Bobby Labonte parts ways with Petty; team in talks with Gillett Evernham
Bobby Labonte has been released from his contract at Petty Enterprises – just six months after he signed a four-year contract extension when Boston Ventures purchased a majority interest in the organization from Richard Petty.
The move comes as the storied team acknowledged that it is in merger talks with Gillett Evernham Motorsports.
“Bobby is a true champion who never failed to give everything he had when he was behind the wheel of one of our race cars,” said Richard Petty in a statement. “We wish him nothing but the very best in his future endeavors.”
The 2000 Cup champion could end up at the new Earnhardt Ganassi Racing team, which still has a seat open in the No. 41 car with Target sponsorship.
“I’m very anxious to prepare for the 2009 season,” Labonte said in a statement. “I do not currently have a contract with any other team for 2009, but I am ready to explore all opportunities and form the next partnership in my career.
“I’ll continue to keep these matters private and will make the appropriate announcement and comments when my future plans are confirmed. I appreciate everyone’s continued support.”
The Petty team had been looking for sponsorship for Labonte since it was announced in April that General Mills would move to Richard Childress Racing beginning in 2009. It had been unsuccessful in those efforts.
In June, it was announced that investment firm Boston Ventures had bought a majority interest in Petty Enterprises and that Labonte had signed a four-year deal. At the time, Labonte said the new deal included options that would allow him to continue driving beyond 2012 as well as “options after that if I wanted to stay in a different role.”
“In over 15 years of racing in the Sprint Cup Series, I can’t remember a time when the sport’s landscape looks as it does today,” Labonte, 44, said in his statement Thursday. “Saying that, Petty Enterprises and I had serious and very sincere discussions about what was best for myself and everyone involved at Petty Enterprises moving forward.
“These discussions culminated with us agreeing that moving in a separate direction will be the greatest way to reach our end goals. It was by no means an easy decision.”
The Petty Holdings news release acknowledged “a possible transaction” with GEM. “It is expected that the resulting company would among other things, house the famed No. 43 car,” the release said.
In the event that a transaction is not concluded, Petty Enterprises’ current plan is to field the No. 43 as a single-car team for the 2009 season.
“We expect these discussions and decisions to take several weeks and will have further comment at the appropriate time,” said David Zucker, Petty’s chief executive officer. “Gillett Evernham Motorsports is a first-class team with great drivers, sponsors and management. We look forward to improved performance and maintaining the Richard Petty legacy, with the King front and center.”
But it will be without Labonte. After capturing the 2000 Cup title at Joe Gibbs Racing, Labonte finished sixth, 16th, eighth, 12th and 24th in points over the ensuing five seasons. He left the organization following the 2005 season for Petty Enterprises.
He has finished 21st, 18th and 21st in points over the last three years, with no victories with Petty.
Labonte has 546 career starts with 21 wins and 113 top-five finishes. All 21 of those wins came while he drove for JGR.
Labonte and the Pettys aren’t the only ones who have had difficulty in the sponsorship hunt. GEM still has not announced sponsorship for the majority of the season for its No. 10 car and Reed Sorenson.
By adding the No. 43 car, it would add another team to its stable as well as a team that is locked into the first five races of 2009 by finishing in the top 35 in owners points. Currently, only two GEM cars (the No. 9 of Kasey Kahne and the No. 19 of Elliott Sadler) are locked in for the first five races.
Last season, the No. 9 team was 15th in owner points, while the Petty No. 43 team was 22nd. The No. 19 GEM team was 24th, the No. 10 GEM team was 37th, and the No. 45 Petty team was 41st.
“We can confirm Gillett Evernham Motorsports is in exclusive negotiations with Petty Holdings,” Gillett Evernham Motorsports CEO Tom Reddin said in a statement. “GEM has a very solid foundation, and this is an exciting opportunity to build on that foundation with one of the greatest names in the history of motorsports. We will work diligently over the next several weeks and make further comment at the appropriate time.”
This is not the first time that the Gillett family has been in discussions with Petty Enterprises. Richard Petty has said that he was 50 percent along in negotiations to partner with Gillett last year, but that deal fell through when GEM wanted 80 percent ownership in the Petty organization.
The Gillett family owns several ski resorts and sports franchises, including the National Hockey League’s Montreal Canadiens, and is co-owner of the Liverpool soccer team in Great Britain.
Founded by Lee Petty in 1949, Petty Enterprises is NASCAR’s oldest and winningest organization. It has 268 NASCAR Cup wins and 10 driver championships, three by Lee and seven by his son, Richard. Kyle Petty drove for the team from 1979 to 1984 and then returned to the Petty banner in 1997. Petty’s son, Adam, drove for the organization and was preparing for a Cup career when he was killed in May 2000 at New Hampshire during a practice session for what is now known as the Nationwide Series.
“I am, and will always be, very appreciative of what Richard Petty and the Petty family, every employee of Petty Enterprises and members of Boston Ventures did to invest in bettering my career the past three seasons,” Labonte said.
