Almirola takes over Petty’s No. 43 ride

Aric Almirola will drive Richard Petty Motorsports’ No. 43 car in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. RPM CEO Brian Moffitt said Almirola, 27, ranked first on owner Richard Petty’s list of candidates to replace A.J. Allmendinger, who left to replace Kurt Busch in Penske Racing’s No. 22 Dodge.

Almirola drove for JR Motorsports in the Nationwide Series in 2011, finishing fourth in the standings for Dale Earnhardt Jr.’ s team (which hired Cole Whitt to replace Almirola in the No. 88 Chevrolet for 2012).

Though he hasn’t run a full season in NASCAR’S premier series, Almirola predicted Wednesday he would be a top-15 driver at RPM with a shot at making the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

“This is by far the best opportunity I’ve ever had to succeed,” Almirola said.

Last year’s primary sponsor of the No. 43 Ford, Best Buy, has taken its funding to Roush Fenway Racing. Moffitt said RPM was poised for a two-car operation and would be making sponsor announcements in the next few weeks but still had open races. RPM also has Marcos Ambrose in its two-car Cup stable. — Nate Ryan

-Nine- time champion Stephane Peterhansel moved into first place in the Dakar Rally with a victory in Wednesday’s fourth stage in Chilecito, Argentina. The French driver, racing in a Mini, completed the 202-mile special stage in 3 hours, 49 minutes, 33 seconds. Peterhansel has won the event six times on motorbikes and three times in cars. In bikes, defending champion Marc Coma of Spain won the special stage in northwestern Argentina, but the overall lead went to his KTM teammate Cyril Despres of France.