page_title: Richard Petty Motorsports
section_title: 2006–2008: No. 10 Valvoline-Evernham Racing Dodge
hierarchical_section_title: Richard Petty Motorsports / NASCAR Cup Series / Car No. 98 history / 2006–2008: No. 10 Valvoline-Evernham Racing Dodge
caption_attribution_description: Shot by "The Daredevil" at Daytona during Speedweeks 2008
context_page_description: RPAC Racing, LLC, dba Richard Petty Motorsports is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team is owned by seven-time NASCAR champion Richard Petty and New York businessman Andrew M. Murstein. The team was founded as Evernham Motorsports in 2000 by former crew chief Ray Evernham, entering full-time competition as a two-car operation in 2001 and fielding additional full-time entries in alliances with Ultra Motorsports and the Valvoline corporation. The organization was renamed Gillett Evernham Motorsports in 2007 after former Montreal Canadiens and Liverpool F.C. owner George Gillett bought a controlling interest from founder Evernham, and took on its current name after merging with Petty's team Petty Enterprises in 2009. Known for its factory backing from Dodge since its inception, the team switched to Ford in late 2009 and merged with Yates Racing for 2010. The team has the odd distinction of being the result of three successful teams merging after falling on hard times.
  After funding issues due to the Gillett family's financial woes, in November 2010, an investment group including Andrew M.
context_section_description: Scott Riggs (2006–2007)
  In 2006, the team became full-time and was renumbered as the No. 10 car, as Scott Riggs and his Valvoline sponsorship moved over from struggling MB2 Motorsports. In addition to sponsoring 22 races in 2006, Valvoline also maintained an ownership stake in the team through Senior Vice President James Rocco (like with MBV), called Valvoline-Evernham Motorsports (also written as Valvoline-Evernham Racing). The team nearly won on several occasions including Charlotte, Talladega, and Texas — where he crashed out in second place with two laps to go. He finished 18th in final standings despite missing the Daytona 500. Going into 2007 with high hopes, Evernham's performance suffered; Riggs failed to qualify for six races and had five DNF's with only one Top 10 finish all season. He was released with two races remaining in favor of former CART driver Patrick Carpentier, who had also replaced him at Watkins Glen.
  Patrick Carpentier (2007–2008)
  Carpentier, who was 36 years old at the time, became the full-time driver for 2008, part of a unique rookie class stacked with open wheel veterans all trying to emulate the success found by Juan Pablo Montoya the previous year. This included IndyCar Series Champions Dario Franchitti and Sam Hornish, Jr., and CART and Formula One champion Jacques Villeneuve, as well as DEI development drivers Regan Smith and Aric Almirola. With Valvoline taking a backseat role in 2008 and Stanley Tools moving to the No. 19 car, GEM signed LifeLock for eight races, an identity security company making a large entrance investment into NASCAR. Charter Communications and Auto Value/Bumper to Bumper also sponsored several races. Carpentier won the pole at Loudon but otherwise struggled, as did his fellow open-wheel counterparts. He had no Top 10s, missed five races — including the Daytona 500 — and was out of the Top 35 in points when he was released after Kansas. Second-year driver A. J. Allmendinger replaced Carpentier, after being released from Red Bull Racing in favor of Scott Speed. In his five races for GEM, Allmendinger was impressive, posting three Top 15s and often outrunning his teammates. Allmendinger was initially rewarded with a full-time ride in the No. 19 car, replacing Elliott Sadler. This was derailed when Sadler intended to sue the team and Allmendinger to keep his job, when Reed Sorenson was signed as a third driver, and when several sponsors threatened to leave the team in response to the recent moves.
caption: Patrick Carpentier at Daytona in 2008.
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