Photo Credit: Gary Buchanan
Richard Petty Motorsports announced today changes to their competition department to improve on-track performance effective immediately.
Philippe Lopez and Scott McDougall will temporarily oversee all competition duties and roles previously held by Sammy Johns both at the track and at the race shop.
The changes are part of RPM’s strategy to improve speed, performance, and future growth of the organization. The goal is to continue to improve upon the performance level in 2016 with an eye to the future.
“The past several years, we have made significant investments in our organization with the goal of winning races and to compete at a high level on a weekly basis,” said Brian Moffitt, Chief Executive Officer, Richard Petty Motorsports. “We now have direction over our own chassis and bodies and work closely with Ford Performance on technology and engineering. With these investments, unfortunately, we have not seen the on-track results that we expected this season.
“As we look ahead to 2017, we are taking steps forward to improve our on-track product to better serve our partners and fans. This means analyzing every part of our organization and making adjustments where needed. Sammy Johns has been a big part of our organization; he helped us succeed in many different ways and helped us become a winning race team. We wish him nothing but the best going forward.”
RPM has seen success on the track in recent seasons. Aric Almirola and the No. 43 Ford Fusion had their most consistent season together and highest average finish to date in 2015. They were also a race winning team in 2014 and competed in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.
Richard Petty Motorsports has continued to grow partnerships with primary sponsors such as: Smithfield Foods, Albertson’s Companies, Shore Lodge, U.S. Air Force, Twisted Tea, STP, Fresh From Florida and Jacob Companies.
“Our partners have seen success and believe in our mission,” continued Moffitt. “They share in our commitment to see Aric and Brian competing at a higher level each weekend.”
