It had been speculated for some time that RPM would switch makes, due in part to the financial difficulties of its current make, Dodge.

The newly formed team will run under the current RPM banner with Paul Menard joining RPM, and teammates Kasey Kahne, Elliott Sadler, and AJ Allmendinger. No word on what will become of Reed Sorenson, current driver of RPM’s No. 43 Dodge. Earlier this season, he was rumored to be out at RPM.

For the remainer of this season, Yates Racing will continue to field a Ford for Hall of Fame Racing’s No. 96, driven by Bobby Labonte and Erik Darnell.

Richard Petty said:

Right now this deal is real new. There are lots of details still left to be ironed out so we don’t have a lot of answers for anyone right now. We’ll be working on all that in the coming days, weeks and months, but we do intend to have everything in place before the start of next season.

Max Jones, of Yates Racing, said:

On a personal level, I am excited about the opportunity to focus my full energy on building Ford horsepower. We look forward to working with Richard Petty Motorsports to produce power second to none. There are many details to be worked out with Richard Petty Motorsports and as we finalize those details we will keep everyone informed. 

This news appears to all but solidify Jamie McMurray’s departure from Roush Fenway Racing, as many thought he might be headed to Yates Racing, which has an alliance with RFR. At last check, RFR was seeking sponsorship to keep McMurray with Yates. But, this new merger would put Yates at NASCAR’s four-team limit.

McMurray could end up piloting Earnhardt Ganassi Racing’s No. 1 Chevy next season, as that’s one of the few rides available. He’s been connect to this ride, but nothing official has been said.

Also, Salder has been rumored to be headed over to Richard Childress Racing or JTG Racing next season, which could mean that Sorenson sticks with the team and Menard takes Salder’s spot.

The switch is expected to be made after this weekend’s Aaron’s 499 at Talladega Superspeedway.

Todd Berrier will move from the No. 29, where he served as Harvick’s crew chief for five years, to Mears and the No. 07.

Gil Martin will move to Harvick’s team. Martin was the crew chief for Clint Bowyer where he made two consecutive Chase appearances.

One of the reasons Mears never performed up to expectations at Hendrick Motorsports was that he never established a relationship with a crew chief because they were bounced around to and from his team.

I hope that’s not happening at RCR. I hope he gets in a season or two with Berrier to see what this kid actually has got.

Labonte To Get New Crew Chief

Yates Racing is also giving Hall Of Fame Racing driver Bobby Labonte a new crew cheif.

Ben Leslie, former crew cheif of Yates’ No. 28 and driver Travis Kvapil, is moving over to the team.

The No. 28 team was performing pretty well, before having to close its doors due to lack of sponsorship.

Current crew cheif Todd Parrott will move to another role within the organization, working with all Yates teams.

Labonte said:

I’m looking forward to working with Ben. He’s done a lot with Ford Racing specifically and I like that he has experience with many Champion drivers. I’m excited to see what we will do together on the track in the next few weeks.

Also, a crew cheif swap was discussed at Hendrick Motorsports.

I guess spring is the season of change.

If that happens, Martin Truex Jr could leave the team because he has a clause in his contract stating that he must have two teammates, or he can leave the team.

Add to that, the fact that Bass Pro Shops has a performance clause in its contract, and with Truex 28th in points, the sponsorship could be in jeopardy.

Chevy can also change its support, if EGR does not field three teams.

There’s a rumor circulating in the garage that Truex could replace Joey Logano in Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 20 Home Depot Toyota.

JGR President JD Gibbs said:

Joey’s our guy. We haven’t had any conversations with anyone. We’d like to have someone in line by summer time, but you have to sit down, look at what partner is available, what driver is available and who would be a good fit for the team. We had Hall of Fame [Racing's No. 96] last year and we don’t have it now. So we have room for a fourth team. We’d love to have it.

JGR plans on running a fourth car later this season, the No. 02 Farm Bureau Insurance Toyota for three races later this season.

If Truex were to leave EGR, Bass Pro Shops could leave, too. It could land on Stewart Haas Racing’s No. 39, filling out some races later in the season.

