GEM and Petty Holdings announced their merger on January 9, agreeing in principle to form a Sprint Cup organization in 2009.

The new team is co-owned by Petty as well as Petty Holdings, owned by majority shareholder Boston Ventures, and GEM, co-owned by George Gillett, Jr. and Ray Evernham.

"This begins the next great chapter for the Petty name in NASCAR," Petty said. "It was very important to us, not only to see the Petty name out on the racetrack, but also to be competitive and get all of our cars back into victory lane and competing for Sprint Cup Series championships on a regular basis."

The team will field three full-time Dodge entries during the 2009 Sprint Cup Series season, with Kasey Kahne driving the No.9, Elliott Sadler piloting the No.19 and Reed Sorenson in the No.43.

A.J. Allmendinger will drive the team's No.44 car in a limited schedule this year. Allmendinger is scheduled to compete in the first five races of the season. The No.44 replaces the No.10, which had been a part of GEM's three-car stable.

Dale Jarrett and David Reutimann drove the No.44 for Michael Waltrip Racing from 2007-08.

Petty Enterprises, founded by family patriarch Lee Petty in 1949, has been NASCAR's most-famed racing organization, winning 10 Cup championships and a record 268 races. However, a Petty car has not been in Victory Lane since John Andretti won in 1999 at Martinsville, VA.

The team will use the GEM race shops in Statesville, NC and engine shop in Concord, NC.