When Richard Petty personally approached A.J. Allmendinger with the offer to drive the No. 43 car Petty made famous, Allmendinger said he was almost floored.

But he didn't go into shock before remembering to say yes first.

"It was like, 'Lemme think, yes!' There was no hesitation or thought process whatsoever," Allmendinger said.

Allmendinger is about to begin his second season of driving for Richard Petty Motorsports, but his first in the famed No. 43. Like the rest of the RPM drivers, he's also making the switch to a Ford this season -- having driven the No. 44 Dodge for RPM last year.

Allmendinger, who turned 28 last month, has grown close to Petty in a short time and appreciates the storied history of the number on the car he is about to drive. Petty won his record seven Cup championships while wheeling the No. 43 for what was then the family-owned Petty Enterprises.

"Just to be a part of something the King is involved in, and to have him come up and ask me to be part of it, it's just a real honor to me," Allmendinger said. "And I'm going to try to repay him by going out and working as hard as I can -- harder than I ever have -- and by trying to win as many races as possible.

"He's done so much for this sport. And just in the short time I've been around him, he's done so much for my career. The best way I can repay him is go out and win some races for him."

Allmendinger is one of several former open-wheel racers who have tried their skilled hands at NASCAR in recent years. But unlike many of the others who have come and gone, he has persevered through trying times to stick around.

He made only 17 races in 2007 while driving for Red Bull Racing, and then got pulled from the Red Bull car for a five-race spell in 2008 so he supposedly could watch and learn from veteran Mike Skinner. He did end up making 27 starts in '08, but completed only 86.2 percent of the laps in '07 and 89.5 percent of the laps he raced in '08. (Continued)