Aric Almirola joins Richard Petty Motorsports for 2012 Sprint Cup season

The deal means Almirola will return to the Sprint Cup this year, having not raced in it since the 2010 season.

The 27-year-old from Florida competed in the Nationwide Series with JR Motorsports in 2011, finishing in fourth position in the standings.

He has 35 Cup starts to his name, with a fourth place as his best result to date.

"One of the things I am most excited about is to have the chance to drive a car as iconic as the #43," said Almirola. "There is so much history surrounding that number and to have my name above the door will be really special for me.

"This is the first real opportunity I've had to drive in the Cup Series full time. Last year the #43 team had a lot of speed and was competitive on a weekly basis."

Almirola will join veteran crew chief Greg Erwin at the team, which finished in 15th place in the owner points standings last year.

"Greg Erwin is a great crew chief and I'm excited to work with him. Everyone at Richard Petty Motorsports has a lot of enthusiasm and drive and I'm really looking forward to getting to work."

Team co-owner Richard Petty added: "We are thrilled to welcome Aric Almirola into the RPM family. We feel extremely fortunate to have had a number of very talented drivers interested in joining our organisation, but ultimately we felt Aric would be the best fit for the team and for our current and potential partners.

"We have had the chance to watch his progress for the past several years and we had success with him in the past. We are really confident in his potential as a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver. We think Aric has all the makings to be the next bright star in our sport."