAR series to have experienced serious financial difficulties this year, Richard Petty Motorsports (RPM), announced today it has decided to sell its racing assets to an investor group comprised of Medallion Financial Corp., DGB Investments and Richard Petty.

As the result of the sale, Richard Petty will become the chairman of the group. According to the team, Petty will be in charge with the daily operations of the team and will be supervising the limited racing program for 2011.

RPM announced last week it will continue the racing program in 2011, but will abandon the four car scheme in favor of a two car one. The two vehicles to be used by RPM will be driven by A.J. Allmendinger (No. 43) and Marcos Ambrose (behind the wheel of the No. 9 Ford).

Problems for RPM started earlier this year, when George Gillett decided to sell English soccer club FC Liverpool, which he owned together with Tom Hick. The deal failed to live up to Gillett's expectations and the team sold short, leaving the NASCAR team in disarray.

"This is a great day for me, my family, our fans and our wonderful sponsors. They have supported me through thick and thin and I thank them from the bottom of my heart," Petty said after the announcement..

"George and Foster Gillett deserve a great deal of credit for running a successful race team," Petty added. "They made a significant investment into the business and helped get back into Victory Lane. Going forward, we have put together an all-star ownership team consisting of myself, Medallion, and VeriFone CEO Doug Bergeron."