Labonte out, Allmendinger in at JTG Daugherty?

ToyYoda said:
Wasn't QUITE the same situation. Terry was only 37 when he signed with Hendrick, Bobby is now 49. And while Terry did have a few winless seasons going into his first season at HMS, he was far from washed up. He had actually finished in the top-10 in points just two years earlier.
Click to expand...
Well said, 49 y/o key point
 
Clutch said:
Second fiddle to Tony
Click to expand...



I don't think so, he and Tony are still good friends, and were after he left JGR. I think it had more with Joe going back to the NFL and JD running things. JD wanted Bobby gone, and Bobby didn't want to stay because of JD. Half speculation on my part.
 
Might be a temporary ride swap. Phoenix Racing GM said they'll talk to Bobby about taking over the #51 this weekend.
 
I'm happy that AJ has opportunities, I hope he uses them well. He did pretty good at Indy but Detroit he messed up in both races.

I like the Labonte brothers but like many drivers when they reach the end of their careers they just don't want to give up racing. I thought Mark Martian might be in that situation but he kept surprising me because by being competitive at a number of teams.
 
@nascarcasm First promotional shot from @JTGDaugherty featuring @AJDinger with new team owner.

BMbY_BgCEAAIEpM.jpg:large
 
Bobby is still putting up decent finishes in a 2nd or 3rd tier team. Ambrose was placing in similar spots in the 47. Like other people said, if someone is going to keep paying you to race, and thats been your life, you arent going to just give it up very easily
 
TchainT said:
Bobby is still putting up decent finishes in a 2nd or 3rd tier team. Ambrose was placing in similar spots in the 47. Like other people said, if someone is going to keep paying you to race, and thats been your life, you arent going to just give it up very easily
Click to expand...
Some folks think there is room for 30 cars in the top ten.:rolleyes:
 
^ Of course theres not. Im just saying that For the equipment, hes not doing horrible, and that I understand why racers stay past their prime. Most players in other sports would do it too if the opportunities were there.... ex. Brett Favre
 
Labonte wants to race, but he has no race left in him, not even in a premium car. He had his moments now its time to sit in the rocking chair.....
 
I am goiong to preface this by saying I have been a Bobby Labonte fan for the past18 years or so.

While I see the sun setting on his career, I still want to see him get 1 more opportunity with a multi car team with a good engine program. When he came to JTG I thought it would be a great opportunity due to their sponsorship being taken care of and they appeared to be a team on the rise with talks of a second car. None of that has materialized. Their engine program is complete garbage, they have changed the crew chief every year. Management of this team is horrendous. They build zero chemistry between the driver and the crew chief. What erks me is that there are a plethora of Toyotas in the garage, yet this team fails to find a way to compare notes with the successful ones and improve their program.

I am hoping that Bobby will have an opportunity at 1 more solid ride. Maybe the 31. Although it looks as though if Burton is gone it could be Dillon in that ride. Then I thought maybe the 1, but Ganassi seems to be pretty loyal to McMurray. What rides are going to become available? The sport is moving in a younger direction and the era of the "gentleman driver" is dead. Unfortunately, it appears that Bobby's career is not to far behind. I came to terms with it last year when I saw others mentioning that the 47 had a good run after finishing 20th.........

I found my driver of the future, but man it was hard to make that decision............
 
88ForLyfe said:
Labonte wants to race, but he has no race left in him, not even in a premium car. He had his moments now its time to sit in the rocking chair.....
Click to expand...

or start driving in the truck series . . .
 
gees... Bobby Labonte has won over 8 million dollars in his last two seasons 11 and 12, 1.6 so far this season. Rocking chair? retirement? You people are freakin nuts..Guess he should say when they call, "nah, I am going to sit here and do nothing, your offer at a chance to take home 40% of what I win driving your piece of junk car is B.S." o_O
 
StandOnIt said:
gees... Bobby Labonte has won over 8 million dollars in his last two seasons 11 and 12, 1.6 so far this season. Rocking chair? retirement? You people are freakin nuts..Guess he should say when they call, "nah, I am going to sit here and do nothing, your offer at a chance to take home 40% of what I win driving your piece of junk car is B.S." o_O
Click to expand...

Without a doubt he should answer the call.

The question is, why do they keep calling ?
 
pjmolo said:
Without a doubt he should answer the call.

