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Sprint Cup
CUP: Out At TRG, Labonte Wants To Win
Bobby Labonte wasn't pleased with his results at TRG Motorsports...
Bobby Labonte is the 2000 NASCAR Cup Series champion. (Photo: LAT Photographic)
Bobby Labonte had high expectations when he signed with TRG Motorsports last November, but things did not progress quick enough with the second-year Cup team to make him want to stay.
Having to start and park his car in three of the last five races was a big disappointment for the 2000 Cup champion, who terminated his contract with the team Wednesday.
“I just don’t want to do the start-and-park thing,” Labonte said during a teleconference. “I’m not saying you might have to at some point in time. It’s just tough out there for a lot of people. But at the same time, I thought we could grow into a lot of things and it just didn’t quite work out like we anticipated.”
Labonte, who has won 21 career Cup races but none since 2003, is 31st in the Cup standings and will drive for Robby Gordon Motorsports this weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and then Phoenix Racing the following two weeks at Daytona and Chicagoland.
When he signed with TRG Motorsports last November with the team having partial sponsorship signed for 2010, Labonte couldn’t have foreseen that he would struggle and end up breaking ties with TRG, which is an accomplished organization in the sports-car arena but still working to get a secure footing in NASCAR after one season of in the Truck Series and now its second season of Cup.
TRG has an alliance with Richard Childress Racing and also was getting its pit crew from Stewart-Haas Racing, but that wasn’t enough for Labonte to produce any finishes in the top 20 this year.
“We didn’t have a teammate to lean on,” Labonte said. “We purchased some cars and … these [competitors] are the best of the best. The best of the best have four teams or six teams or more. When you add it all up, there’s 28 of those. When you’re 29th, you’re next in that line.
“We weren’t 29th all the time. But on a bad day, it was 35th and on a good day it could be 20th. If you had a teammate and you had some more funding to get more technology into your race team, then that would hopefully enhance your deal. It takes a lot of money to run this series.”
While team owner Kevin Buckler was able to turn a mix of start-and-parks and full races in 2009 into an optimistic beginning for 2010, the team just could not land the sponsorship to run all of the races to their entirety this year.
“He’s in a little different place for his race team and I felt like I needed to find different opportunities that were going to allow me to race,” Labonte said. “That’s what we were supposed to do to start with and what we were doing up until [last month].”
As far as his relationship with his former team, Labonte said Buckler has met most of his contractual obligations to him.
“There’s small items that probably need to be cleared up, but I think that is going to happen real soon,” Labonte said. “It’s probably more small stuff than big stuff.”
So now Labonte moves on to drive for driver/owner Robby Gordon for one race and longtime owner James Finch for two races.
Both organizations plan to run the full events. Gordon, just a few days earlier, indicated he might not be able to run the full 301 laps at New Hampshire. But with him having business elsewhere – reportedly with his off-road racing – and having to miss the New Hampshire race, Gordon decided that investing in Labonte to run a full race would be worth it.
“It’s a great opportunity to get another opinion besides the Robby Gordon opinion,” Gordon said. “Every week, we ride this roller coaster that all race teams ride. Being a single-car [team], you question everything. … We’re just committed. We can learn a lot from this as a race team, and that has to have value as well.”
Gordon added that he is set to run the full events for at least the next four races and indicated that he would like to run two cars at Indianapolis, including one for Labonte.
It hasn’t been an easy season for Gordon, whose team is 32nd in the owner standings. But he finished second last week at Infineon Raceway.
“When you have two-car teams, you can definitely play off each other as far as setup and information chain and stuff like that and learn more information,” Gordon said. “Right now it’s a one-race gig. … I feel that we make some of the finest cars in the garage area and we lack a little bit in the information chain.
“If we could ever run two cars that would be a big boost to our race team. To have someone like Bobby give us his opinion is going to be very valuable to us.”
Labonte went to Gordon’s shop Wednesday. He worked with Gordon crew chief Gene Nead a few years ago when Nead was at Kevin Harvick Inc.
“Robby’s program has really turned around the past six or eight weeks,” Labonte said. “I’ve seen him from in the garage area and out on the race track. … He’s got really, really nice race cars.
“Robby has been the type of guy where he has done his thing like he wanted to do it and his stuff is the nicest in the garage and he’s proud of what he’s got. He’s done a great job with it.”
With nothing firm beyond mid-July, Labonte will continue searching for a new job. His focus will be on Cup rides but he probably wouldn’t turn down a competitive truck or Nationwide Series team.
Labonte has driven in 596 consecutive Cup races and has 598 career Cup starts – and doesn’t plan to hang up his driving shoes yet.
“I’m a racer,” said the 46-year-old Labonte. “I want to race. I want to win. There’s no more special feeling than winning races and being competitive. Bottom line, that’s what you do. … It’s the passion I have for this sport, the passion I have for racing that keeps me wanting to do this more and more.”
Landing a ride might not be easy, and Labonte acknowledged that there could be more hurdles. He didn’t know his 2009 plans until January of last year and he didn’t know his 2010 plans until November 2009.
“There’s bumps behind us that we’ve got through and there will be bumps ahead of us that we’ll go through,” he said. “Right now, we’ve just got to concentrate on what we’re doing right now.
