and sponsor Smithfield signed for 2017, and the move allows the organization to regroup without fielding the second car it has n

Richard Petty Motorsports will downsize from two Cup cars to one for 2017, making it the fourth organization to either cut its number of cars or close after the 2016 season.Brian Scott, who brought sponsorship from Albertsons Companies as well as his familys Shore Lodge, announced his retirement last month, and RPM announced Friday that it would not field the No. 44 car next year.The charter (NASCARs licenses that guarantee spots in Sprint Cup races) from the No. 44 car has been leased to Go FAS Racing and will return to RPM for 2018, where it must either field a team with it or sell it.RPM has driver Aric Almirola and sponsor Smithfield signed for 2017, and the move allows the organization to regroup without fielding the second car it has no funding for in 2017. Almirola was 26th in the standings in 2016 while Scott was 31st.We feel that its in the best interest of our partners and for Richard Petty Motorsports to focus our resources on the No. 43 Ford Fusion and Aric in 2017, said RPM CEO Brian Moffitt, the son-in-law of team co-owner Richard Petty.A concentrated effort on one team will position us for improvement while giving us adequate time to re-establish our two-car team in 2018.Petty, the seven-time Cup champion and inaugural NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee, has been co-owner of Richard Petty Motorsports since its 2009 formation, the result of a merger with Gillett Evernham Motorsports and the closure of the historic Petty Enterprises organization.RPM then downsized to a two-car organization before the 2011 season with Andrew Murstein, the primary shareholder of Medallion Financial, heading the investment group with Petty still owning a share of the team.RPM is not the only team to have had trouble obtaining sponsorship for next season. Five full-time cars from 2016 wont run in 2017 -- RPM and Roush Fenway Racing both reduced their operations by one car, while the two-car HScott Motorsports and single-car Tommy Baldwin Racing wont field cars at all.Furniture Row Racing and JTG Daugherty Racing have increased from one-car to two-car operations. Nike Air Max 97 Goedkoop . The Dane followed up his first European Tour title last weekend with eight birdies and just a single dropped shot on Thursday for a one-stroke advantage over South Africas Allan Versfeld and Portugals Ricardo Santos. Goedkoopste Nike Air Max 97 .C. -- Rodney Hood connected from all over the court while freshman Jabari Parker was busy swatting shots and scoring in transition. http://www.airmax97nederland.com/ . The defence is doing its part, too. Drew Brees threw a pair of touchdown passes in the first half and the guys on the other side made sure that was enough, sending the Saints to a 17-13 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday night. Nike Air Max 97 Kopen . Malkin got tangled up with Detroits Luke Glendening early in the third period and his left skate took the brunt of collision with the boards behind Pittsburghs net. Nike Air Max 97 Bestellen . Inter president Erick Thohir says in a club statement on Wednesday that Vidic is "one of the worlds best defenders and his qualities, international pedigree, and charisma will be an asset. TALLADEGA, Ala. -- Toyota teams entered the 2016 Chase for the Sprint Cup with a well-deserved swagger. They won 13 of the first 26 races.Martin Truex Jr. promptly won two of the three races in the first round, and all five of the Toyotas -- the four of Joe Gibbs Racing plus Truex of JGR affiliate Furniture Row Racing -- advanced easily into the second round.But entering the Hellmanns 500 this weekend at Talladega Superspeedway, none of the Toyotas have clinched a spot in the next round. Those five are among the 10 drivers fighting for six spots.Just by the numbers, they would need some good fortune in Sundays elimination race to have all five advance to the semifinal Round of 8.Truex has had the best season among them but now sits on the brink. Seventh on the Chase grid, he clinches if he finishes 12th at Talladega, but a crash or getting caught without a drafting partner could turn a four-win season into one in which the best he could finish is fifth in points.Well just go race Sunday and do the best job we can do and hopefully move on so we can take advantage of this great team we have, the race cars we have and the season weve been able to put together, Truex said.It would be a shame to lose it all here.Three of the four JGR drivers control their destiny -- Matt Kenseth (29 points ahead of the cutoff) clinches with a 28th-place finish, Kyle Busch (27 points ahead) clinches with a 26th and Carl Edwards (24 points) clinches with a 23rd.Denny Hamlin, who won the Daytona 500, is six points behind the current cutoff and would be 19 points behind the cutoff if one of the drivers on the outside looking in wins the race for an automatic bid to the next round.I feel like I can drive with the best of them and draft with the best of them -- its just a matter of so many circumstances, Hamlin said. Its very likely well be battling other teams and teammates, where my teammates are in a little bit different situation than I am.It will be a tough road ahead of us. But realistically I give myself as good a shot as anyone who has to go out here and have to win. I wouldnt bet against this team, and hopefully when we need a big result, were going to get it.With the Chase format designed for unpredictability and requiring at least a good three-race stretch if a driver doesnt win, it would be hard to expect all five Toyotas to be among the final eight. While team and manufacturer executives might love to be 5-for-5 as far as Toyottas advancing, it doesnt appear to be a focus for the drivers.ddddddddddddWe dont think of it like that [as a group], Edwards said. Its an afterthought, like, Oh, thats pretty neat.Its so competitive. Every one of us doing our own thing trying to get there. When this race is over, well all sit back and go, Oh, OK, heres what weve got [in]. Thats just kind of icing on the cake, as a group how well weve run.Even the drivers who appear to be safe know they arent. Busch had a 25-point cushion entering this race in 2014, rode in the back and got tagged by Austin Dillon while trying to slow down for a wreck in front of him.You never can have any comfort, and you do what you need to do in order to transfer through, Busch said. Its all about the racing gods when it comes to the story of Talladega.Ive been on both sides of it at Talladega in the first two years of this format. Weve had a cushion before and been wrecked out, and we were on the outside looking in last year and were able to stay out of trouble and make it through to the next round.Hamlin does expect, though, that his teammates could take a different philosophy than he will Sunday as he faces a virtual must-win situation.Fortunately and unfortunately, my teammates have to be pretty smart, Hamlin said. They are in a good points position, so they have to be smart when they race on Sunday. Im not able to do that. I have to have a little different strategy.The only drivers guaranteed a spot in the next round of the Chase are Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick, who won at Charlotte and Kansas, respectively, earlier this round.For a driver such as Truex, he could look at last season, and while he ran well, he wasnt as dominant as hes been this season. But thanks to the Chase system, he was in the mix at the season finale at Homestead. This year, the system could end up taking him out of championship contention with four races remaining.Its a what have you done for me lately sport and to a huge extreme with the Chase now with this format, Truex said. Youve got to perform every single week.Truex had issues last week at Kansas with the car fueling system. Hamlin has had pit-road miscues and an engine failure in this round.I like the position -- I like performing under pressure, Hamlin said. These situations are what makes or breaks champions. ' ' '