After months of uncertainty surrounding Richard Petty Motorsports’ plans, the team will see some major changes ahead of the 2018 season.
RPM announced Friday that it had changed manufacturers, switching to Chevrolet power as part of a new alliance with Richard Childress Racing.
For Darrell Wallace Jr., the team’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series rookie, the move means he’ll drive a brand he’s had plenty of success with. In 2017, he finished first — though the win was encumbered — behind the wheel of a Chevy Silverado in his one-off Camping World Truck Series start.
“I’ve had some great memories with Chevrolet and I’m ready to make a lot more,” Wallace said in a statement. “The entire RPM team is ready for 2018, and now we have a big piece of the puzzle put in place. We’re all eager to start preparing our No. 43 Camaro for 2018, working and creating new ideas with RCR. This is a new journey and we’re all ready to begin it.
Team owner Richard Petty said he hopes the partnership with RCR will afford RPM the opportunity to fight for wins in 2018, as Furniture Row Racing’s collaboration with Joe Gibbs Racing did in 2017.
“This is our next chapter of Petty racing,” team owner Richard Petty said in a statement. “We need to provide Bubba, Drew (Blickensderfer) and the rest of the team with the tools necessary to be successful on the track, and I feel strongly this is the best move for RPM, our partners and everyone involved with our team. Chevrolet has been a consistent winner in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series for a long time and we’re proud to be a part of the GM family again. We feel we can immediately win with Chevrolet and our new association with RCR.”
Petty, like his new driver, has history with Chevy, as well as with General Motors as a whole. His eponymous operation has recorded a combined 31 Cup victories, including Petty’s 200th win, with Chevy and other GM marques.
