The King and The Team
RICHARD PETTY
TEAM OWNER
Known to many simply as "The King," NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty is the most decorated driver in the history of NASCAR racing, winning a record number 200 career races and seven NASCAR Cup championships during his illustrious career. One would think that after 1,184 races that spanned three decades, "The King" would bow out and retire quietly. Petty, however, had other things on his mind. Today Petty is as busy as ever, and spends much of his time overseeing the operations of Richard Petty Motorsports.
In 1996, Petty proved he could be a champion both as a driver and car owner when he won his first race as an owner with driver, Bobby Hamilton, at Phoenix (Ariz.) International Raceway. Petty's teams continued their winning ways again in 1997 and 1999.
Racing is about winning, and "The King" has proven he knows how to do just that. But it is giving back to the community and his fans that make Petty "The King" of auto racing. It's hard to miss Petty in his signature cowboy hat and sunglasses signing autographs for fans or just lending a helping hand. In fact, Petty was instrumental in the development of the Victory Junction Gang Camp after donating 84 acres of his own land, on which the camp sits today. Founded in 2004, Petty is still extremely active at the camp, which gives chronically ill children the chance to experience life-changing camping experiences in a safe and medically-sound environment.
There is no other person in NASCAR's history to have made more of an impact on the sport, on and off the track, than Level Cross, NC native Richard Petty. He has been elected to the National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame, International Motorsports Hall of Fame, North Carolina Auto Racing Hall of Fame, and also the North Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame. He also serves as Chairman of the North Carolina Motorsports Association.
2009 marked a season of accomplishments for the NASCAR icon. His Richard Petty Motorsports team recorded two wins, qualified for the Chase for the Championship, and successfully placed all four of his cars inside NASCAR's Top 35. Off of the track, he was an inaugural inductee in the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
After making the switch to Ford in 2010, Richard Petty Motorsports again fielded four teams. Capturing five pole positions and 11 Top-Five finishes as an organization that year, the RPM teams made their presences known throughout the season.
With a new ownership group in place for 2011 -one that enabled Petty to regain majority ownership of the team- Petty's multi-car team was a force to be reckoned with and drivers AJ Allmendinger and Marcos Ambrose both had breakthrough seasons. The duo both finished inside the Top-20 in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series point standings and added one win, six Top-Five finishes and 22 Top-10 finishes to the organization's list of accomplishments for the year.
With a successful 2011 season in the books, Richard Petty Motorsports is looking to 2012 to raise the bar and accomplish even greater things. Marcos Ambrose returns to pilot the No. 9 Stanley Ford in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and newcomer Aric Almirola will take the wheel of the No. 43 Ford. In addition, the Richard Petty Motorsports has expanded in 2012 and will field a NASCAR Nationwide Series team for Michael Annett and partner Pilot Flying J.
ARIC ALMIROLA
Birthday: March 14, 1984
Hometown: Tampa, Fla.
Current Residence: Mooresville, N.C.
Career Highlights:
- Finished fourth in the 2011 NASCAR Nationwide Series driver point standings
- Won two races and finished in the runner up spot in the 2010 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series campaign
- Cup Series career-best finish of fourth place in the No. 9 Ford in Homestead in 2010
- Made first NASCAR Cup Series start at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 2007
- Was an original member of the Joe Gibbs Racing/Reggie White Driver Diversity Program
- Rookie of the year in the Florida Modified Division and the Southern Automobile Racing Association in 2000
Aric Almirola's entrance into the motorsports world began in 1992 at the age of eight. Racing go-karts, Almirola earned championships at both the state and local levels before advancing to national competition in 1998. That year he earned the pole for the World Karting Association's prestigious Grand National event in Daytona, Fla., before finishing the year fourth in the national point standings.
Almirola joined the ranks of the open wheel modifieds in 2000 and earned Rookie of the Year honors in the Florida Modified division and the Southern Automobile Racing Association. Almirola made his way to the Florida Sunbelt Series and took Rookie of the Year honors there as well before winning a series-high six poles the following year.
In 2003, Almirola was tapped to be one of the original members of the Joe Gibbs Racing/Reggie White Driver Diversity Program. He made his first foray into NASCAR competition in 2004 behind the wheel of a late model stock car at Ace Speedway in Altamahaw, N.C. Almirola collected two victories, six top-five and 15 top-10 finishes that year.