“It would be nice to not have to wait [until late in the year]. … You just make the best of what you have.”
SceneDaily.com • Jeff Gordon names new wine after his daughter, Ella Sophia
Having to start and park his car in three of the last five races was a big disappointment for the 2000 Cup champion, who terminated his contract with the team Wednesday.
“I just don’t want to do the start-and-park thing,” Labonte said during a teleconference. “I’m not saying you might have to at some point in time. It’s just tough out there for a lot of people. But at the same time, I thought we could grow into a lot of things and it just didn’t quite work out like we anticipated.”
Labonte, who has won 21 career Cup races but none since 2003, is 31st in the Cup standings and will drive for Robby Gordon Motorsports this weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and then Phoenix Racing the following two weeks at Daytona and Chicagoland.
When he signed with TRG Motorsports last November with the team having partial sponsorship signed for 2010, Labonte couldn’t have foreseen that he would struggle and end up breaking ties with TRG, which is an accomplished organization in the sports-car arena but still working to get a secure footing in NASCAR after one season of in the Truck Series and now its second season of Cup.
TRG has an alliance with Richard Childress Racing and also was getting its pit crew from Stewart-Haas Racing, but that wasn’t enough for Labonte to produce any finishes in the top 20 this year.
“We didn’t have a teammate to lean on,” Labonte said. “We purchased some cars and … these [competitors] are the best of the best. The best of the best have four teams or six teams or more. When you add it all up, there’s 28 of those. When you’re 29th, you’re next in that line.
“We weren’t 29th all the time. But on a bad day, it was 35th and on a good day it could be 20th. If you had a teammate and you had some more funding to get more technology into your race team, then that would hopefully enhance your deal. It takes a lot of money to run this series.”
While team owner Kevin Buckler was able to turn a mix of start-and-parks and full races in 2009 into an optimistic beginning for 2010, the team just could not land the sponsorship to run all of the races to their entirety this year.
“He’s in a little different place for his race team and I felt like I needed to find different opportunities that were going to allow me to race,” Labonte said. “That’s what we were supposed to do to start with and what we were doing up until [last month].”
As far as his relationship with his former team, Labonte said Buckler has met most of his contractual obligations to him.
“There’s small items that probably need to be cleared up, but I think that is going to happen real soon,” Labonte said. “It’s probably more small stuff than big stuff.”
So now Labonte moves on to drive for driver/owner Robby Gordon for one race and longtime owner James Finch for two races.
Both organizations plan to run the full events. Gordon, just a few days earlier, indicated he might not be able to run the full 301 laps at New Hampshire. But with him having business elsewhere – reportedly with his off-road racing – and having to miss the New Hampshire race, Gordon decided that investing in Labonte to run a full race would be worth it.
“It’s a great opportunity to get another opinion besides the Robby Gordon opinion,” Gordon said. “Every week, we ride this roller coaster that all race teams ride. Being a single-car [team], you question everything. … We’re just committed. We can learn a lot from this as a race team, and that has to have value as well.”
Gordon added that he is set to run the full events for at least the next four races and indicated that he would like to run two cars at Indianapolis, including one for Labonte.
It hasn’t been an easy season for Gordon, whose team is 32nd in the owner standings. But he finished second last week at Infineon Raceway.
“When you have two-car teams, you can definitely play off each other as far as setup and information chain and stuff like that and learn more information,” Gordon said. “Right now it’s a one-race gig. … I feel that we make some of the finest cars in the garage area and we lack a little bit in the information chain.
“If we could ever run two cars that would be a big boost to our race team. To have someone like Bobby give us his opinion is going to be very valuable to us.”
Labonte went to Gordon’s shop Wednesday. He worked with Gordon crew chief Gene Nead a few years ago when Nead was at Kevin Harvick Inc.
“Robby’s program has really turned around the past six or eight weeks,” Labonte said. “I’ve seen him from in the garage area and out on the race track. … He’s got really, really nice race cars.
“Robby has been the type of guy where he has done his thing like he wanted to do it and his stuff is the nicest in the garage and he’s proud of what he’s got. He’s done a great job with it.”
With nothing firm beyond mid-July, Labonte will continue searching for a new job. His focus will be on Cup rides but he probably wouldn’t turn down a competitive truck or Nationwide Series team.
Labonte has driven in 596 consecutive Cup races and has 598 career Cup starts – and doesn’t plan to hang up his driving shoes yet.
“I’m a racer,” said the 46-year-old Labonte. “I want to race. I want to win. There’s no more special feeling than winning races and being competitive. Bottom line, that’s what you do. … It’s the passion I have for this sport, the passion I have for racing that keeps me wanting to do this more and more.”
Landing a ride might not be easy, and Labonte acknowledged that there could be more hurdles. He didn’t know his 2009 plans until January of last year and he didn’t know his 2010 plans until November 2009.
“There’s bumps behind us that we’ve got through and there will be bumps ahead of us that we’ll go through,” he said. “Right now, we’ve just got to concentrate on what we’re doing right now.
“It would be nice to not have to wait [until late in the year]. … You just make the best of what you have.”
SceneDaily.com • Jeff Gordon names new wine after his daughter, Ella Sophia
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