XFINITY: RPM suspends No. 43 program

Richard Petty Motorsports is suspending its No. 43 Xfinity Series team due to fmissed payments by its sponsor, the team has announced.

"This is an unfortunate situation," RPM CEO Brian Moffitt said in a statement. "We make commitments to both our employees and vendors that are based on sponsor commitments, and we take those commitments seriously. We will pursue every avenue to ensure the contractual obligations between RPM and our sponsor are met. We'll take each week as it comes and do our best to get the No. 43 Ford Mustang on track as much as possible this season."

Wall Street investment firm J. Streicher was announced as a sponsor earlier this season, its first foray into NASCAR sponsorship.

Driver Jeb Burton has one top-10 finish in 11 starts this season in the Xfinity Series for RPM.

"Devastated that I won't be able to continue the season as planned and heartbroken for my team," Burton said in a statement on Twitter. "I'm grateful to RPM for their commitment to me and remain hopeful that we can work through this issue with funding and get back on track soon."

Although his Xfinity ride status has changed, it was announced Wednesday that Burton will make his season Sprint Cup debut on Sunday at Pocono, racing the No. 32 Rocky Ridge BBT Big Bad Trucks Ford for Go Fas Racing.

"I've raced twice at Pocono in the Cup Series, and twice in the Truck Series, so I know I can be competitive there and use the experience I have to bring home a good finish," he said in a team release.

Jeffrey Earnhardt, Joey Gase and Bobby Labonte have taken turns in the No. 32 this season.