RuSPORT is sold
12/06/06 Correction: Dan Pettit will stay involved in the PKV team as well, or so he says. "I will be working with Kevin in the future to ensure the success of both teams. We look forward to building upon the championship culture and traditions that Carl Russo and the entire RuSPORT team have already established."
11/28/06 Dan Pettit has indeed bought RuSPORT and we understand he will no longer be involved in PKV Racing as this would be a conflict of interest having insight into two competing teams. We await the formal press release.
It was a long and winding road but I'm happy to report that Dan has purchased the team from Carl (Russo), we're staying in Colorado and we'll have two cars on the grid in 2007," said Jeremy Dale, who will retain his role as team president .
"It was important to keep this group together because there's a lot here that's very good and fortunately Dan recognized that. He's going to be a great fit."
"We've still got CDW as a primary sponsor and they love Justin like we do so I'm hoping we can have some more good news next week," said Dale to SPEEDTV.com
11/28/06 Have since heard that one of the possible buyers of RuSPORT is indeed Dan Pettit, but he denied that when we asked him. We are told the deal is not done yet….whoever the buyer is.
11/20/06 When the new owners of RuSPORT are announced, they will surprise you.
11/11/06 Kevin Kalkhoven told AutoRacing1.com that Carl Russo was forced to sell the RuSPORT team because of the demands on him by the investors in his Calix company. However, he tells us everything is settled with the team and the team will stay exactly as it is but with a new internal ownership structure. Jeremy Dale will still manage the team. They will field two cars next year with CDW backing for Wilson and we hear from another source that the No. 10 car will also have sponsorship. "Everything is rather boring with Champ Car right now," said Kalkhoven. Everything is fine with RuSPORT, our car count is going up, the number of races will be up, Paul Stoddart is coming, our new TV package will be really good. There is no bad news and everything is falling into place exactly as planned."
11/09/06 We hear that the team indeed could be sold and that every effort is being made to keep the 2-car team intact.
11/08/06 A reader writes, Dear AutoRacing1.com, I see where you reported that Paul Stoddart looked at RuSPORT but decided not to buy it. Is it true the team is for sale and if not Stoddart, who will buy it? Dan Bedard, Dallas, TX
Dear Dan, Yes, we hear that Stoddart has decided against buying RuSPORT because he and Carl Russo could not agree on a price and we still think he will buy into the CTE Racing HVM team as originally reported when we broke this rumor. As to who will buy RuSPORT, we are not sure whether Russo is getting out totally. We hear he may be looking for a partner because he is too busy, rather than selling outright. The only person we hear that might be looking to partner with another team is Dan Pettit, but we are not sure of the validity of that rumor. Pettit is of course also partnered with Kalkhoven at PKV Racing, and no, there has been no falling out between Pettit and Kalkhoven. Mark C.