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NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
CUP: Labonte To Split Time With Darnell
Erik Darnell will pilot the No. 96 Hall of Fame Racing Ford for seven races this season...
Tom Jensen  |  Posted August 31, 2009   Charlotte, NC
Erik Darnell will pilot the No. 96 Hall of Fame Racing Ford for seven races this season. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

Erik Darnell just got kicked upstairs.

Darnell, 26, who is running a part-time, 10-race schedule in the NASCAR Nationwide Series with Roush Fenway Racing and Northern Tool + Equipment, will make his Sprint Cup debut Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway in the No. 96 Hall of Fame Racing Ford Fusion.

That means Bobby Labonte, winner of a series-high six races at the 1.54-mile Atlanta oval, will miss this weekend’s races and six more between now and the end of the season. Labonte will drive five of the final 12 races in the No. 96, with sponsorship from either Ask.com or DLP.

Hall of Fame, which has uses Yates Racing to field its cars each week, had seven of the final 12 races of the year unsponsored. And that opened the door for Northern Tool + Equipment to come on board the No. 96, with Darnell as its driver of choice. Academy Sports & Outdoors will also sponsor Darnell for three of those races, including Atlanta.

In addition to Atlanta, Darnell will drive the No. 96 Ford at New Hampshire, Kansas, Talladega, Texas, Phoenix and Homestead.

“This is a move that will be beneficial to Yates Racing surviving this difficult economic time,” said Labonte, who is a disappointing 30th in points in his first season with HoF. “Of course, I'm disappointed that the sponsorship environment is so challenging right now, but I intend to make the most out of the remaining races that I'm behind the wheel for Ask.com, DLP and Hall of Fame Racing.”

Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief for SPEEDtv.com, the former Executive Editor of NASCAR Scene and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. He is the author of ?Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of SPEED,? and has appeared on television and radio shows to discuss NASCAR racing. Jensen is the past President of the National Motorsports Press Association. Jensen is the 1997 National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year and has won numerous national and state awards for news reporting, columns and feature writing. The Answer Man is back at SPEEDtv.com. Tom Jensen answers your questions during every race week and looks forward to hearing from you - please e-mail it to



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