Richard Petty Motorsports drops Dodge for Ford, joins Yates Racing
Richard Petty with his Ford Torino Cobra at the 1969 Daytona 500 - Click above for high-res image
As expected, Richard Petty Motorsports will no longer race in NASCAR using Chrysler vehicles after the current season, instead turning to Ford and joining forces with Yates Racing. The first sign of discontentment between the Pentastar and Petty came shortly after Chrysler filed for bankruptcy and halted payment to Petty's racing organization.
For the 2010 season, the new group will field a team of drivers consisting of Kasey Kahne, A.J. Allmendinger, Paul Menard and Elliott Sadler. At this point, its unclear what will happen with Reed Sorenson, Bobby Labonte and Erik Darnell, the three drivers currently left out of the new team's plans.
You'd have to turn back the clock a full 40 years to see the last time Richard Petty raced with Ford. Petty won a total of nine races in 1969, his lone season driving a car from the Blue Oval, before eventually losing out on the title to David Pearson's Holman Moody-prepped Ford Torino.
[Source: Ford Racing]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Benfolio 9:20AM (9/12/2009)
Where can I find boots to match MY wheels?
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O.Z.Racing_UK 9:40AM (9/12/2009)
Same place you bought your wheels.
Quattrofan 12:00PM (9/12/2009)
I think you get the boots first, then match the wheels.
fixitfixitstop 7:56PM (9/12/2009)
The boots are black in that photo.
DiRF 9:38AM (9/12/2009)
...but it wasn't the last time *A* Petty raced a Ford... Kyle Petty ran a Thunderbird in the '80s for The Wood Brothers, winning two races in '86-'87... I know he *used* to have a stake in Petty Enterprises, don't know if that transitioned over when they became RPM.
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Fyrewerx 10:21AM (9/12/2009)
In the Ford, Richard Petty still managed 10 wins, and finished second in points.
I was hoping he'd switch to Oldsmobile this time ..... oh well, too late. :-)
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JayP 11:12AM (9/12/2009)
Or Buick, or Pontiac... oh, yea.
Watched Stroker Ace last weekend. Made me nostalgic for tobacco products and real cars.
mike 10:56AM (9/12/2009)
Absolutely sickening. Casey Kane in a Ford? I guess being a brand loyalist doesen't mean much anymore. I mean if you sanded the paint off any of these COT's you couldn't tell which make they were. That IMO is what's wrong with NASCAR. It's all the same. Racing in general has become nothing but a bunch of decals and paint jobs. I mean when you see a Toyota funny car how low can it get. All powered by a version of the most famous and powerful engine ever built. the 426 CHRYSLER HEMI !!.
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laser 11:03AM (9/12/2009)
Casey Kahne actually drove Fords before driving brand x products.
http://www.nascar.com/2009/news/headlines/cup/09/11/preview.kkahne.reaction.ford/index.html
I believe Kahne is now back where he belongs.
If you want to talk about a TRAITOR - look no further than Jeffie Gordon - that twit was groomed and raced Fords in lower divisions and was poised to go to Winston Cup with Ford when the convicted felon and pardoned by impeached Bill Clinton stole him for Chevrolet! Talk about loyalty!
Zoran 11:15AM (9/12/2009)
Laser, don't forget Mark Martin.
c.haynie 9:55PM (9/12/2009)
would you prefer him in a TOYOTA dodge boy? I personally couldn't give a crap about casey kahne, but I'm happy to see Elliot Sadler (a driver with a great personality) back in a Ford product.
jesse36 4:10PM (9/15/2009)
Ah, sorry, but John Force Racing uses a Boss FORD that was developed by Jack Roush and Ford Motor Co.
dperry7853 2:25PM (9/29/2009)
The Ford Funny Cars are powered by Boss 500 FORD Engines, sorry!
TigerMil 11:04AM (9/12/2009)
Ignorant. It's FORD as a sponsor, not a real Ford car. These are specialized cars with maybe a Ford badge/decal on them.
As for the Dodge, it never had a hemi in the recent past, LOL!
Get over it on NASCAR...it's as crooked and stupid as F1. At one time it was competitive with stock bodies (well, almost stock...Grumpy Jenkins pulled one over on NASCAR for a few races with his 7/8 scale car) and stock/modified engines, but no more.
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jrhmobile 1:46PM (9/12/2009)
Smokey Yunick, actually. Jenkins was a drag racer.
JIMBO 11:11AM (9/12/2009)
Just so long as Ford doesn't let Kurt Bush back in a Ford !
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socarboy99 11:22AM (9/12/2009)
They should dump Elliot Sadler and put either Travis Kvipal of Bobby Labonte
in that car!
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Farmboy 11:30AM (9/12/2009)
Wow. This is big news. He was ALWAYS a Dodge guy. At least he is with Ford. :D
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Farmboy 11:30AM (9/12/2009)
Sorry I messed up there. Ignore my comment. I just woke up and don't remember much. :P
Farmboy 11:39AM (9/12/2009)
It has been a while since he has been with Ford. He was big with Dodge for a long time. This will be a big blow to Dodge's already dwindling presence in automotive racing. That means a few more Fords at each race maybe. Hopefully it'll be more than just Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle having to win with Fords. Having The King back with Ford will be a good public image. If he even did a spot with Ford on the TV, that would be big. He is an authority on vehicles, more than Toby Keith or Mike Rowe (even though they themselves are amazing). Now, I wonder who will sponsor the drivers. This is going to be an interesting transition. I'm sure Yates Racing is enjoying this right now.