Labonte Slated to Drive No. 96 Fords in 2009

Move over Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing, the newly crafted alliance between Yates Racing and Hall of Fame Racing -- I don't know if we can call it a merger just yet -- has landed 2000 Sprint Cup Champion Bobby Labonte.

Labonte, who left Petty Enterprises in December, moves to the team to drive the No. 96 car that, thanks to that new Yates/HoF alliance, will be a Ford. Surprisingly enough, Labonte's move also helped bring a new sponsor into the sport despite many teams struggling to even keep funding from the ones they currently hold.

Ask.com will serve as Labonte's primary sponsor on the No. 96 in addition to taking a role as the "official seach engine of NASCAR" -- something that sounds like it's going to benefit fans.

According to the release, Ask.com will use its technology to scan all of NASCAR's digital records to make them easier to find. The example cited says that fans will be able to type in a question like "Who was the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Rookie of the Year in 1995?" and the search engine will deliver the answer immeditately.

I can't wait to try that one out with something like "How many times has Michael Waltrip hit the wall?" just to see how many calculations Ask.com's servers can handle because, well, Waltrip's banged a wall or two.

Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing was thrown into this mix as early as last weekend when rumors started claiming B-Lab would be taking over the No. 8 at EGR, shoving Aric Almirola out of his ride (that guy can't catch a break, it seems). The deal must have been close because even Almirola didn't deny it in an interview this week, and ThatsRacin.com said Labonte called off a lunch meeting with EGR officials on Tuesday after signing the Yates/HoF deal.

There's still plenty of questions about the future of Yates Racing, especially with sponsorship, but for now, the team includes Labonte, Travis Kvapil, David Gilliland and Paul Menard. Who knew a team with two under-funded cars for all of 2008 could double in size during the offseason?

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

1-14-2009 @ 5:39PM

CJ said...

Hey, Bobby, you made another very stupid, stupid, stupid move. He had better options when he left Gibbs after the 2005 season and signed with Petty's, and you would think he would learn from that, then has a chance to sign on with RCR, turns it down to stay at the down the toilet team, which does happen, and then instead of signing with the top ride out there with EGR, which did make the chase and won. Hope your career is official over Bobby.

1-15-2009 @ 10:45PM

Steve said...

I think Bobby made a great move. Both Yates cars only had partial sponsorship all year, but showed how well they can run with what they had. The #28 car even made a few very strong runs, and might have even made the Chase with a little more luck and money. The #8 didn't make the Chase either, and with the merger with GanASSi and no sponsorships, it wasn't going to look good to drive that car. The #96 will have the powerful Roush-Yates engines and sponsorship, so that's a no-brainer to me.

2-04-2009 @ 10:31AM

Maggie said...

If you don't like Bobby then don't leave such a negative comment. Everyone makes choices for a reason and he had his reasons. There is too much negativity in the world today without you adding to it CJ.

1-16-2009 @ 9:14AM

Hey, Steve, how many races did Yates win last year? How bout the year before that? And the year before that? Need the answer? IT'S ZERO! Yates has only made the Chase for the Cup once and has not won a race since 2005 and that was DJ at a plate race, so all Yates gets is Roush's leftovers and no team that relies on another as Yates will compete for wins and championships. I predict the same for Stewart-Haas as no team that gets their engines from another powerhouse does well at all.
By the way, at least Earnhardt's team, before last year, at least one a race a year and made the Chase for the Cup in 2007, 2006, and 2004 and two of those years was the 8 car. I agree i dont know the sponsorship deal, but from what i hear, Bobby was getting alot of interest from potential sponsors, and they were going to pair him in the 8 car cause it would help with marketablility. Bobby again will see he's screwed up as he did with signing with the Petty's, and they'll do him in as they did Brad Coleman!

2-04-2009 @ 10:25PM

Hey, Maggie, why dont you put your rose colored glasses in the trash! I dont sugar coat everything to make people happy, i give my opinion and most the time it's the truth, so get over it. I like Bobby, but i will not pull for him to succeed cause he'll never run well enough to be a threat for wins. He had his best opportunity with RCR, which he was offered that ride, and he turned it down so he has no one but himself to blame. You cant face the truth, then your out of touch with reality apparently!

2-08-2009 @ 9:02AM

cabaker726 said...

I have liked bobby labonte since he started racing. No matter what race I go to everyone has nothing bad to say about Mr. Labonte. He is an excellent race driver and a real family man. The decisions he has made have always done well for him. Go #96 look forward to the future!!!