Petty GMS celebrates Southern 500 win but more work to do

DARLINGTON, S.C. — The plan was for GMS Racing to run select Cup races when the series moved to the Next Gen car.

That changed when team owner Maury Gallagher completed a deal with Richard Petty Motorsports nine months ago to form Petty GMS Motorsports and go full-time Cup racing with two teams.

Sunday night, Petty GMS Motorsports won its first Cup race.

Erik Jones’ victory in the Southern 500, though, isn’t the end of a journey, but a step for an organization already looking to next season.

“This month and October, decisions we make on people are going to affect how we race next (February), March and April,” Mike Beam, president of Petty GMS Motorsports, told NBC Sports after leaving Victory Lane.

Beam, 67, and team owner Maury Gallagher, 72, seek to build a winner quickly.

The organization has come far in a short time. Gallagher, who owned a successful Truck Series team, had considered moving to Cup previously.

He had looked at the BK Racing charter when it was available in bankruptcy court in 2018 but passed on it before the charter (and team’s assets) were sold for $2.08 million to Front Row Motorsports. Gallagher looked at the charter for Furniture Row Racing before Spire Motorsports purchased it in Dec. 2018. 

Each time, Gallagher didn’t see the financial benefits. With the Next Gen car, the model was better. 

He purchased majority interest in Richard Petty Motorsports last December for $19.1 million. The deal included RPM’s two charters. 

Petty GMS Motorsports continues to redefine itself in this era of Cup racing.  Joey Cohen, competition director, said the Cup program has 13 engineers among about 50 employees.

“We feel like we’re the model for what Next Gen racing is going be long term, how that looks personnel