Bobby Labonte will drive a Ford for first time since 1993
CONCORD, N.C. - Bobby Labonte's move to Hall of Fame Racing for the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup season will reunite the driver with the auto manufacturer he broke into the sport’s top ranks with.
Hall of Fame is switching from Toyota to Ford for the upcoming season as part of a new technical alliance with Yates Racing, a Ford team, which already has a longstanding engine alliance in place with another Ford group in Roush Fenway Racing.
Labonte hasn't raced a Ford in the Cup series since his rookie season of 1993, when he drove for Bill Davis Racing, but he says he’s looking forward to joining forces with the manufacturer again.
"It's exciting to me," the 2000 Cup champion said during Tuesday's Sprint Media Tour presented by Lowe's Motor Speedway. "You chase them [Fords] on Sundays, and you kind of wonder what they've got. Just to be hooked up with [Hall of Fame Racing co-owner] Tom [Garfinkel] and [Yates Racing co-owner] Doug [Yates] and Yates engines and obviously the affiliation that they have with Jack [Roush’s] group as far as chassis and stuff like that, it's going to be great for me to understand more about what goes on and what takes place. I know that there's a lot more that I'll learn throughout the next few weeks before we get to Daytona and then after Daytona, obviously."
Labonte's most recent manufacturer pairing was with Dodge, which he drove while competing for Petty Enterprises the past three seasons. Prior to his move to Petty, Labonte drove Pontiacs and then Chevrolets for Joe Gibbs Racing. In his lone season with Ford at Bill Davis Racing, Labonte scored six top-10s and one pole on the way to finishing runnerup to Jeff Gordon for top rookie honors.
"I drove a Ford my first year in the Cup Series in '93," Labonte said. "This is a great opportunity for me. I guess that means I didn't burn a bridge when that deal went down, when [team owner] Bill [Davis] changed over to Pontiac. I tried always to not burn a bridge. I'm very excited about it. I think I've driven for every manufacturer now - I can say that. So I'm going back for round two."
