DARLINGTON, S.C. -- Former champion Terry Labonte is set to join younger brother Bobby Labonte as a teammate for Petty Enterprises next month when Kyle Petty moves to the TV booth.

Petty is scheduled to run the Coca-Cola 600 before taking a seven-race break. He'll miss Dover for his daughter's wedding and spend the next six races as an analyst for TNT. Petty will return to driving the No. 45 car at Indianapolis in late July.

Chad McCumbee and Terry Labonte are expected to drive Petty's car, pending sponsor approval. McCumbee likely will drive at Dover and Chicago. Terry Labonte likely will drive the other five races during that span. An official announcement could come later this week.

"For us, [Terry] has always been in our mind because of Bobby," said Robbie Loomis, executive vice president of operations at Petty Enterprises, before Saturday's Dodge Challenger 500 at Darlington. "We saw him help out Michael [Waltrip's] deal last year. I think Kyle has always been close to him. It's a good fit. Kind of a neat deal for us."

It also doesn't hurt that Terry Labonte is eligible for a champion's provisional. Petty's car is not in the top 35 in car owner points and is not guaranteed a starting spot.

The car would make every race with Terry Labonte driving because he would be the most recent champion not in the top 35. Bill Elliott holds that spot now for the Wood Brothers but his only title was in 1988. The second of Terry Labonte's two titles came in 1996.

Terry Labonte drove three races last year for Michael Waltrip, competing in the road course events at Infineon Raceway and Watkins Glen. Terry Labonte also drove for Waltrip at Indianapolis last year, making the field on his champion's provisional. Terry Labonte's top finish in those races was 30th at Indianapolis and Watkins Glen.

This would be the second time the Labonte brothers have run as teammates. Terry Labonte drove in five races for Joe Gibbs Racing in 2005 when Bobby Labonte was there.

Terry Labonte ranks fourth in series history with 851 career starts. He has won 22 races.

Exposed

The secret to Carl Edwards' success might not be much of a secret.

Other drivers say that the rear of Edwards' car is flexed to provide an aerodynamic advantage through the corners. Some say that's a reason why Edwards has been so strong at the 1.5- and 2-mile tracks this season, winning at California, Las Vegas and Texas.

With the series headed to Lowe's Motor Speedway, a 1.5-mile track, for the all-star race and the Coca-Cola 600 the next two weeks, Edwards will be considered a favorite in both events.

"The more we've found to make changes to that way, it's made the car go faster," Kyle Busch said of pushing the rear-end to the right.

Jeff Gordon said that teams were doing this last year but he's not been able to drive a car like that this season.

"It makes the cars drive so terrible that it doesn't really help us in the way that we really need it," he said.

Edwards discounts the idea that something with his car makes him that much better.

"Yeah, that's exactly what makes my car so fast," he said in jest. "In fact, when we thought about taking a couple of weekends off, we were going to go get a monkey to drive the car because it's real easy and that's the only reason we're winning. So they should just focus on that and not worry about anything else."

Lonely

They stood out only because there seemed to be so few of them, but a week after Kyle Busch and Dale Earnhardt Jr. made contact late in the Richmond race, there were some Busch fans Saturday at Darlington.

Busch earned the ire of Earnhardt fans, who blame him for denying Earnhardt the victory.

Robert Wise of Florence, S.C., wore a brown-and-white Busch hat and a black Dale Earnhardt Sr. T-shirt. The 43-year-old says he's enjoyed this week even after receiving insults from some people.

"He's the only driver out there ... that ain't been neutered yet," Wise said of Busch, whom he likens to the late Earnhardt. "[Busch] is a pure racer. He wants to win. So what if he's not the most popular. He's the best driver out there."

Todd Knaperek of Asheville, N.C., wore a bright yellow Busch T-shirt and hat. The 27-year-old is a new Busch fan.

"I think he kind of got wronged when they got rid of him at Hendrick," Knaperek said, referring to Hendrick Motorsports letting Busch go to sign Earnhardt Jr. last year. "I like [him] for one reason because there are not many of us out there, so I don't feel like I'm following the bandwagon. I think it takes a lot of guts to cheer for the guy everybody loves to hate."

Pit stops

There will be a burnout competition before the all-star race on Saturday at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Among those entered are Clint Bowyer and Kevin Harvick. What will make good style points? "I think the best style points are probably just blow the tires out," Harvick says. "That's what I'm going for." ... John Andretti, who has run in three races this season, got a ride Saturday for this month's Indianapolis 500.