Ray Evernham

Richard Petty Motorsports and Yates Racing plan to merge in 2010, with the four-car team running Fords under the RPM banner. Under the agreement announced Thursday, Yates driver Paul Menard will join RPM drivers Kasey Kahne, Elliott Sadler and A.J. Allmendinger next year. RPM was formed in January when Petty Holdings merged with Gillett Evernham Motorsports. The team has met with mixed success, though Kahne is in good position to make the 12-driver chase for the championship after picking up his second victory of the season last week in Atlanta. Kahne is sixth in points heading into Saturday's race at Richmond, the final race ... Read Full Story

Tom Reddin resigned as CEO of Richard Petty Motorsports on Friday for what the team called personal reasons. RPM's four drivers were informed of the resignation in a team meeting at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Foster Gillett, son of majority team owner George Gillett Jr., is expected to assume some of Reddin's duties. "Foster is coming back from Montreal, and he's going to be more hands-on at the company," said star RPM driver Kasey Kahne. "I think that it will be fine. I think Foster does a good job with things and he's a good guy to talk to and work with. Hopefully everything turns ... Read Full Story

Amid all the economic turmoil in NASCAR, fans can take some comfort knowing Richard Petty is still around. Petty, stock car's king and at 71 still the most recognizable face in racing, will have a presence under a rebranding of the new team created by the merger of his organization with Gillett Evernham Motorsports. The new team will be called Richard Petty Motorsports (RPM), capitalizing on the seven-time champion's marketability. The announcement was made Monday during the first day of the annual NASCAR Sprint Media Tour hosted by Lowe's Motor Speedway. Petty and GEM principal owner George Gillett agreed to merge their teams this ... Read Full Story

Bobby Labonte and Petty Enterprises have reached a mutual agreement to separate, the team confirmed on Thursday. The 2000 Sprint Cup champion earlier this season signed a four-year extension with partial ownership to remain in the famed No. 43 car that Richard Petty drove to seven titles when Boston Ventures purchased majority interest in NASCAR’s most storied organization. But with the car unsponsored — General Mills is moving to Richard Childress Racing in 2009 — and the future of the organization in doubt, he has opted to seek employment elsewhere. A possible scenario for Labonte could be the new Earnhardt-Ganassi team that has an ... Read Full Story

GREENSBORO, N.C., Dec. 31 (UPI) -- The deal finalizing the merger between Petty Enterprises with Gillett Evernham Motorsports will be announced next week, Fox Sports reported Wednesday. Multiple sources beyond Fox also confirmed the merger, including the Greensboro (N.C.) Record on New Years Eve. It would combine two of NASCAR's most visible entities, but no details about the new company's name were made available. It comes one week after cash-strapped Petty Enterprises agreed to merge with Gillett Evernham Motorsports. Late Wednesday, the Charlotte Observer reported that all people employed by Petty Enterprises have received their final check with that company. The Petty family, led ... Read Full Story