The deal between Richard Petty Motorsports and Yates Racing already has cost one top official his job. Richard Petty, the minority owner of RPM, said on Saturday that Mark McArdle, the vice president and managing director of competition at RPM, was fired on Friday after a heated confrontation with team co-owner George Gillett Jr. at Richmond International Raceway. Petty would not speculate on how many others in the engine and chassis department might lose jobs if RPM uses Roush-Yates engines and Roush Fenway chassis as planned. Petty said RPM is moving from Dodge to Ford because Dodge could not offer financial support for 2010 and beyond. Yates already has a financial commitment for two Ford teams, and Petty hopes that will increase once the economy is restored.(ESPN.com)(9-13-2009)
UPDATE: Richard Petty Motorsports today announced the departure of Mark McArdle, the team’s vice-president and managing director of competition. “The company and Mark have decided to go in different directions. It was an amicable departure and we are finalizing some details with him,” said Rick Russell, team president. “We appreciate all of Mark’s many contributions and wish him well in all future endeavors he may pursue.” McArdle said his departure comes after achieving his goal of restoring the team to championship contention. “We have all worked really hard to get Richard Petty Motorsports back in the Chase and we accomplished that goal Saturday night,” McArdle said. “Everyone at the team should take great pride in that. I wish the company nothing but success in the future. There will be nobody rooting harder for the #9 to win the championship than me.”(RPM)(9-17-2009)
