Despite reports that Richard Petty Motorsports could shut down after Sundays race at Martinsville Speedway, one of the teams crew chiefs says his car is good to go. Richard ‘Slugger’Â Labbe, crew chief of the #98 Menards Ford driven by Paul Menard, said his teams cars have not been directly impacted by RPMs woes. Roush Fenway Racing, which builds RPMs cars, briefly repossessed three of RPMs four cars for next weeks race at Talladega Superspeedway. But Labbe said the #98 wasnt one of them. ‘Our cars werent affected by that,’Â Labbe said Friday morning at Martinsville. ‘Weve got our Talladega car, the engines going in it this morning. Weve got our Texas cars. Weve got all our cars for the rest of the races.’Â Labbe, who next year will move with Menard to Richard Childress Racing, said he didnt think RPM will fold before the end of the year. There have been reports that team members were told the team wouldnt race beyond Martinsville or perhaps Talladega and that some crew members had paychecks bounce. But Labbe said his paycheck cleared yesterday and hes been assured by team officials that the funds are in place to make payroll.(SPEED)(10-22-2010)
