GEM Becomes RPM

Gillett Evernham Motorsports will now be known as Richard Petty Motorsports, following its recent merger with Petty Enterprises.

As part of the deal with PE, GEM agreed to keep the Petty name in the name of the new organization. Richard Petty also requested that the team use the No. 44.

The No. 44 will replace the No. 10, and will be driven by AJ Allmendinger for at least seven races.

The No. 44 will not feature sponsorship from Budweiser, which currently sponsors Kasey Kahne and the No. 9 car. It has long been a Petty tradition to not feature alcohol-related sponsors on their cars.

At the unveiling of the team’s new logo, Petty said:

We come out to let the world know we’re still in the racing business and we’re going to be bigger and better than we’ve ever been.

Busch = Legend? Ridiculous!

Why is everyone in the media so quick to compare Kyle Busch to the likes of Richard Petty, Jeff Gordon, David Pearson, Bill Elliott, Dale Earnhardt, Bobby Allison, Cale Yarborough, etc.?

Sure Busch is on one heck of a tear this season, visiting Victory Lane seven times in the Sprint Cup. He’s got 14 wins in all three major series and is on pace to win around 12 races in the Sprint Cup series alone, this season.

But, come on. To put his name in with the likes of past champions and legends is ridiculous. I’ll say it again, it’s ridiculous!

Don’t get me wrong, Busch has phenominal talent. He’s capable of winning a championship this season, and in some ways, it’s his championship to lose at this point. But, that doesn’t make the kid a legend.

How can you compare a guy in his third year to a seven-time champion? You can’t. Well, you can, but it would be absolutely ridiculous.

You know what makes legends? Being a consistent top performer, not one hot season. Now, no one knows what next season will bring, but let’s give Busch time to prove he’s a legend before we start calling him one.