Morgan McClure hires Andretti for Michigan.

In an effort to get back into the top 35 in NASCAR Nextel Cup owner points, Morgan McClure Motorsports have hired veteran John Andretti to drive the #4 Lucas Oil Chevrolet in this weekend's GFS Marketplace 400.

After road course specialist PJ Jones' outing at Watkins Glen ended in brake failure and a hard crash, team boss Larry McClure has entered Andretti, and not regular driver Mike Wallace, for Sunday's 200-lap event at the two-mile oval.

Wallace finished 43rd in the June visit to MIS after suffering an engine failure whereas Andretti has five top ten finishes in 18 Cup starts at the wide-open D-shaped oval.

Although Wallace successfully guided the #4 team into the top 35 earlier this year, a combination of the Michigan engine failure and a disappointing finish by Jones at the Infineon Raceway contributed to the #4 dropping out of the top 35 before the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, where Wallace failed to qualify.

Now lying more than 100 points behind the 35th place team, McClure's men might have to start taking a few more gambles before the gap between them and the #11 Joe Gibbs team becomes too great for any driver to breach.