The question is, why do they keep calling ?
Click to expand...
He makes them money is why. Some people will never get it, there are teams that are there because they make money. guess what, none of them would be there if they are loosing money. You think they tell Bobby bring us back nothing but the steering wheel? Hail no, save your tires, save your engine..they have blown up two Toyota engines this year, try to get a good finish, stay out of trouble. he doesn't need to make a name for himself, he can run that way and he is almost guaranteed a start because he is a past champion.
 
clarkfn2284 said:
I am goiong to preface this by saying I have been a Bobby Labonte fan for the past18 years or so.

While I see the sun setting on his career, I still want to see him get 1 more opportunity with a multi car team with a good engine program. When he came to JTG I thought it would be a great opportunity due to their sponsorship being taken care of and they appeared to be a team on the rise with talks of a second car. None of that has materialized. Their engine program is complete garbage, they have changed the crew chief every year. Management of this team is horrendous. They build zero chemistry between the driver and the crew chief. What erks me is that there are a plethora of Toyotas in the garage, yet this team fails to find a way to compare notes with the successful ones and improve their program.

I am hoping that Bobby will have an opportunity at 1 more solid ride. Maybe the 31. Although it looks as though if Burton is gone it could be Dillon in that ride. Then I thought maybe the 1, but Ganassi seems to be pretty loyal to McMurray. What rides are going to become available? The sport is moving in a younger direction and the era of the "gentleman driver" is dead. Unfortunately, it appears that Bobby's career is not to far behind. I came to terms with it last year when I saw others mentioning that the 47 had a good run after finishing 20th.........

I found my driver of the future, but man it was hard to make that decision............
Click to expand...

Great thoughts there clarkfn , Welcome to the forum . It's really sad to see these kids getting a hate on for past champions of our sport .
 
StandOnIt said:
He makes them money is why. Some people will never get it, there are teams that are there because they make money. guess what, none of them would be there if they are loosing money. You think they tell Bobby bring us back nothing but the steering wheel? Hail no, save your tires, save your engine..they have blown up two Toyota engines this year, try to get a good finish, stay out of trouble. he doesn't need to make a name for himself, he can run that way and he is almost guaranteed a start because he is a past champion.
Click to expand...

Any new owner would be a fool not to pick up a veteran driver like Bobby or Mark Martin or Jeff Burton . He helps your program every time he straps into your racecar , he gets you the best finish your car is capable of and he doesn't tear up equipment . Put a kid in the car , all he does is wreck , and if he does do well ,he can't tell you why .
 
it more like a stupid on. If you don't understand the situation where underfunded teams hire older experienced drivers, past champions who are not only hired to race, but to make sure the car gets into the race. They are also hired to baby the car and get the highest finish possible. That keeps the team in the show and in the money.
 
ted@economy said:
Great thoughts there clarkfn , Welcome to the forum . It's really sad to see these kids getting a hate on for past champions of our sport .
Click to expand...


I dont see it so much as hate as it is that the generation we live in is always focused on what have you done for me lately. People think Kyle Busch is a wheel man because he drives the hell of the car and is always running up front. My wife is a big Kyle Busch fan and I like him as well, but until he learns to not be so reckless all the time he will never win a Championship. Especially in todays format where 1 DNF in the chase could send you packing. She always gives me ahard time about Bobby, but she is also relatively new to the sport so she has never seen that generation of driver.

I think the biggest problem with todays NASCAR is that they are constantly making changes to the car. Teams can never get settled with what they have. Just when teams got a handle on the COT they changed it. When they started to adjust to that we get the GEN 6. Its hard enough for the top tier 3 car teams to make the adjustment let alone a single car team. NASCAR has made it so we see the same 5-8 drivers contending for the win each week. Much respect to those guys for being there no doubt. It just makes people think that all of this is because the driver is either good or bad and we lose perspective on how much of a team effort it really takes.

Bobby is in the best shape of his life. He can still drive and he can still dial in a car. This isnt a sport where you wake up one day and suddenly you have lost the ability to go fast or drive the car. What tends to happen is that great drivers get into subpar rides as they age because teams want to have a longer committment from a younger driver for branding purposes. The older guys get phased out and the fledgling teams want to assure themselves a spot in the race so they use these guys for their experience.