Almirola continued his winning ways driving late models again the next season. He won seven races and earned 11 pole positions that year. Those impressive statistics caught the eye of the owners of Morgan-Dollar Motorsports, who chose him to pilot the team's NASCAR Camping World Truck Series ride in four races. Almirola finished inside the top 10 twice.
Almirola moved to the NASCAR Nationwide Series in 2006 and earned his first career Nationwide Series pole at The Milwaukee Mile. The Tampa, Fla., native remained in the Nationwide Series in 2007 and was credited with his first win at The Milwaukee Mile after qualifying and starting a car entered for Denny Hamlin, who flew in from a Sprint Cup Series event and replaced him midway through the event. That shared victory helped open doors to NASCAR's premiere series when Dale Earnhardt, Inc. inked Almirola to a part-time Cup Series deal in 2008. Almirola drove sporadically in the Cup Series and Nationwide Series the following two years.
In 2010, Almirola found himself racing full time in the truck series for Billy Ballew Motorsports, earning two wins and finishing second in the championship point standings. In addition, Almirola piloted a Nationwide car for JR Motorsports in seven events before signing on to race full time with the team in 2011. Last season, Almirola drove to seven top-five and 18 top-10 efforts in addition to one pole position en route to a fourth-place finish in the standings.
Joining Richard Petty Motorsports in January to drive the legendary No. 43 Ford, Almirola will make his way back to the Cup Series ranks in 2012 and take his first shot at a full-time ride in the series. Paired with veteran Crew Chief Greg Erwin, 2012 stands to be Almirola's best season yet.
Greg Erwin
NO. 43 CREW CHIEF
Like many of those involved in motorsports, Greg Erwin has his father, in part, to thank for his career in racing.
While Erwin was still in high school, his father purchased his first oval track race car. Erwin worked on his father’s team until he left for college at Clemson University, but returned to his hometown of Hatboro, Pa. during the summers to continue to help out. Graduating in 1992 with an engineering degree, he returned for graduate school in 1993 via a motorsports engineering scholorship. Through the program, which was funded in part by Ford, he continued to work with teams in racing.
Erwin was offered a position with Diamond Ridge Motorsports in 1995. His first official foray in NASCAR, he worked as an engineer, but left that team to join Team SABCO at the end of that same year. Months after he joined SABCO, the operation expanded from one team to three and Erwin was tapped as the sole engineer for all three entries. He remained with that organization, which became Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates, until the end of the 2002 season.
Erwin joined Richard Childress Racing in the beginning of 2003 and went to work on the research and development team. He stayed at RCR through the end of the 2004 campaign.
The Pennsylvania-native was offered his first job as a crew chief in May 2005. Working with Robbie Gordon, Erwin was able to lead the team to one Top-five and two Top-10 finishes that season. Even better results came in 2006. Able to qualify for every race, Erwin and Gordon put together one Top-five and three Top-10 efforts that year.
When the call came from Roush Fenway Racing in May of 2007 offering Erwin the crew chief position for the No. 16 team, he jumped at the chance to move to one of NASCAR’s powerhouse teams. Working with Greg Biffle, the pair won their first race together at Kansas Speedway in September and went on to post four Top-five and nine Top-10 finishes together en route to a 14th-place finish in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series point standings.
2008 proved to be an amazing year for the No. 16 team. With Erwin calling the shots, Greg Biffle made his way to victory lane on two occasions and earned twelve Top-five and 17 Top-10 finishes. Erwin led the team to a third-place finish in the points battle.
During his tenure at Roush Fenway Racing with driver Greg Biffle, Erwin amassed a grand total of five victories, 36 Top-five and 66 Top-10 efforts. The pair made the Chase for the Championship three consecutive seasons.
After leaving RFR in July of 2011, Erwin was asked to join Richard Petty Motorsports to take over the crew chief role for the iconic No. 43 Ford Fusion and driver AJ Allmendinger. After joining forces with Allmendinger midway through the season, Erwin led the No. 43 team to six Top-10 and 11 Top-15 finishes, including four consecutive Top-15 efforts to close out the season. Erwin and Allmendinger barely missed making the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Chase for the Championship and finished inside the Top-15 in the driver point standings for the first time in Allmendinger’s Cup Series career.
Erwin is married to wife Susan and they have three children: Curtis, Kimberly and Colin. The family lives in Mooresville, North Carolina.
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