NASCAR Cup Series

GMS Racing officially purchases majority interest of Richard Petty Motorsports

Published Dec. 2, 2021 2:09 p.m. ET

By Bob Pockrass
FOX Sports NASCAR Writer

GMS Racing announced Wednesday that team owner Maury Gallagher had bought a majority interest of Richard Petty Motorsports in a move that was of no surprise to industry insiders.

The question was not if Richard Petty Motorsports would be bought out but when.

Medallion Financial Corp., run by Andrew Murstein, has been the primary owner of the team since 2011, and the team is operated under a subsidiary, RPAC Racing.

Murstein told investors in August that the company likely would divest of RPAC but wouldn't do so until the price was right. It appears that now was the time, as the value of charters has reportedly risen more than $10 million this year, and RPAC owned two of them.

"Richard Petty Motorsports has agreed to sell a majority interest to Maury Gallagher, owner of GMS Racing," the joint statement of the two teams said. "Two charters are included in the agreement and will be operated during the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season. This is a special moment for both organizations, as the Next Gen car allows a new chapter to be written."

Because it sells publicly traded stock and RPAC is a significant investment, Medallion Financial provides some basic financial information in filings to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Gallagher, the founder of Allegiant Airlines, paid $19.1 million to buy out all of Medallion’s shares in the company (the Pettys, through a trust, own a small portion of the team) and also now assumes the more than $8 million in debts that the company carries — most of it owed to a trust controlled by Petty.

The public documents show a race team that has had ups and downs financially but also carries debt. Medallion reported that RPAC had $2.316 million in net income in 2019 and $2.651 million in net income in 2020, and it had lost $2.148 million through Sept. 30, 2021.

In its Nov. 8 report, Medallion listed RPAC’s total assets as $30.969 million but also noted that it had total borrowings of $8.054 million. It has a loan from a trust controlled by Richard Petty of $7.442 million in principle, at 2% annual. It also pays Petty $700,000 annually for services provided to the team; it's safe to assume that is for appearances and for the team to carry his name.

The Petty name is what continues to lure investors, as it is synonymous with stock-car racing and can help generate sponsorship, especially when it comes to closing a deal.

That likely is what attracted Gallagher to the purchase, as well as the two charters controlled by RPM: the No. 43 car that was driven by Erik Jones last year and the No. 51 that was fielded by Rick Ware Racing as part of a deal with RPM. Rick Ware had said he wanted to cut back the number of cars he fields in 2022, and this cuts at least one from his stable.

Gallagher, who has had success as a team owner in the Camping World Truck Series, already announced plans to field a car for Ty Dillon, whether it had a charter or not. The Dillon car now has a charter, which guarantees a base amount of revenue during the year, as well as a spot in every race.

The team has a news conference set for Tuesday to announce more details, but it would be safe to expect that Jones will remain with the team under the RPM banner. Dillon would run under the RPM banner or the GMS banner; the team had announced its number as 94, and whether that changes with this deal is unclear. How the sale impacts any sponsorship deals previously announced for Jones also is unclear.

Mike Beam, who oversees GMS Racing on a day-to-day basis, most likely will run the entire operation, with Petty CEO Brian Moffitt having a leadership role, especially when it comes to the No. 43 car that is the Petty legacy. The deal should not impact GMS Racing’s plans to field at least two trucks next season, as they already announced Jack Wood and Grant Enfinger as the drivers.

Gallagher wasn’t the only bidder for the team. Spire Motorsports was exploring the deal (potentially in partnership with Kaulig Racing, given that there were two charters involved) but moved on and likely will get a charter for its second car from Rick Ware Racing. There also was a private equity firm looking to invest in NASCAR and run the team.

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Thinking out loud

Todd Gilliland will make the jump from trucks to Cup, bypassing the Xfinity Series as he takes over the Front Row Motorsports No. 38 Cup car next season.

It is a big jump, but Gilliland might be at least slightly more prepared than others who might try such a move. With four years in trucks, including struggles and frustrations amid criticism from team owner Kyle Busch for a couple of seasons, Gilliland knows how to deal with the ups and downs.

A heralded prospect five years ago, Gilliland has shown flashes of potential, and it is no surprise that he would get a chance at the Cup level. It is, however, a surprise that four years in trucks would be the path, especially with no finish higher than seventh in the standings.

Gilliland's 9.5 average finish this year ranked him second among full-time drivers in the series, just behind champion Ben Rhodes and just ahead of John Hunter Nemechek

The good thing is he has a multiyear deal with Front Row, and that hopefully will give him time to learn and not feel pressure to perform immediately.

Next Up: Next Gen

NASCAR will bring Next Gen cars to a wind tunnel Friday to gather some data on potential changes to help the cars pass more efficiently on the intermediate tracks. NASCAR will then have one car from each manufacturer test Dec. 10 on the Charlotte oval.

The following week, NASCAR will conduct another organizational test (1-2 cars per organization) Dec. 15 and Dec. 17 on the Charlotte oval, allowing one day between so they can analyze data and make any changes for the second day of testing.

The Phoenix test originally scheduled for mid-December has been moved to Jan. 25-26 in place of a test at Las Vegas. The Jan. 11-12 test at Daytona remains as scheduled.

Social spotlight

They said it

"I’m sure it’s going to be an eye-opening experience, to say the least, but I’m just really excited and really looking forward to all of it." — Todd Gilliland on making the jump from trucks to Cup

Bob Pockrass has spent decades covering motorsports, including the past 30 Daytona 500s. He joined FOX Sports in 2019 following stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @bobpockrass. Looking for more NASCAR content? Sign up for the FOX Sports NASCAR Newsletter with Bob Pockrass!