The King and The Team
Richard Petty
Birth Date: July 2, 1937
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 180 lbs.
Hometown: Level Cross, N.C.
Wife: Lynda Owens Petty
Children: Kyle Sharon Lisa Rebecca
Known
to many simply as "The King," Richard Petty is the most decorated
driver in the history of NASCAR racing, winning a record number 200
career victories and seven NASCAR Nextel Cup championships in his
illustrious career. One would think that after 1,184 races spanning
three decades that "The King" would bow out and retire quietly. Petty,
however, had other things on his mind. Today Petty is as busy as ever
mainly overseeing the operation of Richard Petty Motorsports.
Kasey
Kahne's victory at Infineon Raceway on June 21 ensured a Petty has
visited a NASCAR victory lane in the 1940s, 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s and
2000s.
In 1996, Petty proved that 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 the Phoenix (Ariz.) International Raceway.
Petty won, again in 1997 with Hamilton, and in 1999 with driver John
Andretti. The 2006 season saw Petty once again rise to the top.
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. Wearing his signature cowboy hat and
sunglasses one can always see Petty signing an autograph or giving a
helping hand. In fact, Petty was instrumental in the development of the
Victory Junction Gang Camp, a camp for chronically ill children, after
donating acres of his land that the camp sits on today.
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 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, which is slated to open in May of
2010.
Armed
with a new manufacturer in Ford for the 2010 season, Richard and his team look
to take the next step of restoring the Petty name atop the NASCAR world.
AJ Allmendinger
Birthday: December 16, 1981
Hometown: Los Gatos, Calif.
Current Residence: Mooresville, N.C.
Career Highlights:
Six top-10 finishes (2009)
Sprint Showdown Winner (2008)
Third-place finish in Daytona 500 (2009)
11 Top-15 finishes (2008)
Two top-15 finishes in two NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts (2006)
Five races, one pole and two podium finishes in Champ Car World Series (2006)
Second-place finish in 2006 Rolex 24-Hour race (2006)
One pole and four podium finishes in Champ Car World Series (2005)
Two podium finishes and Champ Car World Series "Rookie of the Year" (2004)
Toyota Atlantic Champion (2003)
Barber Dodge Pro Series Champion (2002)
AJ Allmendinger got his first taste for speed in his home state of
California, a place synonymous for spitting out fast racers in
four-wheeled disciplines. His dad raced midget and sprint cars, so a
life behind the wheel was inevitable. "Almost from birth, I've been at
the track every weekend," Allmendinger explains. "I loved racing, and I
grew to be part of it. It's a passion."
Allmendinger delivered
blistering drives early on in his racing career, earning two
International Karting Federation Grand National championships. In 2000,
his performance in the Champ Car Stars of Tomorrow program earned a
Champ Car test with Team Rahal. Then Allmendinger won the Barber Champ
Car Karting Scholarship to participate in the 2001 Formula Dodge
National Championship Series. He finished as vice-champion for the
season and immediately ascended to the 2002 Barber Dodge Pro Series -
claiming six race wins, Rookie-of-the-Year honors, and the
championship.
The youngster's talent was reconfirmed in 2003 in
the Toyota Atlantic series. In his greenhorn year, he shattered track
records and logged eight poles and eight victories en route to the
championship title. The 21-year old captured the Atlantic series record
for most wins in a single season by a rookie, and became the
second-youngest driver ever to win the championship.
In 2004,
AJ graduated into the big leagues - the Champ Car World Series -
earning five top-five finishes including two podiums and rookie of the
year honors. His 2005 season was again marked by standout performances
including six top-five finishes, four of which were podiums. After a
mid-year Champ Car shakeup in 2006, Allmendinger made his new team
regulars in victory lane, amassing five season wins and a runner-up
position for the series' championship.
