Labonte to replace Waltrip at Brickyard

Cornelius, NC (Sports Network) - Terry Labonte will replace Michael Waltrip in the No. 55 Toyota for next weekend's Allstate 400 at the Brickyard.
This will be the second time that the two-time Nextel Cup Series champion Labonte is replacing Waltrip, who cited the opportunity to evaluate his racing team as the reason for replacing himself behind the wheel.
"While we've planned to bring Terry back for the Watkins Glen road course event, I felt having him in the car next weekend at Indianapolis would be a great opportunity for me to continue to evaluate my entire organization from an owner's perspective," Waltrip said. "The feedback related to road-course racing that Terry was able to provide my team after Infineon Raceway was very valuable. We look forward to more of the same input after Indy."
Waltrip, who is 52nd in the standings, is expected to return to his No. 55 for the Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono Raceway on August 5.
Last month, Labonte piloted the No. 55 car to a 35th place finish at Infineon Raceway after starting 25th.
"It felt good to get back in the car in Sonoma and while it wasn't the finish I had hoped to deliver to the guys at (Michael Wlatrip Racing) and NAPA, I believe we learned quite a few things in which we can build on," Labonte said.
Labonte has eleven starts at Indianapolis. His best finish came in 1996 when he drove the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet to a third-place finish.