Petty team among several now facing top-35 dilemma

BRISTOL, Tenn. -- It's decision time at Petty Enterprises.

Kyle Petty's 28th-place finish in Sunday's Sprint Cup event at Bristol Motor Speedway wasn't enough to move him into the top 35 in owner points, which will force the NASCAR veteran to qualify on speed for the next event at Martinsville Speedway in two weeks. Team officials planned to meet Monday afternoon to discuss options for the No. 45 car, including the possibility of putting another driver temporarily behind the wheel.

Teams operate on the previous year's owner points for the first five races of the season, but from now on this year's standings will dictate who has one of those 35 guaranteed starting berths. Sunday's race at Bristol helped some -- like J.J. Yeley, who moved above the dividing line, and Sam Hornish Jr., who now sits right on it -- but several others found themselves in jeopardy of missing the show at Martinsville.

That latter group includes Petty, who started and finished the day in 40th position. Petty Enterprises could switch points between Petty and Bobby Labonte, who could get in on a past champion's provisional if he failed to make it on speed. But their obligations to sponsor General Mills, which backs Labonte's car, make that a long shot.

A more viable option might be calling on another Labonte -- Bobby's brother Terry, also a past champion, who Petty Enterprises was thinking of putting in the No. 45 car for road course events anyway.

"We could do the Bobby thing, but we don't want to do that because of the sponsor thing," team vice president Robbie Loomis said Sunday. "We could call on brother Terry. He might be willing to help us out a little bit. We could use him to start the race. He's got the championship status like they have with Bill [Elliott] and with Dale Jarrett. So that's an option for us, too. But ultimately, we'd like to leave Kyle in there as the driver of the car, and have him make the race."

If the Petty team called on Terry Labonte -- now 51 and retired from full-time driving since 2006 -- it would be for an entire weekend, and not to just qualify for an event. Loomis believes Kyle would do whatever's best for the team, including stepping out of the car.

"I think Kyle knows he's been doing his job, and it's more a point that the team has let him down from the mechanical side," Loomis said. "We've had some mechanical failures. So we've got to do whatever it takes. Kyle is good at wearing his helmet, but he's good at putting on the owner's hat, too, and he realizes that whatever it might take to keep that car in the top 35 in points is more important than whoever might drive it."

Other organizations also left Bristol in tough shape. Jamie McMurray of Roush Fenway Racing fell out of the top 35, from 31st to 36th, and will have to qualify on time at Martinsville. So will reigning Indy Racing League and Indianapolis 500 champion Dario Franchitti, guaranteed entry into the first five races of this season because he inherited David Stremme's points from last year. (Continued)