Richard Petty Motorsports Aligns with RCR, Swaps to Chevrolet

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor

After being a Ford team for the past eight seasons, Richard Petty Motorsports will be ditching the Blue Oval for a Bowtie for the upcoming 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season.

On Friday, the long rumored alliance with Richard Childress Racing was confirmed by the team, allowing the No. 43 team to take up residence on the RCR campus in Welcome, NC and change manufacturers over to Chevrolet. RPM will also receive chassis and engineering support from RCR, as well as engines from ECR.

“This is our next chapter of Petty racing,” said Richard Petty, co-owner, Richard Petty Motorsports.  “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.”

With the move to Chevrolet, both RPM and Bubba Wallace reunite with General Motors. The Petty team has run General Motors products in the past, coming away with 31 wins under the banner, while Wallace’s first K&N Pro Series win and his most recent win in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series came while driving a Chevrolet.

“I’ve had some great memories with Chevrolet and I’m ready to make a lot more,” added Wallace, Jr.  “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.”