Musical chairs continue at Michigan.

As the Winston Cup season progresses many team-owners try to evaluate their plans for the following season by giving various opportunities to drivers to see if they can make the grade with their team for a full year. At Michigan this Sunday there are two drivers who are hoping that their performances will warrant a full time ride in 2001 while others will want to put on a good show for prospective future employers.

The biggest player in this game of musical chairs is the return of Jeremy Mayfield in the #12 Mobil 1 Ford after missing two races through injury. Mayfield will step into the seat occupied by Tom Hubert at Watkins Glen and is just glad to be back in action.

"It's going to feel awfully good to get behind the wheel of that car again," said the fiery Kentucky driver who was concussed in a practice crash at Indianapolis two weeks ago. "I've missed driving, I've missed racing and I've missed my Mobil 1 guys."

After missing the last two races Mayfield now finds himself mired back in 22nd place in the points standings and at the tail end of the season long battle for positions 16-22 in the points, currently separated by a little more than 100 points.

The other injured Winston Cup star, Terry Labonte will miss his third consecutive race with his concussion sustained in the Pepsi 400 at Daytona in early July. The Ironman had planned on returning to action this Sunday although when he tested his son Justin's Busch Car earlier this week he felt nauseous and decided against it.

As he did at Indianapolis Todd Bodine will pilot the #5 Kelloggs Chevrolet at Michigan where he will be looking to improve on his 15th place finish at the Brickyard while Terry will help the Rick Hendrick owned team by lending his expertise on the pit-wall.

"Having Terry with you in the pits doesn't hurt," said the Crew Chief for the #5 team Gary DeHart. "He's helped us a lot being with us in the pits, if there is a problem Terry and I will talk about it during the race and he can really help us."

Labonte meanwhile may have to consult the doctors again and could even be suffering from the same problem which effected Champ Car driver Norberto Fontana earlier this year when he suffered nausea and dizziness after a crash. It was discovered that he had dislodged some particles in his inner ear which in turn affected his sense of balance.

Making their Winston Cup debuts at Michigan will be Andy Houston and Kerry Earnhardt for the PPI and Marcis teams respectively. NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series ace Houston posted a top five finish at Michigan in the truck race earlier in the 2000 season and will take the wheel of the #98 McDonalds Ford. The PPI Motorsports team are planning to run the McDonalds car alongside its current Tide entry for Scott Pruett.

Team boss Cal Wells had hoped to put single seater star Anthony Lazzaro into the seat but the young Americans performances in the Busch Series at the start of the year were disappointing and he has now virtually left the team.

"I'm very excited about the opportunity to drive at Michigan," said Houston whose deal is just for the one race. "It's a big step for me, because ultimately I'd like to drive Winston Cup cars full time."

While Houston is looking to make his WC debut and perhaps push himself into contention for a full time ride next year, Wells will also run Chad Little in his Busch Series car for Saturday's NAPAonline.com 250 at the two mile Michigan oval. Little has been told that he will not be returning to Jack Roush's stable with John Deere sponsorship next season and is looking at his options for 2001. A seat at PPI is not out of the question as is a link up with the SABCO/Ganassi outfit.

For Kerry Earnhardt, the aim of his first WC weekend is simply to make the field. The 30 year old eldest son of seven times Champion Dale will be racing against not only his father but also his younger brother as he steps into the seat of the #71 Realtree Chevrolet owned by Dave Marcis. The veteran Marcis is sitting out this race as he looks for a long term replacement for himself when the ageless 59 year old finally decides to retire.

Marcis has also signed an agreement with Dale Sr.'s Richard Childress team for the race whereby Childress will supply Marcis with engines and technical advice throughout the weekend as Marcis single car outfit struggles to survive.

Earnhardt K, has spent this season campaigning in an ARCA series on short ovals and must qualify on pure speed if he is to make his Winston Cup debut as the team are bereft of provisionals and race against his dad and kid brother.

The remaining two changes of personnel see Ted Musgrave and Hut Stricklin return to the #01 BellSouth and #90 Hills Bros. cars for Felix Sabates and Junie Donlavey respectively. Both stood aside for the Watkins Glen event to allow PJ Jones and Brian Simo , road racing specialists, a drive. Musgrave is still driving on a race by race basis for the SABCO team while Stricklin has secured a deal to pilot the #90 car for the rest of the year.

Veteran Musgrave had been signed by the SABCO outfit for the races at Pocono and Indianapolis whilst team co-owners Sabates and Chip Ganassi looked for a full time replacement for the late Kenny Irwin. However the veterans performances at Pocono and Indianapolis have earned him the seat for the foreseeable future and have even put him in the running for a full time place next year. Not bad for a driver who walked away from the sport in disgust after splitting with Galaxy Motorsports last season.

"I've already run a couple of races for the Bell South team and we seem to mesh well," said Musgrave who still plans on spending most of his time away from the track as he helps his wife overcome leukaemia. "I'm glad to be back in the seat again and plan on helping these guys get some solid finishes."

Stricklin made his debut for the Donlavey outfit at the Brickyard 400 and took the car to a season's best 14th place finish from 36th on the grid. That performance has earned the veteran driver, who also makes all his own pit calls from the cockpit, a ride for the last 13 races of the year.

"I'm excited about this opportunity, and I want to get this team competitive again," said Hut who has nearly a decade of Winston Cup experience behind him. "We think we have what it takes to be a top ten team with the remainder of the season."