|
Richard Petty Motorsports (RPM) is a two-car NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race team owned by seven-time NASCAR champion Richard Petty and New York businessman Andrew M. Murstein. The team was founded as Evernham Motorsports in 2000 by former crew chief Ray Evernham, entering full-time competition as a two-car operation in 2001 and fielding additional full-time entries in alliances with Ultra Motorsports and the Valvoline corporation. The organization was renamed Gillett Evernham Motorsports in 2007 after former Montreal Canadiens and Liverpool F.C. owner George Gillett bought a controlling interest from founder Evernham, and took on its current name after merging with Petty's team Petty Enterprises in 2009.〔 Known for its factory backing from Dodge since its inception, the team switched to Ford in late 2009 and merged with Yates Racing for 2010. The team has the odd distinction of being the result of three successful teams (Evernham, Petty, & Yates) merging after falling on hard times.〔 After funding issues due to the Gillett family's financial woes, in November 2010, an investment group including Andrew M. Murstein and his Medallion Financial Corporation, Douglas G. Bergeron, and Richard Petty himself, signed and closed sale on racing assets of Richard Petty Motorsports.〔"Taxi tycoon Andrew Murstein is revved to build race track in New York, bring sport to fans." NY Daily News, December 14, 2010 (http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2010/12/14/2010-12-14_taxi_tycoon_andrew_murstein_is_revved_to_build_race_track_in_new_york_bring_spor.html)〕〔”Ambrose victory validates investment into RPM” NBC Sports, August 16, 2011 (http://scores.nbcsports.msnbc.com/nascar/story.asp?i=20110816174624103641708&ref=hea&tm=&series=NASCAR)〕 Petty, Murstein, and Medallion Financial are the current owners of the team, while Evernham, Gillett, and Bergeron are no longer involved with the team. The team currently fields the No. 9 Medallion Bank Ford Fusion for Sam Hornish, Jr. and the No. 43 Smithfield Foods Ford Fusion for Aric Almirola in the Sprint Cup Series, and the No. 43 WinField Ford Mustang for Dakoda Armstrong in the Xfinity Series. Drivers Hornish, Almirola, Corey LaJoie and Ryan Truex also run part-time Xfinity schedules in the No. 98 Ford Mustang for Biagi-DenBeste Racing.〔 ==Ownership== Evernham Motorsports was founded in the year 2000 by former crew chief Ray Evernham, who won three championships atop the pit box for Jeff Gordon and Hendrick Motorsports. Evernham was named a team manager and owner for Diamler Chrysler's return to NASCAR's top level through their Dodge brand, leading the development of the Intrepid R/T race car that debuted in 2001. The team also operated with direct factory backing and sponsorship from Dodge. In August 2007, then Montreal Canadiens and Liverpool F.C. owner George N. Gillett, Jr. purchased a majority stake in the race team. The operation was renamed Gillett Evernham Motorsports, with Ray Evernham retaining substantial ownership and the role of CEO. Evernham stated the partnership would allow him to focus on "racing operations and team performance", with the Gillett family handling the business end of the operation. GEM proceeded to hire several financial executives to assist with corporate marketing, including former chairman of LendingTree Tom Reddin to replace Evernham as CEO.〔 At the beginning of the 2008 season, GEM signed a technical and marketing agreement with independent driver Robby Gordon, with plans to eventually absorb Robby Gordon Motorsports into the GEM stable. Under the terms of the alleged merger, Gordon would sell his one-car-operation to GEM for $23.5 million, then receive a four-year contract worth $12 million to drive for the team. The deal fell through, with GEM suing Gordon for violating the terms of the agreement.〔 After the 2008 season, turmoil emerged when A. J. Allmendinger and Reed Sorenson were signed to drive for the team,〔〔 while Elliott Sadler was released from his ride in the 19 car and planned to sue the team to keep his job. In the midst of a struggling economy, in January 2009 GEM merged with fellow Dodge team Petty Enterprises, expanding the team to four cars. The organization was renamed Richard Petty Motorsports in the process. Ray Evernham was not involved in the merger negotiations, and both he and Richard Petty only maintained minority shares in the new team.〔〔 Near the end of the season, the team announced its departure from the Dodge banner after being its flagship team since 2001. The team switched to Ford and would merge with Yates Racing, owned by Ford head engine builder Doug Yates, which had fielded several successful NASCAR drivers including Davey Allison, Ernie Irvan, Dale Jarrett, and Ricky Rudd.〔 By 2010, RPM's continued operation was put into question when lead driver Kasey Kahne announced his departure by the end of the season for Red Bull Racing Team. Kahne would be released by the team before the second Martinsville race with five events left in the season, after several mechanical failures.〔〔 Kahne's decision was in the midst of financial problems for the Gillett family in several of their ventures, which included George Gillett defaulting on a $90 million loan he had used to purchase the team.〔 With lackluster performance and rumors from week-to-week that the team would shut down,〔 the chaos peaked in October when RPM's cars for the second Talladega race were briefly confiscated, and again in November when RPM's four team haulers remained parked at Texas Motor Speedway instead of heading to the next race at Phoenix,〔 in both cases due to payment issues with engine and equipment supplier Roush Fenway Racing. The situation was resolved in November, when Richard Petty partnered with (Medallion Financial ) (headed by lead investor Andrew M. Murstein) and DGB investments (headed by Douglas G. Bergeron) to purchase the team for "less than $50 million." Petty once again was at the helm of a race team, and retained a one-third stake in the company by investing "several million dollars" of his own.〔 Murstein 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 worth $215 million.〔〔〔“Industry Information,” New York City Taxi & Limousine Commission website (http://www.nyc.gov/html/tlc/html/misc/avg_med_price.shtml), retrieved Oct. 7, 2010〕〔"Medallion Financial Corp." Yahoo Finance, April 8, 2010 (http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=TAXI&ql=0)〕 The team contracted from four teams to two following 2010.〔〔 Bergeron's share was bought out by Murstein at the end of 2014.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Richard Petty Motorsports」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|