Rumors of AJ's
flirtation with the NASCAR world ran rampant mid-season of 2006. By
October, Allmendinger had announced a two-race stint in the NASCAR
Truck Series. His stellar performance prompted an invitation to join
Team Red Bull's 2007 NASCAR Sprint Cup effort, and ended with
Allmendinger signing on the dotted line to race the No. 84.
After
two years behind the wheel of the No. 84, Allmendinger joined Richard
Petty Motorsports driving the No. 10 Dodge for the final five races of
the 2008 season. In the brief time together, AJ turned in some
impressive performances. He scored the 14th most points of any driver
in those races. Allmendinger continued his success in NASCAR's top
series in 2009 with Richard Petty Motorsports. He and crew chief Mike
Shiplett collected one top-five and six top-10 finishes.
In
the final three races of the season, Ford Racing came aboard the No. 43
with AJ as pilot. In an impressive run, Allmendinger scored two top-10
finishes at Texas Motor Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway, and a
13th-place finish at Phoenix International Raceway.
In 2010, AJ
will join teammates Kasey Kahne, Elliott Sadler and Paul Menard from
Yates Racing as Richard Petty Motorsports makes the change to Ford
Fusions.
"After the way we ended our season last year in the No.
43 Ford Fusion, it gives both Mike (Shiplett) and I a lot to look
forward to in 2010. We have a lot of great sponsors coming aboard the
No. 43 for what we feel will be a great season. Our only goal leading
into next season is to be in the 2010 ‘Chase for NASCAR Sprint Cup.'
If we are in that group of 12 drivers in September and can challenge
for the 2010 Championship, then we'll say it was a successful season."
Mike Shiplett
Birthdate: May 17, 1972
Birthplace: Amherst, OH
Resides: Denver, NC
No matter what Richard Petty Motorsports' Mike Shiplett faces in 2009, he knows he can handle it after surviving all the challenges posed by the 2008 season.
He began his first -year as crew chief of the No. 10 (Now No. 43) Dodge in the 2008 with a car ranked outside the top 35 in owner points, a rookie driver, young team and forced to qualify for every race on speed. But the Ohio native used his more than 20 years of racing experience to turn the Richard Petty Motorsports team into a top-15 competitor over the final five races of the season and secure a top 35 position going in to Daytona.
Shiplett assisted the team in qualifying for 31 of the 36 races in the 2008 season. The team concluded the year with a pole at New Hampshire Motor Speedway -the 10 car's first pole in two years - led 11 laps and had four top 15 finishes. They also had three top five and five top 10 starting spots on the year.
Shiplett came to the team in 2000. Prior to that, he began racing on his own at Lorain Speedway and Sandusky Speedway around his hometown of Amherst, Ohio, when he was only 15 years old. He maintained and raced his own late model while also helping Jack St. Clair with an American Speed Association (ASA) team in 1990-91.
In 1995, Mike Shiplett stopped driving his own car fulltime and took a job with Liberty Racing out of Ohio. Liberty fielded a NASCAR Craftsman
Truck Series team and Shiplett worked there with drivers Butch Miller and Kenny Irwin from 1995 to 1998.
In 1998, Shiplett made the move to North Carolina to be in the heart of stock car racing country. There he took his first car chief position with Butch Mock Racing.
In 2000, the team was preparing for its first season of NASCAR competition and Shiplett jumped at the chance to be associated with the up-and-coming Dodge team. He moved over from Ultra to work with Kenny Francis in building the No. 19 Dodge Team.
"Ray had everything in place for us to be able to do our best work," Shiplett said. "Even before we were a three-car Cup operation I saw the big picture. I knew where Ray wanted the company to be. He has structured it in such a way that it allows people to do what they're best at."
Since his move to Evernham Motorsports, Shiplett has served as car director on the No. 9 and 19 Dodge Chargers. After enjoying a highly successful 2006 Nextel Cup season with driver, Kasey Kahne that included six wins, Shiplett was tabbed to sit on top of the pit box in 2007, as crew chief for the No. 9 Dodge in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. He was promoted to
crew chief of the No. 10 Dodge in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in the end of 2007.
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