Terry Labonte to Drive for Petty UPDATE: Terry Labonte will be a teammate to his brother Bobby at Petty Enterprises starting next month, pending sponsor approval. Terry (and Chad McCumbee) will drive the #45 when Kyle Petty gets out for the summer. Petty is scheduled to compete in the Coca-Cola 600 and then miss the next seven races (one for his daughter's wedding and the other six to work as an analyst for TNT). McCumbee likely will drive at Dover and Chicago. Terry Labonte likely will drive in the other five races. Labonte’s addition is key for Petty Enterprises because the #45 car is not in the top 35 in car owner points. Labonte’s second of his two titles came in 1996 — that makes him the most recent champion not in the top 35 since Bill Elliott's title came in 1988. Thus, Labonte would be guaranteed a starting spot each time he starts, while the Wood Brothers would lose that even with Elliott in the seat. This would be the second time the Labonte brothers have run as teammates. Terry Labonte drove in five races for Joe Gibbs Racing in 2005 when Bobby Labonte was there. Terry Labonte ranks fourth in series history with 851 career starts. He won 22 races.(Roanoke Times)(5-11-2008)
UPDATE: Petty Enterprises announces its driver lineup for the #45 Marathon/Wells Fargo/PVA Dodge for the races beginning with the June 1 event at Dover through the July 12 event at Chicagoland. Kyle Petty is scheduled to step away from the car at Dover to attend his daughter's wedding. Petty will also return to the broadcasting booth to cover the Sprint Cup events that will air on TNT Sports, which begin with the June 8 event at Pocono. Petty made his TNT Sports broadcasting debut in 2007 to rave reviews and accolades. Petty will return when the series makes its annual mid-summer trek to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Chad McCumbee will bookend Petty's hiatus by getting behind the wheel of the #45 Dodge at Dover and Chicagoland. He previously filled in for Petty at Pocono and the Michigan International Speedway in 2007 and at the Texas Motor Speedway last month. McCumbee’s best finish for Petty Enterprises came at Pocono when he came home 25th. “As a father there aren't many days more special than the day you get to give your daughter away in marriage,” said Petty. “I appreciate Chad jumping in the car at Dover to allow me to do that. He is strong on the intermediate tracks and I'm confident that he will do a great job at Dover as well as Chicagoland. It's just another part of our evaluation process of him.” For the remaining five races, Petty will turn the reins of the #45 Dodge over to a familiar friend and competitor. Two-time Sprint Cup Series champion, Terry Labonte, will become a teammate to his younger brother, 2000 series champion Bobby, for only the sec
Darlington overnight TV Ratings up 8%: A weekend of increases for FOX was highlighted by a 4.3/8 on Saturday night for Sprint Cup racing from Darlington. Saturday night's 4.3/8 is an +8% gain over last year's 4.0/8 for the Darlington race, which ran on Sunday afternoon due to rain. FOX’s 4.3/8 for the night was good enough to narrowly win the Primetime battle. CBS was second with a 4.2/8. FOX’s slight margin in the overnights will likely grow when national ratings are released tomorrow morning. After a brief mid-season swoon, NASCAR oOn Fox now appears to be back on track, as Fox's last three races have each posted year-to-year increases in the metered markets. For the season-to-date, NASCAR on Fox is averaging a 5.4/11 in the overnights, a tenth better than last year's 5.3/11 (+2%). FOX’s next race - the Coca-Cola 600 during Memorial Day weekend - will be the last race of this season to count toward the year-to-year comparison because last year's Dover race was rained out, run on a Monday, and excluded from the total.(Fox), for ratings by race and the Ratings chart, see my 2008 TV Ratings page.(5-12-2008) Comment here