It didn’t matter that Gillett Evernham Motorsports fired him, Elliott Sadler never doubted he was wanted. However, the Emporia native didn’t exactly exude confidence days after receiving his pink slip. First, he protested. Then, he threatened to file a breach of contract lawsuit, alleging he was unfairly yanked from the No. 19 Dodge he had driven the past 2½ seasons.

Joe Gibbs will race Friday in Virginia. Gibbs, a NASCAR car owner and Hall of Fame National Football League coach, isn’t fielding a car for somebody else this time. He will drive in a 20-lap Arena Racing match race against Norm Miller, chairman of Dallas-based Interstate Batteries, a longtime sponsor of Gibbs’ Sprint Cup operation. The event is part of Friday’s racing card at the Hampton Coliseum. Races start at 7:30 p.m. Arena Racing USA founder Ricky Dennis said the two match racers will be available to sign autographs before the race.

CONCORD, N.C.—Earnhardt Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates will move longtime sponsor Target from its driverless No. 41 entry to Juan Pablo Montoya’s No. 42. The shift signals that the recently merged team—which had hoped to run four cars in the NASCAR Sprint Cup series—may race only two cars for the full season. Additional layoffs could be possible for the team.

CONCORD, N.C.—Richard Petty’s race team has been absorbed in a merger, but Petty’s name and the car number he made famous are still around. The new team created by the merger of Petty Enterprises with Gillett Evernham Motorsports has been renamed Richard Petty Motorsports (RPM), capitalizing on the seven-time champion’s marketability.

Emporia’s Elliott Sadler will remain in the No. 19 Dodge of Gillett Evernham Motorsports. The announcement came yesterday, nearly two weeks after Sadler had been dropped by GEM in favor of A.J. Allmendinger. Sadler, who hasn’t won a Sprint Cup event since 2004, had threatened to file suit against the organization for breach of contract.

CHARLOTTE, N.C.—Petty Enterprises has reached a merger agreement with Gillett Evernham Motorsports, creating a four-car stock car racing team that will ensure the Petty racing team’s storied No. 43 competes in NASCAR Sprint Cup events in 2009. However, the merger marks the end of the Petty team as a stand-alone operation. Several sources have indicated many of the struggling team’s remaining employees will be laid off at the completion of the merger.

Elliott Sadler had hoped to jumpstart his career when midway through the 2006 Sprint Cup season he switched from Robert Yates Racing to Evernham Motorsports. With the exception of a handful of competitive efforts on the superspeedways at Daytona and Talladega, the Emporia native performed below expectations.

NEW YORK—Petty Enterprises is in discussions to merge its storied franchise with Gillett Evernham Motorsports, The Associated Press has learned. Multiple people familiar with the talks told the AP Thursday that the two teams were discussing a deal that would merge Petty’s famed No. 43 Dodge with GEM to become a four-car operation. They requested anonymity because the negotiations are ongoing.

MOORESVILLE, N.C.—NASCAR team owner Ray Evernham has bought a small North Carolina dirt track to preserve what he said is a disappearing venue for nourishing up-and-coming drivers. Evernham announced Tuesday that he acquired the East Lincoln Speedway in Stanley from Ralph and Joanne Nantz, who opened the 3/8-mile dirt track in 1990. The sale price was not disclosed.