McCumbee, Andretti to fill in during Petty's TNT stint

LEVEL CROSS, N.C. -- Petty Enterprises announced on Wednesday that Chad McCumbee and John Andretti will drive the No. 45 Dodge this summer when full-time driver Kyle Petty honors his television commitment.

Petty, with permission from primary and associate sponsors, will step out of the car in a five-race hiatus to join TNT during their six-race broadcast schedule. Petty will return to the car during the road-course event at Infineon Raceway and provide in-car race analysis. Petty will complete the season after the July 15 event at the Chicagoland Speedway.

McCumbee, 22, will attempt to make his Nextel Cup debut at the 2.5-mile Pocono Raceway on June 10. Veteran driver John Andretti will run the remaining four open races for Petty.

"I'm very grateful to Chad and John for lending their talents behind the wheel," Petty said. "TNT offered me an excellent opportunity to join them in the broadcast booth for their races. We worked closely with our sponsors to make that happen and keep our car up front. We are fortunate to have Chad and John available to make that happen."

McCumbee, currently in his second year in the Craftsman Truck Series, will have plenty of seat time before heading into Pocono. McCumbee will be assigned to various testing duties for Petty Enterprises including testing next week at Lowe's Motor Speedway. McCumbee continues his duties for Green Light Racing.

"Chad is a talented, young driver that we are keeping our eye on," said Robbie Loomis, executive vice president of race operations for Petty Enterprises. "Pocono will be his first race for us, but Chad isn't going to be a stranger to our cars. He will be testing for us and helping us get better.

"We feel that he has shown a lot of promise in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. We are looking forward to help him learn and continue his move up the NASCAR ranks."

"We are very lucky to have a guy like John come in and fill this spot," Loomis added. "He has been a part of Petty Enterprises and is very familiar with our organization. He has won and has had a lot of success here. We can't think of a better guy to help us."

The following schedule highlights the races that McCumbee, Andretti and Petty will drive the #45 Dodge during the TNT broadcast races in June and July.