AJ Allmendinger will drive the No. 44 Dodge in the Budweiser Shootout, the first eight races of the 2009 Sprint Cup season and in the July race at Daytona, Richard Petty Motorsports announced Wednesday.
The team said it is trying to put together sponsorship for Allmendinger to race the entire 2009-10 seasons. Allmendinger's contract is for one year, with a team option for 2010.
"This is pretty awesome news for me," Allmendinger said. "I just want to get behind the wheel of a racecar and race. We have a lot of work to do on the track and need to sell some sponsorship, but this team has great equipment, and I think there is a lot of chemistry here based on how we did at the end of last season."
Richard Petty Motorsports was formed after the alliance between Gillett Evernham Motorsports and Petty Enterprises. Allmendinger drove five races in Gillett Evernham's No. 10 Dodge last year, posting a best finish of 11th at Homestead.
Sammy Johns will serve as Allmendinger's crew chief. Allmendinger joins Kasey Kahne, Elliott Sadler and Reed Sorenson as drivers for RPM.
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