Labonte Back in Waltrip's Car for Brickyard

I'd imagine Michael Waltrip thought that by this time in the 2007 campaign, he wouldn't be making announcements like this.

Michael Waltrip Racing announced Wednesday that two-time Cup champ Terry Labonte will find himself in the No. 55 Toyota for the Allstate 400 on July 29th.

Labonte drove the No. 55 for Waltrip in Sonoma, Calif., and finished 35th on the road course. He's also scheduled to drive next month at Watkins Glen.

"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 Wednesday.

"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."

Labonte has participated 11 races at the Brickyard, but has had only one top-5 finish back in 1996.

More trivia? Indianapolis was the first race Terry missed in 655 races back in 2000 after suffering a head injury at Daytona just weeks before.

For Waltrip? MWR has indeed shown some improvement as of late, and his top-10 run at Michigan was a definite sign of things to come, I think.

Fans can fault the guy all they want, but the truth is NASCAR needs guys like Waltrip around the garage area. At least, that is, in Pocono.