Watt, who worked at Gillett Evernham Motorsports (now Richard Petty Motorsports) starting in 2007 and was director of performance engineering prior to the merger with Yates Racing at the end of last season, has an extensive racing background in IndyCar racing and sports cars.
“He’s ready for this level,” Gordon said. “He’s been here since the new year. We started talking back in November about this position. Let’s let the results speak for themselves.”
As for formalizing Gordon’s 2010 NASCAR plans, the exact number of races has yet to be determined. It was announced early this year that RGM will have an alliance with BAM Racing. Gordon and David Gilliland will drive cars prepared by RGM for the Daytona 500.
“We’re going to run as many races as we can run,” Gordon said. “We started discussions with BAM in late October, early November. David’s racing for BAM at Daytona. We’ll drive virtually two identical cars.”
I don't see what Ian brings to the table that DR didn't. In the last 3 years RPM was not a ball of fire on the track and both Richard and Kyle Petty knew there were problems with the COT's that they were running. The only thing I can think of is that RG maybe looking to branch out into Indy or into Rolex / Petite LeMans.
As even blind squirrels find nuts, let's hope RG and DG get top 10's at Daytona!