Petty team's McArdle fired after argument with team owner?

Richard Petty, the minority owner of RPM, told ESPN that Mark McArdle, the vice president and managing director of competition at RPM, was fired, rather than suspended, as the team stated. The suspension/dismissal occurred after a heated confrontation on Friday between McArdle and team co-owner George Gillett Jr. at Richmond International Raceway. The argument is believed to have stemmed from the team's announcement last week that it was merging with Yates Racing and switching from Dodges to Fords for 2010.

Petty declined to speculate how many other employees of the team's engine and chassis department might lose jobs if RPM uses Roush-Yates engines and Roush Fenway chassis, as planned.