Yet another new chapter for Petty Racing?

Hard to believe it's almost 3PM CT / 4PM ET and no one has posted this rumor yet. Tim Leeming may peg enough RPMs with this rumor that his head may explode.

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http://www.motorsport.com/nascar-cup/news/will-goodyear-s-new-tire-pay-off-at-kansas-speedway/

Richard Petty Motorsports considering move to Toyota? Was that the King meeting with representatives from [Toyota] at Richmond? According to multiple sources, Richard Petty Motorsports [#9-Ambrose & #43-Almirola] is contemplating leaving Ford when its contract expires at the end of this year. One sticking point, however, could be engines. TRD currently has the capability to provide eight teams with engines. Although there are only three teams from Joe Gibbs Racing and three from Michael Waltrip Racing exercising that option, who's to say that either of those operations isn't considering expansion in the future. Without TRD engines, a partnership with Toyota isn't nearly as attractive. After having your cars powered by Roush Yates engines, Triad would certainly be a step down.

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Pretty sure Ambrose's deal with RPM expires this year. He is pretty well tied to Ford and has been rumored to return to Australia to run a team down there with Penske. Not sure legitimacy - but rumor would align well with this one.

With Dodge out of the picture that I really enjoyed seeing as a kid and out of the picture for me as a consumer of today's vehicles, I guess car brands mean nothing to me anymore in racing. 43 means everything though.

RPM seems to be going nowhere with Roush. Penske is on a roll. Roush seems flat. And customers RPM and the Wood Brothers seem to be slipping. I once thought RPM could move back to GM and align with RCR, but that seems impractical now.

Week in and week out, those Toyota engines seem to crank more HP and now durability than others.

I have my doubts this will happen but stranger things have. One thought that entered my mind is whether RPM could keep its current location next to Roush. Jack would be none too happy to have a lost customer just outside his front door. If so, where could RPM go in the near term? How about .... MWR's megaplex in Mooresville. Ha. Hey, just thinking out loud here folks.

That vibration I felt heading this way out of Columbia, SC was too great to be measured on even the LES Richter scale.

After a little research, looks like the Petty camp would be ok so long as they didn't use any car numbers on their Toyota fleet beginning with 4, such as #43, #42, #41, #40, #44, #45, etc.

Already starting to see photos of the new Petty Blue & Red Toyota pit crew uniforms posted....

Outstanding

The thought just occurred to me that there is a current Cup driver with experience winning in Japan -

And there is certainly a precedent for a red & blue vehicle with a Japanese connection -

And remember this, back in 1996, even before the Twin Ring adventures? In one respect the Japanese road courses were just like going to Riverside. You couldn't see anything because of the awful smog.

Of this you can be assured: I will NOT, under any circumstances, pull for any of that Jap Crap. If Richard Petty Motorsports goes that route, I will not continue to hold out the sentimental hope that the number 43 will return to Victory Lane. Sorry, Richard, after 1969 and the Ford deal, I learned to accept that you needed to change brands to Chevy, Pontiac, Buick, Oldsmobile and back to Ford to win races and as long as it was you doing it I was ok with it. I cannot, however, support a Petty Toyota.

I did not have such things to worry about when you were racing, Richard, because NASCAR racing in the Grand National Division was open to AMERICAN made cars. No longer is that true and of all makes to come rushing in was Toyota. From the first debut with MWR, it was cheating at Daytona. How interesting that TRD builds all racing engines for the series.

Before all the "wiser than I" blowhards want to come in an yell how some Fords are build in Mexico and Chevys are build outside the U.S., those are American Companies. The same blow hards who will claim their all knowing ability that Toyota are build in the U.S., consider this:

1. Before my Uncle Bobby died, I had to take him to a Toyota dealership to visit one of his old auto salesman friends. As he visited with his friend, I looked at all the Toyotas in the showroom, about 11 of them, and all but ONE was build in Japan.

2.Toyota set up shop in areas where they could obtain cheap labor without having to deal with Unions.

3. Using the famous NASCAR quote, "at the end of the day", the profits from sales end up in Japan.

While I realize that Toyotas build here add to employment and the tax base of some locales, with concessions given to the manufacturer, how much more is lost by such things.

Yes, I know I'm beating a silent drum which only I hear, but I will continue to beat that drum for me. NASCAR racing is, or at least was, my sport. Japan is a country with a history of atrocities throughout history. Some things I am not willing to forget.

That's my say on this subject. I will NOT cheer for a Toyota and I will NOT cheer for Danica Patrick. So there.

Guys, I was a Petty fan too, growing up; I was convinced the sun rose and set over Level Cross. I remember how devastating it was in '69 when Richard switched to Ford, and how a bad situation became even worse when Richard won the first race of the year at Riverside. See, it wasPlymouth by Petty.Ford by Petty just didn't get it. Besides, the insiders were all convinced that Riverside car was actually one from Holman-Moody, supplied for the sole purpose of making the Petty/Ford coming-out party as successful as possible. True or not, it did soften the blow.

But that was a long time ago, the entire world has changed and, somehow, perhaps, inexplicably, the top-of-the-mountain Petty's got left in the shuffle. The NASCAR/monopoly board game, is now the sole possession of HMS. Sure every now and then, somebody else wins..........but all the big stuff: drivers, races, sponsors, championships, is won by Mr. H. Sadly, it won't make any difference where RPM winds up, Toyota, GM, Ford, even if Dodge returns, it won't change the status-quo. It is, what it is.