NASCAR: Is a Richard Petty-Andretti Autosport-Honda alliance still possible?

Is an alliance between Richard Petty Motorsports and Andretti Autosport that would bring Honda to the NASCAR Cup Series still possible?

There have been all kinds of rumors regarding Richard Petty Motorsports throughout the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series season, as it is not a secret that they are in need of additional funding.

One such rumor stemmed from a Facebook post published by former Richard Petty Motorsports driver Mike Wallace back in mid-May.

In this post, the 60-year-old Fenton, Missouri native stated that Honda would be entering the Cup Series as the fourth manufacturer alongside Chevrolet, Ford and Toyota and that they would be doing so via a partnership with Richard Petty Motorsports, currently a one-car Chevrolet team, and IndyCar team Andretti Autosport.

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He stated that nobody from outside NASCAR is in a better position to bring Honda to stock car racing than team owner Michael Andretti, and that claim is true.

After switching to Chevrolet engines for the 2012 and 2013 IndyCar seasons upon Chevrolet’s re-entry to IndyCar, Andretti Autosport switched back to Honda engines for the 2014 season, and they have been aligned with Honda ever since.

In fact, in late July, they signed a multi-year contract extension to continue this partnership.

Additionally, Andretti Autosport and Richard Petty Motorsports formed an alliance to field a Honda-powered car for John Andretti in the 94th and 95th runnings of the Indianapolis 500 back in 2010 and 2011, so this rumor made even more sense.

There has long been talk about a fourth manufacturer, perhaps even a fifth, coming to NASCAR in the near future, and president Steve Phelps has even stated that he is “confident” it will happen, although not before 2021.

On the surface, the Petty-Andretti-Honda rumor looks like just another rumor at this point, as nothing has come of it over the last few months.

However, it remains possible, and there is definitely more backing to this rumor than simply the idea that a former NASCAR driver says it’s true.

Back in late May, Sports Business Journal’s Adam Stern reported that NASCAR executives, including Phelps himself and executive vice president and chief racing development officer Steve O’Donnell, were seen spending time in the Honda hauler during the weekend of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Here we are a few months later, and nothing has been said since.

That said, Andretti Autosport’s focus is clearly on their IndyCar team right, and justifiably so. Alexander Rossi is currently in the championship hunt and they have been rumored to add a fifth full-time car, support a sixth full-time car through Andretti Technologies and perhaps even field a seventh car for the Indy 500.

With the possibility of Honda entering NASCAR not existing for the 2020 season, the idea of putting this on hold for now makes sense, especially given Andretti Autosport’s current situation. Phelps also stated that adding a new manufacturer involves quite a lengthy process, so it’s entirely possible that it hasn’t been put on hold but has simply been kept private.

Given the mysteriousness and the “unknown” elements of Stern’s tweet and the context of this rumor, don’t rule it out.

Will Andretti Autosport form a partnership with Richard Petty Motorsports to bring Honda to the NASCAR Cup Series as the fourth (or perhaps fifth) manufacturer in the near future? Stay tuned.