INDIANAPOLIS -- Richard Petty recalls accepting an invitation from fellow legend A.J. Foyt in 1965 to come check out an open-wheel car.

The seemingly fateful visit would convince Petty that his place in the racing world was back at Level Cross, N.C. He was comfortable underneath a stock car running his family's race team.

Nevertheless, he was curious and entertained Foyt's gesture.

"Foyt tried to get me in a car and I couldn't get in the thing," recalled Petty, a seven-time NASCAR champion who announced he will field an entry for John Andretti in this year's Indianapolis 500.

"He said, 'Why don't you get in that car over there?' ... In the meantime he goes to his locker and gets out these shoes -- size 7. He says the only way your feet will fit down in there is if they're no bigger than a size 7, you know to hit the clutch and the break. I said, 'No way! These are 11-and-a-half-size shoes,'" Petty said as he lifted his black cowboy boot in the air. "I knew right quick I couldn't do it."

That was that and Petty's career never crossed over like Foyt's or Mario Andretti. Both have victories in NASCAR's Daytona 500 and the Indianapolis 500.

"You got to figure that we were in the stock cars, and we owned our own cars," Petty said. "We didn't have big sponsors and stuff. That was our business. So I never ventured out to run Indy. I always kept up with what was going on."

Fast-forward 44 years to the present day -- and post-merger between Petty Enterprises and Gillett Evernham Motorsports. Through a string of events, you'll find Petty near -- although not inside -- another open-wheel car, at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where he formally announced a partnership between his Richard Petty Motorsports and Dreyer & Reinbold Racing to field a car in May's Indy 500 sporting the famous No. 43 on the wing.

The pairing with John Andretti is not a surprise. He drove for Petty Enterprises in the late 1990s and recorded Petty's last Cup victory, at Martinsville in 1999.

For years, John Andretti, nephew of Mario Andretti and godson to Foyt, prodded Petty to field a car in the Indianapolis 500. However, he couldn't even get the King to come to a race until just last year.

"It was the first time I'd ever been here at the 500," Petty said. "I remember as a kid growing up listening to it on the radio while under a stock car getting ready for the weekend."

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We are vested in what's going on, OK? Because it's not just a publicity stunt. We're up here; we're serious with this deal.

”

RICHARD PETTY

Much to his surprise, the race was everything he expected and more. Petty was completely taken by all the pageantry.

"You see all the hullabaloo that goes on to begin with, all the people wandering up and down pit road, singing Back Home in Indiana, all that. A lot of times you build things up, and once you go to them you're kind of disappointed because maybe you set your standard too high for that event. But this one covered everything that I ever thought about. So I think I got kind of caught up in it. That was one of John's initial deals. He figured if he could get me here, get me all excited in what I seen, then maybe he could talk me into being involved. Basically that's what happened."

And with a little Southern charm from a sponsor in North Wilkesboro, N.C., Petty was sold on the arrangement.

"John approached me on this deal, then we got Window World, a bunch of North Wilkesboro boys, that made it that much more icing on the cake, I guess," Petty explained. "Then they wanted to paint it red and blue and put a big 43 on it. They just kept doing things and running at me. I finally said, 'Yeah, let's just give it a try and see.'"

Petty said he is unsure what to expect come May and is placing all the pressure on Andretti. Although, make no mistake, the King is taking the opportunity seriously. His stock-car boys back at the shop are cheering him on and partner George Gillett Jr. welcomes the brand exposure for Richard Petty Motorsports.

"From that standpoint, we are vested in what's going on, OK? I'll put it that way," Petty said. "Because it's not just a publicity stunt like I told you [before]. We're up here; we're serious with this deal. We've got a good car. We've got a good crew that's capable of doing what we need to do with it. It's going to be up to John now."

That said, Petty has agreed to split time between North Carolina and Indianapolis during the month of May.

"I will definitely be up [in Indianapolis] for qualifying day," he said. "I'd like to spend another couple days up here, according to what my schedule is."

And that will include race day, May 24, the same day as NASCAR's Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

"You know, I told them a while ago, according to how good John's doing, if he's leading, I ain't leaving, OK? I guess I really come to see the race. I come to be involved with our car, [the] Richard Petty Motorsports car," Petty said.

Just don't expect to see him on a pit box.

"I'm going to tell you, I'm not doing too good a job with my stock cars, so I don't think they're looking for my expertise in the Indy Cars," he said.

NASCAR Today
• John Andretti on how he convinced the King to enter the No. 43 in Indy 500