STATESVILLE, N.C. -- Richard Petty Motorsports and Yates Racing on Thursday announced they have signed a letter of intent to merge operations in time for the 2010 season. The four-car team will race Fords under the Richard Petty Motorsports banner.

Paul Menard will transfer to the Petty team, joining Kasey Kahne, Elliott Sadler and A.J. Allmendinger. Sources have confirmed that Reed Sorenson, currently the driver of Petty's famed No. 43, will not be back with the team next year.

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I've won races with Ford and plan to again.

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Richard Petty

"This is a pretty big deal for us. We're thrilled to partner with Ford," Petty said. "We've talked with a lot of folks, but in the end it came down to the success the Gilletts and I think we can achieve with Ford Racing.

"Right now this deal is real new. There are lots of details still left to be ironed out so we don't have a lot of answers for anyone right now. We'll be working on all that in the coming days, weeks and months, but we do intend to have everything in place before the start of next season. I've won races with Ford and plan to again."

Petty claimed nine of his record 200 victories in a Ford in 1969, the only year he drove the brand. Kahne started out with Yates Racing, driving Fords in the Nationwide Series. After a full Nationwide season for Akins Motorsports in 2003, Kahne signed to drive Dodges in the Cup Series for Ray Evernham, who in 2007 sold majority ownership of his team to George Gillett.

"You know what I like -- we have really good cars, but I feel like we need to make some gains engine-wise," Kahne said. "And Roush-Yates engines are really good, but they can make some gains car-wise. Between all of us working together, we can make some big gains for next year."

Yates Racing, which is already in the Ford camp, and Roush Fenway Racing have an engine partnership (Roush-Yates Engines) that will accrue to the benefit of the new organization.

"Richard and Kasey showed us Sunday night in Atlanta that they like winning quite a bit and Ford is going to provide the support that we need to go to Victory Lane more often," said managing partner Foster Gillett, son of George Gillett.

"If you are going to compete with the other teams in this sport you need a lot of support. We bring a lot to this relationship, as well. We've won twice this season and the power of Richard Petty is hard to beat, plus we have the support of some of the biggest names in corporate America."

Petty Enterprises was the most successful team in NASCAR history owning 268 Cup victories since 1949. Gillett Evernham Motorsports had recorded 15 victories and has consistently been one of the top performing teams in NASCAR.

Richard Petty Motorsports formed in January when Petty Holdings and Gillett Evernham Motorsports merged. The new team fields its four cars out of shops in Statesville, N.C., and has visited Victory Lane twice in 2009.

"I am very pleased that Richard Petty Motorsports has made the decision to switch to Ford for the 2010 season," said Brian Wolfe, director of Ford North America Motorsports. "They had choices to consider other than Ford and it's gratifying to us that they have enough faith in the Ford Motor Co. and what we're doing to make the switch. We believe we can provide them with superior analytical tools and powertrain, and we will work with them closely on the technical front to help them become even more competitive than they are.

"What's also really cool to me is the chance to have someone with the class and the legacy of Richard Petty involved with Ford. Combine that with the chance to work with the Gillett family, who we have great respect for, and add some great drivers to the Ford camp, well, it's hard not to be excited about this opportunity."

Yates Racing, formerly known as Robert Yates Racing, owns 57 wins and nearly 50 poles as well as a Sprint Cup Championship in more than 20 years of racing. The team is owned by Doug Yates and Max Jones, who jointly took the reins after Doug's father, Robert Yates, retired following the 2007 season.

"This is certainly a great opportunity for both Yates Racing as well as Ford Racing. I have had a long-term relationship with Ford and look forward to continuing that relationship at Richard Petty Motorsports," Jones said. "Over the coming weeks we will continue to work with Ford and Richard Petty to lay out the best plan for Paul Menard and all of the employees at Yates Racing. We will continue to field both the No. 98 and No. 96 Ford Fusions for the remainder of the season and look forward to continued success on the track with Paul, Bobby Labonte and Erik Darnell."

"This plan is clearly in the best interest of the Ford Racing community," Doug Yates said. "On a personal level, I am excited about the opportunity to focus my full energy on building Ford horsepower. We look forward to working with Richard Petty Motorsports to produce power second to none. There are many details to be worked out with Richard Petty Motorsports and as we finalize those details we will keep everyone informed."

Sorenson, in his first year at RPM, has one top-10 in 25 starts. His status with the organization had been in question before.

"I've kind of known for a few weeks now that I'm looking for a job next year," Sorenson told Dave Moody on Sirius NASCAR Radio. "I thought this was going to be a place where I could get with a team and start a long future but obviously that hasn't worked out.

"It's not a good time to be looking for a ride, especially a good one. The one good thing I have is that I am young and I'm going to work my butt off the rest of this year to try and find a job and just keep doing the best I can. That's all you can do."

• Audio: King moving to Ford | Petty, Yates merging

The Sporting News Wire Service contributed to this report.