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RPM co-owner lauds Busch's talent
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Lee Spencer
Lee Spencer is the senior NASCAR writer for FOXSports.com. She has provided award-winning coverage of auto racing over the last 15 years. Spencer has lent her expertise to both television and radio and is a regular contributor to SiriusXM Radio and the Performance Racing Network.
Could Richard Petty Motorsports be interested in former NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Kurt Busch?
RPM currently fields cars for AJ Allmendinger and Marcos Ambrose. On Tuesday, the Sirius Speedway radio show reported that RPM was considering Busch for the No. 43 Ford currently driven by Allmendinger.
RPM co-owner Andy Murstein considers Busch "a great talent" and believes the former Penske Racing driver "will find a home sooner than later."
"Kurt's issues are far less severe than what other athletes have done in other sports," Murstein told FOXSports.com Tuesday. "Those athletes have all received second chances and Kurt will too. He wasn't caught running a dog-fighting ring, he wasn't caught with a handgun in a club, he wasn't using performance-enhancing drugs, and unlike his brother he wasn't even letting his temper get the best of him to cause a wreck.
"I think he is a great competitor who just needs to take a step back and clear his head. Perhaps someone as well-respected, talented, and universally loved like the King could help him accomplish that."
Murstein did not directly address a potential move by Busch. RPM has yet to sign Best Buy for the 2012 season. The company did not immediately respond to a FOXSports.com request for comment.
Busch won NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Infineon Raceway and Dover International Speedway in 2011 and finished 11th in the points standings. Earlier in the season, Busch led the points standings and entered the Chase for the Sprint Cup eighth.
He rose to third in points following his Dover Chase win, but his No. 22 Penske Racing team started to unravel as rumors of crew chief Steve Addington leaving at season's end began to surface. In the final three races, Busch ran out of fuel twice and a broken driveshaft knocked him out of contention two laps into the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Busch mutually parted ways with Penske Racing following the Champion's Week celebration in in Las Vegas. A formal announcement was released last Monday.
On a related note, crew chief Greg Erwin has re-signed with RPM. Erwin joined the No. 43 team prior to the Brickyard 400 in July and led Allmendinger to a career-high 15th-place finish in the points standings.
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Comments (86) Add A Comment
Good drivers are at a premium and Petty will snag Kurt before someone else does.
JKINDELRAY
Total Comments (15536)
Interesting
pondscum
Total Comments (5682)
good morning
Happy Bowties
pondscum
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Just read another report that much stronger indicates they want this person to drive the #43 in place of Dinger. Thats too bad for dinger, really. Hopefully, if bumped, he can land a good ride again.
Will Bestbuy react favorably? Not sure, but it's all about camera time, and Dinger loses that bout to a Busch for sure. Would Bestbuy feel misrepresented by a brash, mouthy driver? Nope, fits the employee profile to a degree.
pondscum
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Robby Loomis to Sirius XM: "I would mortgage my house to make Kurt a part of this team," Loomis told Sirius XM. "We value what he has done on the racetrack. He has won a (Sprint Cup) championship (in 2004) and worked for a first-class operation like Penske Racing. Guys like that don't come along every day."
pondscum
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Sounds like Dinger's days are numbered. But Petty is pretty much Roush's 5th and 6th cars so I wonder if Jack would scuttle the deal because of past experience.
Raistwalker
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not to be picky but who's the 4th one now that the #6 is sunset for the season? new rumor I haven't heard? 6 is back? Not intending to be "corrective", just wondering if I missed something.
pondscum
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Also read Bestbuy isnt happy with Dinger drawing
pondscum
Total Comments (5682)
Was reading on Jayski ... RPM running a 3rd Team, maybe ... and Jack has the #6 available for Rent ... so maybe #43 Kurt, #9 Ambrose, #19 A J ...
or like I said on T&R ... would Penske want A J over Ragan ??
... 29 days to figure it out b/4, Preseason Thunder Test Days at Daytona on Jan 12,
... Nova
~ Brown Deer ~, WI
Total Comments (3633)
the 4th ... #21 Wood Brothers with under contact to Jack, Trevor Bayne ??
... Family b/4 RPM ;-)
... Nova
~ Brown Deer ~, WI
Total Comments (3633)
Well Petty would be upgraded to 4th and 5th. I was half going by last year, and half forgetting the #6 team's demise.
Raistwalker
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does Kurt replace A J in the #43,
.. then does A J 15th in points replace Ambrose 19th in points, in the #9 ...
and Ambrose is on the Outside looking for a ride?
... Nova
~ Brown Deer ~, WI
Total Comments (3633)
Doubtful of that. Ambrose is a Ford guy ever since his days racing Downunder. Yeah he drove a Toyoda his first three years in Cup but now he's back with the Blue Ovals, and I have a feeling at the very least Ford would try to get him another Ford ride.
Raistwalker
Total Comments (2064)
AH.. forgot the#21!
pondscum
Total Comments (5682)
The Wallabe has a bigger fan base than the dinger, ergo, more loyalty to the brands on his hood and fenders.
pondscum
Total Comments (5682)
My thoughts exactly
JKINDELRAY
Total Comments (15536)
I think a lot of that is because no matter what happens in a race he always has a smile. Even when he lost at Sonoma because of his own mistake he climbed from the car grinning.
Raistwalker
Total Comments (2064)
A few days ago, a few folks had Kurt selling hot dogs. I am not a Kurt Busch fan by any means but I do like any driver that can drive a car or sell tee shirts.
JKINDELRAY
Total Comments (15536)
I don't think anyone seriously thought Kurt would miss any races next season, or be driving a S&P team. But him going to Petty would be a surprise. I wouldn't think Petty would be willing to deal with Kurt's attitude.
Raistwalker
Total Comments (2064)
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