Richard Petty Motorsports revealed on Monday that Mike Ford will replace Greg Erwin as crew chief for Aric Almirola's number-43 team in the Sprint Cup Series. Ford will begin his crew chief duties with the team in this weekend's race at Talladega Superspeedway. The 42-year-old Morristown, Tennessee native spent the past six seasons with Joe Gibbs Racing as Denny Hamlin's crew chief on the number-11 team. He also served in the role for Bill Elliott at Evernham Motorsports and Dale Jarrett at Robert Yates Racing prior to his tenure at Gibbs. Since joining Petty's organization at the start of this season, Almirola has scored only one top-10 finish in nine races. He is currently 24th in the point standings.