Bubba Wallace to Chip Ganassi Racing? UPDATE: RPM offering partial ownership?

UPDATE 2: Sports Business Journal’s Adam Stern reports that the team is close to adding another new sponsor and that the ownership stake offered to Bubba Wallace is in the 10-20% range.

UPDATE 8-2-2020: David Smith, writing in Forbes, says Richard Petty Motorsports has offered Bubba Wallace partial ownership of the team and part of the offer for him to return next season:

Bubba Wallace’s whirlwind 2020 NASCAR season may result in partial ownership of the team for which he drives.

Richard Petty Motorsports team owner Andrew Murstein confirmed to Forbes SportsMoney that the organization offered an ownership stake to Wallace, whose current contract with RPM expires at the conclusion of this season.

“We’re in discussions with him about an extension that includes ownership in the team,” said Murstein, who expects an agreement to be finalized “within the next couple of weeks.”

Wallace’s increased presence in the public eye over the last two months, which included national TV appearances after he drove a car adorned with “Black Lives Matter” on June 10 at Martinsville Speedway, attracted a new team sponsor in Cash App — a multimillion-dollar partnership across three years, per Murstein — and a personal endorsement deal with Beats by Dre.

“We went from probably having one meeting a week with a potential sponsor to five the last five weeks or so,” said Murstein. “I think Bubba is probably the most recognizable NASCAR driver now, other than Richard Petty. So, we’ve got probably the two most recognizable names in the sport. It’s a marketer’s dream.”

Forbes

AND:

ORIGINAL POST 7-31-2020: Sports Business Journal’s Adam Stern reports that one possible location for Bubba Wallace next season is Chip Ganassi Racing.

When Matt Kenseth was announced at the replacement for Kyle Larson in the #42 there was no indication of the length of his commitment to the team, but it has been widely speculated that his deal was only for the remainder of this season.

Richard Petty Motorsports is still interested in keeping Wallace next season.

Want to see how the 2021 season is shaping up (so far)?  Check out the 2021 team/driver chart.