A wild week of rumors has circulated around the future of Bubba Wallace—and the team he currently drives for, Richard Petty Motorsports. With the team a hot property, luminaries such as Denny Hamlin, Michael Jordan, Cam Newton, and Kurt Busch have all been linked in one way or another to investing in RPM.
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| A past crowd at Daytona, many of whom may become investors in RPM |
“Right now we’re looking at every option for 2021–I have an offer on the table from Chip Ganassi, but I hope to stay here at RPM”, Wallace said earlier today. “Whether outside investment comes from Denny Hamlin, Michael Jordan, Nick Foles, or Michael Andretti, a new influx of cash would be just what we need to go from being three years away from contending to being two and a half years away from contending.”
“Michael is currently not engaged with any plans to invest in any Nascar team”, a spokesman for Michael Jordan said yesterday in a prepared statement. “Michael values his relationship with Denny Hamlin but is not involved in any motorsports ownership endeavors with any Jordan Brand athletes, from Mookie Betts to Neymar.”
Hamlin was much less definitive in his denial.
“Am I working on my future? Yes. Could that future involve buying into a race team with someone like Aaron Judge, Dario Saric, or Fernando Alonso? Perhaps. The only thing for sure about Denny Hamlin is that nothing’s for sure.”
The mid-level RPM team has been rumored to switch to Toyota as a condition of new investment from Hamlin, Jordan, Matt Kenseth, or Jaromir Jagr. Such a change is just one in an already active “Silly Season”.
“Who knows what the future holds for Nascar in 2021”, Wallace said in a follow up interview. “Does Erik Jones go to Hendrick Motorsports? Does Clint Bowyer move to the booth? Do I get Brandon Jones as a teammate with additional investment from Patrick Mahomes and Tony Pedregon? Nobody knows for sure.”
The RPM team is currently primarily owned by investor Andrew Murstein with minority stakes held by Richard Petty, Bubba Wallace, and possibly by Christian Fittipaldi, Cal Ripken Jr, or John Cena.