Richard Petty Motorsports Hires Trent Owens as Crew Chief

Richard Petty Motorsports (RPM) announced today the hiring of one of the sports most talented crew chiefs in the NASCAR garage. Trent Owens has been assigned as the leader of Aric Almirola and the No. 43 Ford team beginning immediately. Owens has made his name known in the NASCAR Nationwide Series over the past seven years as a crew chief at both Braun Racing and Turner Scott Motorsports. The 38-year-old is a five-time winner on the Nationwide circuit with five different drivers. This will be Owens first full-time opportunity to be a crew chief at the Sprint Cup level.

The North Carolina native comes to RPM most recently from Turner Scott Motorsports where this past season he was the crew chief for rookie sensation Kyle Larson. Owens led Larson to 17 top-10 and nine top-five finishes that culminated in an eighth-place finish in his first year in the Nationwide Series. Owens also made the calls when Larson won his first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races earlier this year. In his Nationwide Series career with both veteran drivers and rookies, Owens has amassed 129 top-10 and 57 top-10 finishes in just under 250 races. Sammy Johns, Vice President of Competition and Race Operations at RPM believe that Owens will be a great match for Almirola.

"Trent is one of the very talented people with a lot of crew chief experience, but is still relatively young," said Johns. "He has proven his results in the Nationwide Series with different teams, drivers and in different situations. Trent is hungry; he's aggressive and has proven he brings fast race cars each week. I believe he is ready to lead a Sprint Cup Series team and I'm happy to have him join Richard Petty Motorsports to lead the No. 43 team."

Owens will work with Almirola who is preparing to begin his third season with RPM. Almirola also believes that Owens is a great hire for the team.

"I have known Trent for a while," said Almirola. "When I competed in the Nationwide Series, we raced against him every week. He's a very talented crew chief who has accomplished a lot, but he's still very hungry to do a lot more. Our team is the same. We're getting better, but we need more top -10's, top-fives and wins. I believe Trent can help us do that and he's a positive addition to the team."

The No. 43 team finished the season with six top-10 finishes and one top-five. The team also tallied four consecutive top-10 finishes early in the season putting them in contention for a Chase position. Owens hopes he can help move the team into the Chase this upcoming season.

"This is a great opportunity to join a Sprint Cup organization and a race team that can win," said Owens. "The No. 43 team has proven they can race up front. We just need to find a little more consistency to make the Chase. I believe we can put ourselves in contention for a Chase spot in 2014."