On Friday, January 16, 2009, Petty Holdings and Gillett Evernham Motorsports (GEM) announced an agreement in principle to merge for the 2009 NASCAR season. Both sides anticipate a final agreement by the end of January. The merger brings the 43 from Petty Holdings into the GEM fold to combine with the 9, 10 and 19 teams. The 10 car is currently prepared for an eight race season unless more sponsorship is found.

The details of the merger will be released once the deal is closed, but a couple notes of interest released by GEM is that Ray Evernham will retain a minority ownership with the new team. Also, Richard Petty and Petty Holdings (majority ownership Boston Ventures) will continue to own and operate the Richard Petty Driving Experience as an independent entity. The Petty organization will also bring key employees Robbie Loomis, Dale Inman and Brian Moffitt to the new team. Previous sponsor agreements with both teams will remain intact at the new team, which will be located at the current GEM race shops in Statesville, NC and engine shop in Concord, NC.

"I want to get back to winning and together we will bring the resources, technology and infrastructure to do that," said Richard Petty, 7-time champion with 200 Cup victories.

"This was a big decision for us but it's something we really wanted to do. We hope everyone in the sport embraces what (GEM Co-owner) George (Gillett) and I are doing. Nothing is going to change for me. I'm going to be at the track every weekend and really involved with the teams and drivers back at the shop. We are very happy. George and I have a lot of work to do, but we have a plan and we'll be ready for Daytona."

"To join with Richard Petty and Petty Holdings is such an honor for me and my family," said Gillett. "Richard and I have gotten to know each other well over the last few years and both of us believe we have formed something that NASCAR fans will support. We plan to keep the Petty name in the forefront of NASCAR. We ask that all of the King's fans join with us. Our goal is to get the cowboy hat and sunglasses back in victory lane."

"A lot has changed over the years in NASCAR but success still boils down to that cat holding the steering wheel and how he conducts himself both in and out of the car," said Petty. "I really want to help these guys with their driving and their careers."

Rumor is that Reed Sorenson, who was hired by GEM at the end of 2008 to drive the 10 car will be the "cat holding the steering wheel" of the 43 sponsored by the U.S. Airforce in 2009. No official word on this has been released at this time. Petty Holdings and Bobby Labonte dissolved their contract in December and Labonte has since joined Hall of Fame Racing to drive the 96 Ford in 2009 in association with Yates Racing.

Driver of the GEM flagship team, Kasey Kahne, driver of the number 9 Budweiser Dodge, said, "This is pretty exciting stuff. I've gotten to know Richard over my five years working with Dodge and I look forward to being around him more. This is pretty awesome. The Gilletts have done a fantastic job of putting this together. I think you can see their commitment to winning. We could have kept on the same path, but they made a pretty bold statement that they are here to win."

Tom Reddin, GEM CEO said, "We now have the greatest driver of all time and champion crew chiefs partnered with the business prowess of the Gillett family. We have a rock solid foundation for the future."

David Zucker, CEP Petty Holdings said, "Petty Holdings is thrilled with this partnership. This is two organizations coming together with one objective in mind - winning."

Overall, Petty Enterprises is gone, I agree with a comment that Kyle Petty said recently at Sprint Sound & Speed event to benefit for Victory Junction Gang Camp. "Petty Enterprises, when they left Level Cross, N.C., it became just another race team, they weren't Petty Enterprises anymore. So when I look at where our sport is and my father's business is, we've not existed in the guise of Petty Enterprises for a year or more because we moved away from where we were."

When Petty Enterprises merged with Boston Ventures to form Petty Holdings things changed and the hope was that it would be for the better, but Boston Ventures couldn't bring in the sponsors any better than Petty was before the merger. Even worse, Boston Ventures couldn't hold onto the General Mills sponsorship on the 43 car, which will be on Clint Bowyer's car for Richard Childress racing in 2009.

Richard says that he'll still be at the track with the famous hat, sun glasses and trademark smile, but other than driver advice and his presence, it is unknown what kind of input "The King" will have in 2009.

As for Kyle Petty, his ride with Petty Holdings evaporated in June 2008 when he was told he didn't have a ride with Petty Holdings in 2009 and that Chad McCumbee was going to do the majority of the rest of the races in 2008. Also, the part-time ride in the 10 car for GEM seems to be in A.J. Allmendinger's hands at this point. Kyle has said that if a part-time ride is available he'd like to know about it, but, at present, none exists. Kyle is focusing on expanding the Victory Junction Gang Camp with a second location in Kansas City. Kyle did say the current economy has slowed the plans of the Kansas City camp, but they're still planning on it.