Anyone who thinks that Bobby Labonte can't go anymore is out of their minds. It boils down to having some consistency with you car chief and some consistency in the communication of what the car is doing and how it is reacting. Thats something that JTG has lacked for the past 3 seasons. Throw in the topper that they still are using TRIAD motors and that they decided to move into their own shop and its a recipe for disaster. ALl the constant changes puts them behind the eight ball and they cant make up that difference. They consistently on a week to week basis show up to the track and unload 28th fastest about .600 off the pace. Then by practice #2 they either improve to maybe 22nd fastest or drop to 35th fastest and then they qualify anywhere from 20th to 30th. During the race they will jump up a few spots on the start of a new run and then as the run develops they drop off tremendously. Its the same song and dance weekly.

I understand why they are doing what they are doing, but I think it boils down to the fact that their program is just not good enough. They dont make adjustments well, they dont have enough HP, I dont think its the driver.....maybe Im wrong......
 
clarkfn2284 said:
I dont see it so much as hate as it is that the generation we live in is always focused on what have you done for me lately. People think Kyle Busch is a wheel man because he drives the hell of the car and is always running up front. My wife is a big Kyle Busch fan and I like him as well, but until he learns to not be so reckless all the time he will never win a Championship. Especially in todays format where 1 DNF in the chase could send you packing. She always gives me ahard time about Bobby, but she is also relatively new to the sport so she has never seen that generation of driver.

I think the biggest problem with todays NASCAR is that they are constantly making changes to the car. Teams can never get settled with what they have. Just when teams got a handle on the COT they changed it. When they started to adjust to that we get the GEN 6. Its hard enough for the top tier 3 car teams to make the adjustment let alone a single car team. NASCAR has made it so we see the same 5-8 drivers contending for the win each week. Much respect to those guys for being there no doubt. It just makes people think that all of this is because the driver is either good or bad and we lose perspective on how much of a team effort it really takes.

Bobby is in the best shape of his life. He can still drive and he can still dial in a car. This isnt a sport where you wake up one day and suddenly you have lost the ability to go fast or drive the car. What tends to happen is that great drivers get into subpar rides as they age because teams want to have a longer committment from a younger driver for branding purposes. The older guys get phased out and the fledgling teams want to assure themselves a spot in the race so they use these guys for their experience.

Anyone who thinks that Bobby Labonte can't go anymore is out of their minds. It boils down to having some consistency with you car chief and some consistency in the communication of what the car is doing and how it is reacting. Thats something that JTG has lacked for the past 3 seasons. Throw in the topper that they still are using TRIAD motors and that they decided to move into their own shop and its a recipe for disaster. ALl the constant changes puts them behind the eight ball and they cant make up that difference.
Click to expand...

Richard Childress said that he felt like last year they were racing the 'gimmick of the week' . Every week ,they were bringing last weeks giimick to the track. That's the way Nascar is today , tight , tight , competition . Except for the 48 who are in a class by themselves . That group of cars from 12th to 25th are racing each other every week for best in class , but no way can they keep up with the changes the way the top ten do.
 
ted@economy said:
Richard Childress said that he felt like last year they were racing the 'gimmick of the week' . Every week ,they were bringing last weeks giimick to the track. That's the way Nascar is today , tight , tight , competition . Except for the 48 who are in a class by themselves . That group of cars from 12th to 25th are racing each other every week for best in class , but no way can they keep up with the changes the way the top ten do.
Click to expand...

Yeah exactly, it's like going to the Saturday night short track and watching the B main cars battle it out in the A main. They just don't have a shot at competing. It's unfortunate because these teams churn through drivers and crew chiefs all the while it's their lack of a program that stunts their growth.
 
clarkfn2284 said:
Yeah exactly, it's like going to the Saturday night short track and watching the B main cars battle it out in the A main. They just don't have a shot at competing. It's unfortunate because these teams churn through drivers and crew chiefs all the while it's their lack of a program that stunts their growth.
Click to expand...


That said , there will always be top ten cars , top twenty cars , top thirty cars , etc. . That's just racin . The way that I look at it is that it takes a guy to drop out of the top ten , to open up a spot.
 
pjmolo said:
Without a doubt he should answer the call.

The question is, why do they keep calling ?
Click to expand...
Three words: Past Champion's Provisional.
Greg said:
I thought more folks would like, maybe it was over their head
Click to expand...
I see what you did there.

I would love to see Bobby running competitively again, but I don't get why someone with his credentials would want to run for a third tier team. I'd rather try my hand at some other form of motorsports or run a competitive vehicle in the Truck series. He's got Busch and Cup titles; with a Truck championship he could be the first to have all three top series.
 
