In partnership with Richard Petty Motorsports (RPM), Empire Racing Group (ERG) will enter Thad Moffitt in Saturday’s ARCA Music City 200 presented by the Azure Foundation at the storied Fairgrounds Speedway in Nashville, Tennessee. Moffitt, the grandson of “The King” Richard Petty, will make his first start in the national touring series.
Moffitt will drive the No. 46 Petty Blue Ford with primary sponsorship from Transportation Impact and associate sponsorship from Hostetler Ranch, Performance Plus, Jacob Construction, Design and Technology- all partners of Moffitt throughout his young career. Moffitt, the 2016 Southeast Limited Late Model Champion, has been racing a NASCAR late model with ERG this year. Before last Saturday’s race at Myrtle Beach (S.C.) Speedway, Moffitt spent time in Nashville testing the ARCA car. After the test, the Petty family and ERG Crew Chief Mike Cheek felt that Moffitt was ready for this weekend’s race.
“Thad has a lot of passion to follow in the footsteps of his family,” said Cheek. “He has won a championship in a limited late model and in just a few races in a NASCAR late model, he has shown his talents. He did well during the ARCA test, and no matter the result, this will be great experience at a young age.”
Moffitt is a 16-year-old native from Trinity, N.C. and is the son of Brian and Rebecca Petty-Moffitt. He started racing a go-kart and a quarter midget before moving to a limited late model and late model. A high school sophomore, Moffitt grew up going to the track with his grandfather and watching his uncle Kyle and cousin Adam race. He also understands the business side of racing, learning daily from his father, Brian, who leads Richard Petty Motorsports as the CEO. His passion is being behind the wheel and carrying on the family tradition.
“I love racing, being at the track and just learning and trying to get better each race,” said Moffitt. “The ERG team has been great and I’ve had a lot of fun with them in the late model. They have a good ARCA program and I really wanted to make my debut in this series. A lot of great drivers have raced in ARCA, and Uncle Kyle and Adam have both won in this series. It makes me really want to follow in their footsteps. But, this is a learning process, too. I’m excited and ready, but I have a lot to learn. I just want to stay out of trouble and have a good race for everyone who supports me such as Transportation Impact, Jacob Companies, Performance Plus and Hostetler Ranch. We can’t do it without them.”
Saturday’s race will be televised live on MAVTV beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET.
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