by Lee Spencer

Yates Racing is forcing Bobby Labonte to share the No. 96 car, so he'll drive for TRG in the races he would have missed instead. (Jason Smith / Getty Images)

After Labonte was dismissed from his driving duties for seven of the remaining 12 races in the No. 96 Hall of Fame Racing/Yates Racing Ford, the 2000 Cup champ has agreed to pilot the No. 71 Chevrolet for TRG Motorsports in those seven events starting this weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

"This whole thing came together over the last 24 hours," Labonte said in a press release announcing the move. "Slugger (Richard "Slugger" Labbe, TRG Motorsports crew chief) called me yesterday morning and had an idea and wondered if I would be interested or not. I had some openings I wasn't planning on, so it just kind of worked out.

"I am just trying to go to the rest of the races full-tilt. I talked to Kevin (Buckler TRG Motorsports team principal) a couple of times yesterday and he seems very committed and I think it will work out for both of us."

Yates Racing announced on Monday that rookie Erik Darnell, who has two Craftsman Truck Series wins since joining the Roush Fenway Racing family in 2004, would share the ride with Labonte for the remainder of the year.

Labonte, who is currently 30th in the point standings, leads the tour with six win at Atlanta — all which were earned behind the No. 18 car while driving for Joe Gibbs Racing. Overall, Labonte's posted 12 top fives, 13 top 10s and led 959 laps in 33 starts.

David Gilliland, who has competed in 22 races for TRG this season, will continue driving for the team in the remaining events.