I would love to see Bobby running competitively again, but I don't get why someone with his credentials would want to run for a third tier team. I'd rather try my hand at some other form of motorsports or run a competitive vehicle in the Truck series. He's got Busch and Cup titles; with a Truck championship he could be the first to have all three top series.[/quote]

Three words..money money money :) Top driver in trucks Matt Crafton, has won 156 thousand so far this year. Bobby has won 1.6 million this year. That would be $1,444,000 more. What would you do?
 
StandOnIt said:
Three words..money money money :) Top driver in trucks Matt Crafton, has won 156 thousand so far this year. Bobby has won 1.6 million this year. That would be $1,444,000 more. What would you do?
Click to expand...

Wow , that's the same reason that I work. It's like we're twins . Except for the decimal place ,of course.;)
 
StandOnIt said:
Hell, I would even drive a Toyota in cup for that much money.:idunno:
Click to expand...
Hell, I'd run in Trucks in a Jeep for $156K. I guess if I was drawing Bobby's checks that I could put up with the fans questioning my decision, but I might have to consider my legacy.

Ban the Past Champion's Provisional like racing back to the yellow. If a Johnson or Stewart fails to qualify, they can make the race via the time-honored practice of buying out an S&P team :p
 
Legacy didn't bother DW ,and he still made the Hall of Fame . I think that the drivers and their peers look at the job that these guys are doing with a lot more respect that sometime fans do.​
 
ted@economy said:
Legacy didn't bother DW ,and he still made the Hall of Fame . I think that the drivers and their peers look at the job that these guys are doing with a lot more respect that sometime fans do.​
Click to expand...
A valid point. I yield to your position, assuming that's allowed on the Internet.
 
BLab is in the 51 this weekend. This should be an awesome experiment. Is it the driver or the car. My money is on the car. The 51 is just better equipment right now. Not saying BLab will be great this weekend, but something tells me he might have his best run this year.
 
Jeffrey00 said:
BLab is in the 51 this weekend. This should be an awesome experiment. Is it the driver or the car. My money is on the car. The 51 is just better equipment right now. Not saying BLab will be great this weekend, but something tells me he might have his best run this year.
Click to expand...
I was thinkin the same thing . Labonte or AJ in the pool ? AJ has done nothing yet and there is no reason (other than his age) to think that he will improve that ride . Labonte is a seasoned veteran who should be able to get in any ride and make an improvement (in the car set up ). I think Bobby is the guy this weekend.
 
Jeffrey00 said:
BLab is in the 51 this weekend. This should be an awesome experiment. Is it the driver or the car. My money is on the car. The 51 is just better equipment right now. Not saying BLab will be great this weekend, but something tells me he might have his best run this year.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't be surprised to see him run better than usual.
 
As a 3rd generation Petty fan who still bleeds Petty blue (although Kes and the blue duce are my first concern on raceday until Mopar comes back), the story I always heard was it was tension between JD Gibbs and BL that led to the split with Gibbs. Also go back and check BL's stats especially in the first year with Petty in 2006. They were not that bad and there were a couple races with a break or two they could have won.
 
Here's something I could see happening for 2014, especially if Finch closes up shop:
Trevor Bayne goes full-time Cup for Roush in the #6, and Bobby Labonte moves over to the Wood Brothers #21. I have absolutely nothing to base that on, but prior to Bayne, the Wood Brothers were a popular stop for drivers in the twilight of their careers (i.e. Rudd, Schrader, Elliott), so it could possibly be a good fit.
 
ToyYoda said:
Here's something I could see happening for 2014, especially if Finch closes up shop:
Trevor Bayne goes full-time Cup for Roush in the #6, and Bobby Labonte moves over to the Wood Brothers #21. I have absolutely nothing to base that on, but prior to Bayne, the Wood Brothers were a popular stop for drivers in the twilight of their careers (i.e. Rudd, Schrader, Elliott), so it could possibly be a good fit.
Click to expand...

Did I miss something ? Is somebody leaving at Roush?
 
ted@economy said:
Did I miss something ? Is somebody leaving at Roush?
Click to expand...
No, but a 4th team is possible, as RFR is only fielding 3 cars now. Roush shouldn't wait too long to move Bayne up, it'd be a little weird if he were the 2011 Daytona 500 winner and the 2017 Rookie of the Year ;)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom