Terry Labonte likely to drive No. 45 Petty Enterprises car again at Talladega
DOVER, Del. – Terry Labonte could return to Petty Enterprises' No. 45 car at Talladega, team official Robbie Loomis said Sunday.
Loomis, Petty's executive vice president of race operations, said the team was "looking hard at putting Terry" in a car at Talladega, in part because of the unusual impound rules at restrictor-plate tracks.
"It's hard to put yourself in the situation to go race if you're a guy who has to qualify in because you do so many funny things," Loomis said. "You see guys go behind the wall and change their oil and do all that stuff. We don't want to get in that situation – if we go down there, we want to race."
Another reason, Loomis said, is that Labonte gave the team its best finish of the season at the July Daytona race.
Labonte, whose brother Bobby drives Petty's No. 43 car, has raced seven times for the team this season. He finished 16th at the Daytona race, and was 17th at Sonoma. The No. 45 car is still searching for its first top-15 finish.
Loomis said Kyle Petty will again drive the car next week at Kansas and Chad McCumbee – who will test this week at Charlotte – will drive the Lowe's Motor Speedway race.
McCumbee is expected to drive in four or five more races with the team this season, Loomis said, and Petty is on the schedule for Phoenix.
