Labonte back in; for TRG that is.

dpkimmel2001

dpkimmel2001

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Labonte to race at Atlanta for TRG Motorsports


Bobby Labonte will drive at Atlanta in the Pep Boys 500 after all.

Yates Racing is forcing Bobby Labonte to share the No. 96 car, so he'll drive for TRG in the races he would have missed instead.

After Labonte was dismissed from his driving duties for seven of the remaining 12 races in the No. 96 Yates Racing Ford, the 2000 Cup champ has agreed to pilot the No. 71 Chevrolet for TRG Motorsports in those seven events starting this weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Yates Racing announced on Monday that rookie Erik Darnell, who has two Craftsman Truck Series wins since joining the Roush Fenway Racing family in 2004, would share the ride with Labonte for the remainder of the year.

Labonte, who is currently 30th in the point standings, leads the tour with six win at Atlanta -- all which were earned behind the No. 18 car while driving for Joe Gibbs Racing. Overall, Labonte's posted 12 top fives, 13 top 10s and led 959 laps in 33 starts.

David Gilliland, who has competed in 22 races for TRG this season, will continue driving for the team in the remaining events.
 
I'm trying not to cry.





GO Carl. Yea, looks like a new driver for me. :(:(:(:(:(
 
This is the result of the sport growing bigger than itself. When it costs millions of dollars to run a team, if the owner has to depend on big sponsorship money, then the sponsor has more and more say about how to run the team. I hate this for Bobby, but its just the beginning. Honestly, I believe that if Mark Martin hadn't won any races this year by now, he'd have been gone and not because Hendrick didn't like him.

This sort of thing is what I've been complaining about for many years now.
 
I see your point. But really, when is the last time Labonte ran as well as what Mark is now?
 
Bucky Badger said:
errrr...1 race:rolleyes:
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I still dont think he is as bad your making him out to be. As someone said before Yates declined far before Labonte, in fact it happend when Dale Jarrett was still with them. Look at the team since, Elliot Sadler came to them and won two races and made the chase at the same time Jarrett began to fade. The next Season Sadler had nothing mediocore finishes, and when both drivers left, they got David Gillaland a driver who took an unsponsored part time car and won in the Busch series and Ricky Rudd a driver who may not always win alot of races but was very competitive was very consistant and both Rudd and Gillaland ended up about 26th and 28th in pounts. Once Rudd retired they signed Kvapil who had a few good runs but once again was no where near winning and finished 23rd in points.

Now i know not every driver can jump in a competitive car and win a championship but that was 5 accomplished drivers including a former points champ that couldnt even make that team competitive. Or Is it possible that maybe there is something internal wrong with the team and not driver error?
 
Mark Martin is doing well because he is in a Hendrick car. Heck, even Junior isn't doing as bad as Bobby was. I'm no Bobby Labonte fan, but the man was a very good driver and I don't believe that his skill has waned all that much. Just his equipment.
 
Looks like he's not guaranteed a starting spot, even with PC, because he was not on the entry form in time (usually 13 days out) so he must qualify on speed. That team has qualified on speed before so hopefully Bobby can bring some good set ups with him. That's if the engine has anything.
 
wilson89 said:
I still dont think he is as bad your making him out to be. As someone said before Yates declined far before Labonte, in fact it happend when Dale Jarrett was still with them. Look at the team since, Elliot Sadler came to them and won two races and made the chase at the same time Jarrett began to fade. The next Season Sadler had nothing mediocore finishes, and when both drivers left, they got David Gillaland a driver who took an unsponsored part time car and won in the Busch series and Ricky Rudd a driver who may not always win alot of races but was very competitive was very consistant and both Rudd and Gillaland ended up about 26th and 28th in pounts. Once Rudd retired they signed Kvapil who had a few good runs but once again was no where near winning and finished 23rd in points.

Now i know not every driver can jump in a competitive car and win a championship but that was 5 accomplished drivers including a former points champ that couldnt even make that team competitive. Or Is it possible that maybe there is something internal wrong with the team and not driver error?
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Actually Bobby and Dale count as two former champs. Which makes the whole Yates scenario stink even worse.
 
carsntunes said:
Looks like he's not guaranteed a starting spot, even with PC, because he was not on the entry form in time (usually 13 days out) so he must qualify on speed. That team has qualified on speed before so hopefully Bobby can bring some good set ups with him. That's if the engine has anything.
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And it is an impound race I believe. So the go or go homers will qualify decent but drop like a rock.
 
This is worse then being the next swan song for the former BAM Racing team!!!
 
Well, looks like the 71 team leases RCR powerplants and have made 22 of the 24 races so I don't think qualifing will be an issue. I just hope they let him race and not startnpark it.
 
carsntunes said:
Well, looks like the 71 team leases RCR powerplants and have made 22 of the 24 races so I don't think qualifing will be an issue. I just hope they let him race and not startnpark it.
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Exactly what I was thinking. Silly season lasts way too long!
 
carsntunes said:
Well, looks like the 71 team leases RCR powerplants and have made 22 of the 24 races so I don't think qualifing will be an issue. I just hope they let him race and not startnpark it.
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The #71 only start and parks if they are running unsponsored. They got sponsorship for the next few races though, so it looks like Labonte will get to drive.
 
Spike said:
The #71 only start and parks if they are running unsponsored. They got sponsorship for the next few races though, so it looks like Labonte will get to drive.
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TRG's not start and park. They've been running most of the race as long as Gilly keeps it off the wall.
 
Qualified 25th while Darnell take a provisional 42nd place 4 mph slower than the rest of the field. Yates stablemate Menard starts 41st. Look like a celebration at Yates :sarcasm:


The scenario I just thought of is I wonder what Roush's involvement in this is.
 
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