Bobby Labonte signs with JTG Daugherty Racing for 2011 Sprint Cup season
Bobby Labonte is will drive for JTG Daugherty Racing in 2011.
// Elmer Kappell, NASCAR Illustrated
Bobby Labonte will replace Marcos Ambrose in the JTG Daugherty Racing No. 47 car in 2011, the team announced today.
Labonte, 46, hopes this move will prove more productive than his last two. The 2000 Cup champion left Petty Enterprises after the 2008 season to drive for Hall of Fame Racing in an entry fielded by Yates Racing. He was 30th in the standings when he was pulled from the seat in September and ended up driving for TRG Motorsports for most of the remaining races.
He started 2010 with TRG but funding became a problem with the team and Labonte left in June while sitting 31st in the standings. He has driven for Robby Gordon Motorsports and Phoenix Racing since then, and will drive again for TRG in a sponsored car this weekend at Pocono.
Labonte now heads to JTG Daugherty for next season. JTG Daugherty, which has an alliance with Michael Waltrip Racing and is based in the MWR shop, has raced in Cup the last two years with Ambrose, who confirmed yesterday that he is leaving the team after this season.
“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 in a news release. “The team is thriving and their technical alliance with MWR 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 has 21 career victories, all with Joe Gibbs Racing, which led him to the 2000 Cup title.
“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,” said JTG Daugherty Racing co-owner Brad Daugherty. “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 resume and we know he is capable of winning.”
JTG Daugherty Racing has several sponsors – including Clorox, Kleenex, Little Debbie, Kingsford and Lance – on its car for next year.
“We are extremely excited to have Bobby coming on board,” said Grant LaMontagne, senior vice president and chief customer officer of The Clorox Company. “He’s a champion and a great fit for our brands. We expect to have a serious run for the Chase next season.”
