•Labonte signs with TRG to run full 2010 season

wilson89

Team Owner
Joined
Mar 20, 2008
Messages
2,371
Points
413
Location
bay area - northern california
Cant belive no one made a thread about this yet.

Bobby Labonte has signed a one-year contract to drive TRG Motorsports' car in 2010 -- and at least for the season-opening Daytona 500 he'll have a teammate in TRG's hoped-for full-time second car. On Saturday morning at Phoenix International Raceway, TRG owner Kevin Buckler and Labonte announced the deal and a 12-race primary sponsorship with TaxSlayer.com, a provider of online tax preparation software, that Buckler hopes will be the first of several.
One of the biggest short-term decisions TRG must make is which car manufacturer to align itself. Buckler said he hopes to have that decision made right after Homestead. "We're talking to several manufacturers right now, we're in the middle of some strong negotiations with them, and as usual we have to do what's best for the team," Buckler said. "I tend to be very, very loyal about stuff, maybe too much so; but I've got a lot of partners and other people to consider here, and our final decision needs to be based on what's best for TRG Motorsports
 
Don't get your hopes up (unfortunately). Beware of "dot com" sponsorships. There have been several in the past few years but how many actually produced anything resembling success? Every time I see a new "dot com" sponsor show up, all types of red flags go up.

Maybe this "Taxslayer.com" thing will prove differently but I'm not holding my breath.
 
Don't get your hopes up (unfortunately). Beware of "dot com" sponsorships. There have been several in the past few years but how many actually produced anything resembling success? Every time I see a new "dot com" sponsor show up, all types of red flags go up.

Maybe this "Taxslayer.com" thing will prove differently but I'm not holding my breath.

The point is, Bobby will be racing and there is a sponsor. Much better than the "drive and park" drivers that we are seeing. Until you have tried obtaining sponsorship, it is difficult to know the ups and downs involved.
 
The point is, Bobby will be racing and there is a sponsor. Much better than the "drive and park" drivers that we are seeing. Until you have tried obtaining sponsorship, it is difficult to know the ups and downs involved.
I realize that "You takes your money where you gets it." Yeah, I've been deeply involved in fund raising a few times over the years so I'm well aware of the problems, especially in an economy such as we have today. Naivete isn't normally one of my short suits.

And, I wish Bobby and Buckler all the best. Both are a credit to motor sports.

All I was stating was that I don't hope a lot of hope for these "dot com" sponsorships. Historically they come on with a lot of pizazz then sometimes slowly or sometimes quickly but they fade away. (can you say Ask.com, unicef.com, and freecreditreport.com? They immediately jump to mind)

Once more, I hope Bobby and Buckler pull it off and I hope I'm proven wrong. We'll wait and see, but the odds are on my side. Emotionally, I hope the deal succeeds, but I try to never let my feelings get in the way of reality. And, unless I'm wrong, the reality is that Bobby, as good a guy as he is, will be running lower middle of the pack next season after the first ten races. I hope that I'm surprised and he's a contender. But just seeing him on the track and not being competitive just doesn't make my socks roll up and down.
 
I have been a Labonte fan dating back to his days in the Busch Series. I really hate his career has gone the route it has gone, and now he is with a third tier team. His career went downhill when he went with Petty. Now I guess he is just hanging on, providing a upstart team with Past champions provisional. Bobby would be better off going to the truck series.
 
^^^Agreed. He could at least become the first driver to win a championship in all three series.


This trip is like the last one..... .com sponsor by a copy of a copy race team.
 
I have been a Labonte fan dating back to his days in the Busch Series. I really hate his career has gone the route it has gone, and now he is with a third tier team. His career went downhill when he went with Petty. Now I guess he is just hanging on, providing a upstart team with Past champions provisional. Bobby would be better off going to the truck series.

agreed. Give bodine and hornaday some competition.
 
I hope that he does well! Bobby is a great guy and while he won't be making the chase in 2010 it would be nice to see him get some top 10's again!
 
I think it sucks that Labonte stock has dropped so bad. Did the 43 car ruin him? I don't remember him driving that bad when he left the 18.
 
I still wonder why he left the 18?

He has only really jelled with Jimmy Makar. When Jimmy was offered a better position at JGR, the string of replacement crew chiefs came. It was only when Fatback was CC did they experience a resurgence, but that little incident that cause FB to get fired sealed fate. The team was 6th in ponits at that time (and eligible for the chase) and ended up 13th year end. The replacement CC? Why no other than recently ousted Steve Addington. When Bobby realized he couldn't work with him, he felt a "leading" to go to Petty and the roller coaster went down from there.
 
Thanks for clearing that up. I always wondered why he left the 18 as well.
 
Back
Top Bottom