NOTES FROM THE NASCAR NATION: Sprint Cup Class of 2013 – Richard Petty Motorsports
Richard Petty Motorsports, (RPM), will again be fielding Fords for drivers Marcos Ambrose and Aric Almirola during the 2013 season. The teams garnered a lot of attention during January testing at Daytona and were frequently seen near the top of the speed charts. That’s a sign that indicates we might witness some general improvement in team performance levels that will bolster noticeable improvements from last year.
Certainly one of the reasons for this organizations rejuvenated chemistry lies with some personnel changes made late last year. The two drivers went through some crew chief swaps last year in order to find that chemistry. Veteran Drew Blickensderfer, who left Richard Childress Racing late last year to join RPM, will be manning the pit box for Ambrose and the #9 team. Almirola will be working with Todd Parrott, another veteran crew chief with an impressive Sprint Cup resume. Those personnel changes were bolstered late last year with the arrival of Sammy Johns, RPM’s new Director of Competition.
The team will continue their relationship with Roush Fenway Racing and Roush Yates Engines who will supply them Ford Fusions and power plants.
The one area of possible distraction here lies in the fact that it will be a very busy year for business administration. RPM officials will have to spend a lot of time renegotiating contracts that concludes at the end of 2013. Those negotiations includes new contracts for both drivers, a new manufacturers contract as well as several contracts pertaining to their list of primary sponsors.
#9 MARCOS AMBROSE
SPONSOR: STANLEY-BLACK & DECKER & DEWALT TOOLS FORD
CREW CHIEF: DREW BLICKENSDERFER
NASCAR’s favorite “Aussie” begins his third season with RPM. There is a noticeable increase in confidence levels. He’s coming off of a 2012 season that brought some noticeable improvement in performance levels. He finished the season with a win, at the Watkins Glen road course, along with three top five finishes, eight top tens, and two poles along with a respectable average finish ratio of 18.
Ambrose is a well established road racing ace bolstered by his tenure as a multi champion in the Australian V8 Supercar Series. That experienced loomed large during the Sprint Cup’s last two races at Watkins Glen where Ambrose parked his car in victory lane. What Ambrose really wants from this new season is to win on an oval track. Many NASCAR observers believes that just might happen this year and we should not be surprised if it occurs on a short track.
#43 ARIC ALMIROLA
SMITHFIELD FOODS FORD
CREW CHIEF: TODD PARROTT
Aric Almirola returns for his second, full time, season as the driver for Richard Petty’s famed #43. He finished 2012 20th in the final points standings based on one top five finish, four top tens, one pole and a 20.0 average finish ratio. Like his team mate, Ambrose, this young driver is already feeling the newly established team chemistry from veterans like Parrott and Johns. His efforts during the Daytona pre season tests certainly reinforces that theory. That element will likely boost Almirola’s personal confidence levels to new heights that could possibly lead to securing his first Cup win.
The team’s primary sponsor will be Smithfield Foods who increased their participation from 18 races last year to 25 this year. The hood of the race car will feature the corporations multiple brands again including Smithfield, Gwaltney Foods Eckrich and Farmland. The United States Air Force will sponsor two events this year along with one race sponsored by STP. That adds up to 28 sponsored races out of the scheduled 36. While the organization’s business administration team will be busy attempting to sell the ad space for the open events, they do have a back up plan in place. That would be Medallion Financial, the New York based company owned by RPM’s co-owner Andrew Murstein.
Three Questions for the Nationwide Series in 2013
Each new season brings new chances, new opportunities and usually new drivers. The Nationwide Series will be full of new drivers this season and those drives will have new opportunities and a new chance to be successful. Catch a theme here? A lot of new things will be happening in the Nationwide Series this season. New also raises questions, especially the three questions I propose below regarding the Nationwide Series in the upcoming season.
How well will the new full-time drives do?
For the first time in years, there are new drivers entering the Nationwide Series to drive full-time that we believe will be contenders for the championship. Brian Vickers, Regan Smith and Nelson Piquet Jr are the newer names that will be in the Nationwide Series garage this season and all three of them could be considered pre-season favorites to take home the championship.
Brian Vickers had a rough end to his full-time Cup ride after Red Bull Racing closed their operations after 2011 and Vickers was left without a ride. Vickers didn’t compete full-time in NASCAR all last year but, he’s back in 2013. Vickers will be driving the No.20 car for Joe Gibbs Racing and he will look to bring the driving talent we know he has to the No.20 and contend for the championship. Regan Smith will also be a new contender for the Nationwide championship in 2013 after getting booted out of his Cup ride at Furniture Row Racing. Smith will be looking to take his new opportunity at Jr Motorsports to be successful.
Nelson Piquet Jr is the final new driver in the Nationwide Series this season that could contend for the championship. Piquet Jr had some success in the Truck Series last season and he believed it was time to take his talents to the next level. All three of these drivers should do extraordinary well in the Nationwide Series this season, especially because of their racing talent and the quality of rides they will be competing in. These three drivers will do better than good and will be competing for the championship, which sends a statement to their competition that says, watch out, we’re here to contend.
Will the Cup Series drivers have the same affect that they have had in years past?
Prior to every season, the talk of Cup drivers surrounds the Nationwide Series. We know they’ll be competing in the series and have the best chance of winning each week but, 2013 seems different. With the new crop of Nationwide regulars filing into the series with great rides, will the Cup drivers be as successful as they have been in years past? These new regulars in the Nationwide Series have some serious driving talent and could be beating out the Cup drivers each weekend.
I don’t believe we’ll see Cup drivers have the same affect in the in the Nationwide Series this season partly due to the fact that the Nationwide drives are some great drivers, in some great rides. Instead of the Cup drivers being favorites to win each race, the Nationwide regulars will be and that’s the way it’s supposed to be. The best battle in the Nationwide Series this season will be the new Nationwide regulars versus the Cup drivers. This will be a battle that the Nationwide regulars could finally win after losing for so many years.
Who will follow up as champion after Ricky Stenhouse Jr’s championship reign?
2013 will be the first time ever that a Nationwide regular will win the championship that isn’t Ricky Stenhouse Jr since the rule was made before 2011 that only Nationwide regulars could be eligible for the Nationwide championship. Who will fill Stenhouse Jr’s shoes as champion? There is a long list of candidates but, all the candidates have an equal shot.
Stenhouse Jr’s Nationwide Series reign is over as he moves to the Cup Series. The reign that lasted two years and within those two years, Stenhouse Jr dominated the series. 2013 we could see a new guy dominate the league. That list includes names like Elliot Sadler, Austin Dillon, Brian Vickers, Regan Smith, Sam Hornish Jr, Nelson Piquet Jr and many more. All of these drivers are eligible candidates to fill Stenhouse Jr’s shoes as champion and a huge fight for the championship will start in three weeks at Daytona and last until Homestead in November.
To find the answers to these questions, all you have to do is watch the battle unfold live on the track in each of the Nationwide Series events this year. For the first time in awhile, we don’t have a clear favorite for the Nationwide Series championship due to the caliber of drivers chasing the crown. The battle that will unfold on the track this season will epic and never before seen. As Darrell Waltrip would say, “Pull those belts tight one more time” because this year’s Nationwide Series season is about to begin and it will be wilder than ever before.
