NASCAR Cup Series

GEM has merger agreement with Petty

Published Jan. 9, 2009 6:20 a.m. ET

foxsports

Richard Petty's famed No. 43 Dodge was rescued from near ruin Thursday when Gillett Evernham Motorsports agreed to merge with Petty's slumping organization to create a new team.

GEM had been in exclusive negotiations with Petty Enterprises to combine the two teams into one four-car organization, and an agreement in principle was announced Thursday. The deal is not expected to be closed until the end of the month.

FOXSports.com's Lee Spencer first reported this deal on Dec. 30.