UPDATE: Jenna Fryer of the Associated Press has talked to Andretti’s race team and they deny any truth to the rumor that Mike Wallace tossed out via Facebook on Thursday.
Fryer Tweeted: Regarding the many rumors on future of @RPMotorsports, I have chased down the bizarre one involving a merger and Honda and an #IndyCar team and @FollowAndretti says this rumor is not true. There have been rumors about RPM since the offseason. They need money. That’s not a secret.
So, like the rumors on Wednesday about RPM, this appears to be false. But it would be so intriguing if somehow it were correct.
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Alright, as if the screwy rumors about Richard Petty Motorsports on Wednesday weren’t enough, there is a new one that has been brought to the stage on Thursday and it comes from a NASCAR insider — longtime racer Mike Wallace.
Wallace posted the following message on his personal Facebook page on Thursday:
“Petty-Andretti Motorsports coming to NASCAR with Honda cars and funding. Not a much better way for Honda Motor Co. to enter NASCAR with two iconic names to be the spokesman for there team Richard Petty and Michael Andretti. Michael Andretti is the best positioned team outside of NASCAR to bring Honda into Stock Car Racing and with former NASCAR crew chief and NASCAR Executive Robin Pemberton already employed at Andretti. Sounds like it’s all done but the announcement.”
It is a fascinating rumor — especially if it ends up becoming true, but Wallace was also the same guy who said he was working on running a full-time Cup Series schedule for 2019, and we see how that panned out.
It’s particularly interesting that Wallace threw out this rumor, because back in 2010 and 2011 Petty and Andretti did team up to run a car in the Indy 500 with John Andretti behind the wheel. John also ran for Petty Enterprises for a long time in the Cup Series.
How wild would it be if this time it happened but in NASCAR?