Richard “Slugger” Labbe will serve as crew chief for Gilliland. Labbe served as crew cheif for Michael Waltrip at Dale Earnhardt Inc, and won two races at Daytona there. He also was a crew chief at Red Bull Racing.

TRG Motorsports’ Kevin Buckler said:

We are determined to put the right pieces in place to be successful. David has the most experience in the COT car of any driver available. Slugger gives us a lot of experience working with the COT car. We were short a few pieces at Daytona, but I believe we have put the right people together to have a successful weekend in California.

Gilliland lost his ride at Yates Racing when Paul Menard joined the team, and Bobby Labonte and Hall Of Fame Racing formed an alliance with the team. The team was not able to find sponsorship for Gilliland.

The retailer will also sponsor the car at the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway, the Pep Boys Auto 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, and the Amp Energy 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.

HOF Racing, in addition to signing Labonte, recently formed an alliance with Yates Racing, and has secured sponsorship from Ask.com.

The team intends to field three cars this season, and, for those of you counting, the addition of Labonte and Paul Menard, who will drive the no. 98 Menards Ford, that leaves Gilliland and Travis Kvapil vying for that last ride.

Most expect Kvapil to be back next season, leaving Gilliland without a ride.

Gilliland said:

I haven’t actually had a sit-down with them, but I’m still under contract with them through 2009. So we’re just going to have to work through it, and hopefully, we can get something else going. It’s just kind of a bummer that it’s this late in the [offseason], you know? We’ll just have to see what we can come up with and see what we can try and do.

The team will be sponsored by Ask.com.

Following his release from Petty Enterprises, Labonte was rumored to be going to Earnhardt Ganassi Racing in the No. 41 sponsored by Target, or, more recently, the No. 8 Chevy. No word on who will drive that car, now that Labonte is out of the picture.

Labonte said of joining HOF Racing:

I’m excited to be part of what Ask.com is bringing to our sport. In a time like this, it’s great to see a sponsor come in with technology and ideas that will help all of the competitors in NASCAR and enhance the experience for all of our fans, no matter which driver or team they cheer for.

HOF Racing co-owner Tom Garfinkle said:

Jeff Moorad and I are excited to add Ask.com as a primary sponsor on the No. 96 car. We’ve been working closely with Ask.com for several weeks now, and their talented management team has come up with more creative ideas to serve NASCAR fans than I’ve seen in a long time. With our new Yates [Racing] partnership and having a true champion and class person in Bobby Labonte behind the wheel, we’re expecting great things on the race track as well.

Separately, Ask.com also entered an agreement to become the official search engine of NASCAR, meaning Ask.com has category exclusivity and a broad set of promotional rights.

Under the agreement, Ask.com will exclusively power the search experience on NASCAR.com.
 
Ask.com CEO Jim Safka said:

Through these partnerships, we will break new ground by applying our semantic search technology capabilities to NASCAR-related content while also tapping one of the largest marketing channels in America. Our goal is to win over the millions of loyal fans by providing them with the best NASCAR search experience on the Web, and introduce them to all of Ask’s capabilities when they come.

The two teams announced that they will be aligning, and that HOF Racing would be moving to Yates Racing’s shop.

So, if true, you can pretty much throw out whether or not Labonte would be a good fit for Earnhardt Ganassi Racing. Labonte’s name has been linked to EGR’s No. 8 and No. 41 since he was released from Petty Enterprises.

The agreement keeps both sets of co-owners in tact.

Max Jones, co-owner and GM of Yates, said:

This partnership with Hall of Fame is a great stepping stone for the Yates organization. Through this partnership, we are able to continue the expansion of our shop and field another Sprint Cup entry.  We, along with Ford Racing, welcome Hall of Fame Racing and look forward to a very successful season.

Tom Garfinkel, co-owner of HOF Racing, said:

Jeff Moorad and I knew it would take time to construct the right model to improve our competitive position in the sport and we think we’ve come a long way to achieving that through our association with Yates Racing. We’re proud to be associated with Doug [Yates] and Max and Ford Racing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

The alliance between the two teams means that HOF will change from Toyota to Ford. Thus far, no driver has been named.