Richard Petty says Cup team is considering all manufacturer options moving forward
Richard Petty Motorsports co-owner Richard Petty won seven championships as a NASCAR Cup series driver.
// LaDon George, NASCAR Scene
Richard Petty says that the NASCAR Sprint Cup organization that he is a part-owner of is considering all of its options going forward, including its auto manufacturer.
Richard Petty Motorsports currently fields Dodges and is in the process of transitioning to the manufacturer's new engine this season. Dodge's parent company, Chrysler, recently reorganized under bankruptcy protection, and most of its assets were sold to Italy's Fiat SpA.
Speculation has been rampant that RPM could be considering moving one or all of its teams to Toyota.
Petty says it's too early to rule out anything at this point.
"I can't really tell you because I don't know," he said Tuesday during a national teleconference when asked about a potential switch. "I do know that we're looking at all options that we've got. We've been with Dodge all these years, and we don't really know where they're at. We're talking to Dodge. We're talking to anybody that wants to talk.
"Right now, we are in the process of trying to come up with what we think is going to be best for Richard Petty Motorsports not only in the near future but in the future of way on out there. So I really can't say anything about it because it would be purely speculation."
For his part, RPM driver Kasey Kahne is pleased with the progress the organization is making with the model. He won Sunday at Infineon Raceway in California and has seen promise with the new R6 engine in the pair of races where he has used it.
Kahne acknowledged that he has heard the talk about a manufacturer switch but says that he's just focused on performance issues.
"I've heard a lot of that stuff, too, so you hear it and you wonder. … As long as our Dodge engines are getting better and are strong, then I'm happy with them," he said. "That R6 is a good package. We need to keep working on it and building it. I would say I don't see us changing from Dodge, but a lot of things happen over there."
