Petty to remain in No. 45 despite being below top 35

Kyle Petty will be behind the wheel of Petty Enterprises' No. 45 car when the Sprint Cup tour competes at Martinsville Speedway next week.

A team representative confirmed that the organization would not petition NASCAR to switch the points of Petty and Bobby Labonte. Petty is outside the top 35 in owner points and not guaranteed a starting berth when 2008 points go into effect at Martinsville next Sunday.

The decision means Petty will have to qualify for the event on speed. The team's obligation to sponsor General Mills made a points switch with Labonte, a past champion, unlikely. Former champion and now-retired driver Terry Labonte was also an option, but in a meeting Monday the team elected to keep Petty in the car.

"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 at Bristol. "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."