After a lengthy process, Richard Petty Motorsports has selected NASCAR Xfinity Series regular Brian Scott as the new driver of its #9 Fords in the Sprint Cup Series, multiple sources confirmed to Motorsport.com. An official announcement of Scott’s hire is expected by the end of the week, sources said. A spokesman from RPM said the organization had no comment on the report of Scott’s hire. Scott, 27, has competed fulltime in the Xfinity Series the past six seasons, the last three with Richard Childress Racing. In 208 starts, Scott has 20 top-five and 77 top-10 finishes and won five poles. His best finish in the series standings was fourth in 2014. Scott, an Idaho native, has received sponsorship support in his NASCAR career most recently from Shore Lodge, owned by his father, Joe, who is also heir to the Albertsons enterprise. He will make his debut with the team at Homestead-Miami Speedway for the Goodyear tire test on Monday.(Motorsport)(12-9-2015)
UPDATE: Richard Petty Motorsports has scheduled a press conference for Friday morning to make a driver announcement “for 2016 and beyond”.
AND: According to Adam Stern of Sports Business Journal, the “sponsor will be Albertsons, which struck [business to business] deal with Smithfield as part of pact.”(12-10-2015)
