Petty Motorsports swaps crew chiefs

With both of its cars out of the Chase for the Sprint Cup, Richard Petty Motorsports will shake up its driver-crew chief lineup for the rest of the season.

Mike Ford and his crew will move from Aric Almirola’s No. 43 team to Marcos Ambrose’s No. 9. Todd Parrott and his crew will work with Almirola for the rest of the season. Ambrose is 15th in the Cup standings while Almirola is 22nd heading into the final 10 races. It will be the second crew-chief change for Almirola, who started the year with Greg Erwin before Ford joined the team in April.

The change, the latest among many recent changes within the two teams, is effective immediately.

"We're continuing to make improvements at Richard Petty Motorsports and we've added talented people to our organization this season," RPM director of competition Sammy Johns said in a statement. "This move is to make sure that we are using that talent to the fullest to get the best results for our teams each weekend.

“We feel this adjustment will strengthen the organization, allow us to continue to compete for wins and ultimately challenge for championships."

Neither Ambrose nor Almirola is under contract for 2013 as RPM still needs to determine whether it will continue to race Fords. Both drivers have said they want to remain with the organization.