Today our 2013 Sprint Cup team previews move on to the Richard Petty Motorsports team, which fields the No.9 and the No.43 Ford Fusions in the Sprint Cup Series.
After drivers Marcos Ambrose and Aric Almirola finished the 2012 season in 18th and 20th, respectively, both were re-signed by Richard Petty Motorsports for the 2013 season. Ambrose will pilot the No.9 Ford Fusion with sponsorship from DeWalt and Almirola will drive the iconic No.43 Ford Fusion and will be sponsored by Smithfield Foods.
Both Ambrose and Almirola ran well in 2012, with both drivers finishing in the top 10 numerous times and Ambrose capturing the win at Watkins Glen. With Drew Blickensderfer returning as crew chief for Ambrose and Todd Parrott returning as crew chief for Almirola, look for both drivers to have some good runs once again in 2013.
Ambrose has proven he can get the job done on road courses and this could be the year that he finally captures that elusive oval win he has so desperately been longing for. Almirola could also find himself in Victory Lane this year under the watchful eye of his seasoned crew chief, Parrott. Richard Petty Motorsports will definitely be a team to keep an eye on this year.
Everybody always question how success is attained and it happens. One part of that in racing is your preperation. You first need to be prepared if you’re going to win races. That is something any racer will tell you. Five-time Sprint Cup Champion Jimmie Johnson and his team know the definition of that as they came to Daytona with a plan and stuck to it. As a result, they learned a lot over the course of the three days.
One of the highlights was they skipped the all important Friday afternoon drafting session, not wanting to cause damage to the car. For them, it was all about crew chief Chad Knaus’ magic list of things to do.
“We have a long test list of things we want to try and that’s really what would hold us up more than anything,” Johnson said just before that afternoon drafting session.
Skipping the drafting session may had been the best idea that they had as while 10 teams were sent packing after the big one on Friday, Johnson and team were able to test all the way into Saturday afternoon and work at their list. They also had teammates Jeff Gordon, Kasey Kahne and Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the draft so they will bounce off of those notes going forward.
Critics have suggested that maybe Johnson should participate in draft sessions more as he hasn’t finished well on the restrictor plate tracks – involved in a lap two wreck in last year’s Daytona 500 and finished outside the top 15 at Talladega last fall. However, while some may say that’s due to lack drafting, it’s also been due to lack of luck. With how close the racing is, it’s all about finding that right line, but also being lucky to avoid trouble. Johnson just hasn’t been lucky.
For his team, he says that they don’t draft on race weekends as they spend so much time working on their cars that they don’t want to risk it when you really can’t get the cars to be that much faster with practice.
“You show up here and what you have is what you have,” he said. “You go through the tech room and it is what it is. For us, it makes no sense to go out there and draft because you aren’t going to learn anything. You’re just taking a chance of ruining your best race car.”
Johnson added that right now the inventory isn’t there as this is the only speedway car they have built and they want it to be their back-up, while also building a car for the Shootout and a car for the 500.
“I mean we have four deck lids for our cars that are legal and they are on the four Hendrick cars that are here now,” he added. “We’re playing a big game of catch up right now.”
When it came to the single car runs, another part of sticking to their own plan was seen. While some teams waited for the cars to cool to have that strong speed, Johnson didn’t do that as he didn’t want to go through that mess.
“We’ve got grill tape off and the car really in race format just trying to see with the changes we make what helps the car and what doesn’t,” he said. “Then going through our motions.”
He knows they have speed based on their teammates and by skipping the cool time, it allowed him to have more time to get data. More data equals more notes equals more chances of striking it right. As a result, he already guaranteed that the car they tested will be their back-up car come Speedweeks.
“We know that we’ll build a better car and apply what we learn here.” he said. The combination of their notes along with what Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon and Kasey Kahne learned will brings lots to the table.
It’s all about playing the cat and mouse game of trying to gain that advantage and complain if other manufactures get an advantage, or find what you’re missing. It’s the game that racing has played over the course of the time and one that will never go away. Everybody can’t be equal or else there’d be no point in watching to see who strives stronger. For right now, Johnson feels good with how they’re doing.
“I know we’re going to learn a lot as we get going here and be very competitive,” he said. “NASCAR is going to work hard to make sure they are all equals. It won’t take away the opportunity to complain, that will always be there and this is racing.”
For now, there is no way to tell as to whether Johnson and team will have the early advantage. Though one thing is certain – they will be one of the teams in the hunt when it comes to the Chase.
A new week means a new round of 2013 Sprint Cup team previews and today we will be previewing the 2013 efforts of Earnhardt Ganassi Racing, which will be fielding the No.1 Chevrolet SS, driven by Jamie McMurray and the No.42 Chevrolet SS, driven by Juan Pablo Montoya.
After a tumultuous 2012 season in which neither Jamie McMurray nor Juan Pablo Montoya won a race or made it into the Chase for the Sprint Cup and finished a dismal 21st and 22nd in points, respectively, the team will undergo two big changes heading into the 2013 season, but will remain virtually intact otherwise.
The first change will be under the hood of the Chevrolet SS cars that Earnhardt Ganassi Racing will field. The team will switch from Earnhardt Childress Racing engines, which was a joint venture between Earnhardt Ganassi Racing and Richard Childress Racing, to engines provided by Hendrick Motorsports.
The second change will be on the sponsorship side. Bass Pro Shops, which sponsored Jamie McMurray from 2010 through 2012, will be moving over to Stewart Haas Racing to become primary sponsor for Tony Stewart. Reports indicate that McDonalds will step up and become full time primary sponsor for McMurray in 2013. Target will return as primary sponsor for Juan Pablo Montoya in 2013.
Both McMurray and Montoya have the skills to win races, but only time will tell if these changes will help these drivers get back into their winning form that we saw back in 2010.
