Richard Petty Motorsports with Empire Racing Group has partnered to form an alliance for ERG’s current driver development program for the 2016 season. Empire will field one limited late model stock car and one late model stock car this weekend at Caraway Speedway for the 51st Season Opener Sunday March 6th at 2:30pm.
Driver line-up for this race will be Thad Moffitt and Dylan Martin. Moffitt, a 15-year-old native from Randolph County will sport ERG’s No. 46 Ford Mustang in his first-ever limited late model stock car race. Moffitt, is the son of Brian and Rebecca Moffitt and the grandson of Richard Petty. The ERG car will adorn the same style as it has appeared on the historic Richard Petty Motorsports race car. This will be the first partnership in the late model stock car series for Richard Petty Motorsports. The car will run the iconic colors of RPM with Transportation Impact and Jacob Construction, Design, and Technology as the main sponsors.
The second of the two late model stock cars will be driven by Dylan Martin. Martin will be at the wheel of ERG’s No. 82 Ford Mustang in the Whelen All-American series race at Caraway on Sunday. Dylan started racing Midgets around the age of 10 and has a very strong passion for becoming the next best race car driver ever. He had tried different sports but nothing felt quite right. Racing is where he is most comfortable. Dylan realized very quickly in his racing career that the only way to find success was to surround himself with a hardworking knowledgeable team and that he did. The 18-year-old will run his first-ever late model stock car race on Sunday in the 150 lap race. The car will run Blackwater as the main sponsor.
The team will be led by Empire Racing Group Crew Chief Michael Cheek. The 2016 season will be the 20th anniversary of Cheek’s first run with the No. 43 truck. After leading the team as crew chief for driver Rich Bickle as part of the Petty Enterprises stable, the Petty family and Cheek will once again team up to put the truck on track.
“I am excited to once again partner with Richard Petty and his organization for the 2016 race season,” said Cheek. “Together, we have the opportunity to put great drivers in this truck and keep our machine at the front of the field. We have a lot of great things planned for this season, and we’re excited to see where this program will take both race teams.”
