“JTG Daugherty Racing is a solid race team that has come close to winning races with Marcos Ambrose and I’m looking forward to developing our new partnership in 2011,” Labonte said. “The team is thriving and their technical alliance with MWR (Michael Waltrip Racing) is intact. It’s great to have next year already set in stone so when this season ends we can begin focusing on next year right away. Everything is in place and we have all the right ingredients to win races together.”
Labonte’s credentials speak for themselves. The Corpus Christi, Texas native is a 21-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series winner with 26 pole awards, 114 top-five and 199 top-10 finishes. Team owners Jodi and Tad Geschickter and Brad Daugherty are pleased Labonte accepted the offer to drive the JTG Daugherty Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series entry as they enter their third full-time season of competition at Daytona International Speedway on February 13th.
“We are really happy Bobby has decided to join our team because I have known him for a long time and I have always admired him as a professional driver and as an individual,” Daugherty said. “He will do an outstanding job representing our products and team. He has gotten to a point in his career that he still has some things to accomplish. He is highly experienced with a championship on his résumé’ and we know he is capable of winning.”
“We would like to give a warm welcome to Bobby as he joins the JTG Daugherty Racing family,” said Jodi Geschickter. “We know he is an amazing fit for our sponsors and racing organization. The Labonte name has a history of excellence. Bobby is a proven winner, a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion and his character is solid. We share similar goals and views regarding the future. We are pleased that he has accepted the offer to join JTG Daugherty Racing in 2011.”
JTG Daugherty Racing’s partners concur.
“We are extremely excited to have Bobby coming on board,” said Grant LaMontagne, Senior Vice President and Chief Customer Officer of The Clorox Company, the longest running sponsor partner of JTG Daugherty Racing. “He’s a champion and a great fit for our brands. We expect to have a serious run for the Chase next season.”
This announcement follows Marcos Ambrose’s decision to part ways with JTG Daugherty Racing at the end of the year, which was confirmed on Tuesday by team officials.
2 comments:
I wish him luck.. maybe this will be the solid, steady situation he needs to make a resurgence.
Bobby Labonte needs to run consistent races in a much higher level than the #09 or #71 cars would allow. And, he needs this for one reason. Bobby Labonte needs a morale boost before he retires. He doesn't need or even want to go out on top. He simply doesn't want to go out at the bottom while driving a start & park car.
I spoke with a Grand-Am driver a few days back. He received a call from a Cup team looking to offer him a ride. He asked publicly for his fans reaction to the situation. The biggest response was an overwhelming one. The fans solidly said not to drive a start and park car - even if it meant getting his name out there in the public's eye. Why? Simple - he got a call from a Cup team owner. They already know his name. He'll get another call. No need to start & park just to bee seen. Unless, of course, he wants to start, unplug his radio, and drive the wheels off the car until it won't drive anymore just to get track time. Then, bring it to the pits and blame it on a broken radio.
Why park the car after 3 or 4 or 5 laps? That's complete and utter crap and Bobby Labonte wanted nothing to do with it. For that reason alone I cannot wait to see him have better success, no matter how big the success may be, just to retire on a much better note than being a start & park driver.
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