American Nascar driver A.J. Allmendinger has secured sponsorship that will keep his Richard Petty Motorsports car in the series until at least September.

His No. 44 car will bear the corporate colours of Hunt Brothers Pizza for selected races, including events at Talladega, the Sprint All-Star Race, Chicagoland, Bristol, Atlanta and Richmond. Informed industry sources suggest the deal is worth up to US$500,000, depending on performance.

Allmendinger has struggled to attract enough sponsorship to keep his entry in the series so far this season. However Richard Petty Motorsports recently extended his deal until the end of May, an agreement that the new deal has been further extended.

The sponsor is believed to have been attracted by the 27-year old’s promising series of results in the Sprint Cup so far in 2009, most notably a third place finish at the Daytona 500 in February.
“We are committed to making this thing work,” Allmendinger said. “I think we offer a great opportunity for Hunt Brothers, our existing partners as well as any partner looking to be part of Richard Petty Motorsports.” Both Allmendinger and the team have already begun searching for a sponsor to allow them to complete the year.