On Wednesday, Richard Petty Motorsports finally announced that Bubba Wallace would drive the No. 43. Despite ups and downs and a snag in sponsorship, it's what everyone expected.
Now, Adam Stern of the Sports Business Journal has provided some clues the signal another significant announcement is on the horizon. It seems that RPM -- possibly with the help of NASCAR -- has attracted new sponsors to the sport.
Moffitt says @RPMotorsports has lined up a sponsor/sponsors for the team in '18 that are new to the sport of #NASCAR. Not announcing today.
— Adam Stern (@A_S12) October 25, 2017
While Wallace's signing is groundbreaking,. adding new sponsors to a sport that has been struggling to find them is indeed significant. If it turns out that NASCAR has a hand it it, it could signal opportunities for other drivers as well, most notably, Danica Patrick, which NASCAR is also trying to help.
Moffitt says RPM has been mining relationships from agencies to past partners as well as the sanctioning body to try to secure sponsorship. pic.twitter.com/3ubrAEc1hy
— Adam Stern (@A_S12) October 25, 2017
Odds and ends on the Wallace signing
There were some other odds and end from the Wallace announcement. His contract is for multiple years, though the number of years is unknown.
And, RPM President Brian Moffitt -- who earlier compared Wallace to former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick (both \unemployed at the time of this comments) went back to the sports comparison well and this time evoked the name of baseball Hall of Famer Hank Aaron.
.@RPMotorsports majority owner Andrew Murstein: "@BubbaWallace has the potential to be a transformational athlete and to break barriers." pic.twitter.com/nWqk0xbEkP
— Adam Stern (@A_S12) October 25, 2017