Bobby Labonte made it
official late yesterday, confirming that he will drive the No. 51 Chevrolet for
Phoenix Racing this weekend at Michigan International Speedway. The agreement
was reached after Labonte spoke with and received approval from both JTG/Daugherty
Racing and Toyota Racing Development.
The deal is currently for
just one race.
Labonte, who has 14
previous starts for the James Finch-owned team, said he is grateful for the
opportunity to race with the team. "James has always been one of the first
to reach out to offer help in a situation like this," said Labonte.
"I enjoy racing with Nick Harrison, Steve Barkdoll and the entire group of
guys. I'm looking forward to this weekend."
Labonte said he feels
the move will help JTG/Daugherty Racing, and that he continues to be committed
to helping the organization move forward.
"Racing for another
team this weekend will help me understand the development of the new car and
how it compares to my current ride," continued Labonte. "I'm not
happy with our current performance level as a team and absolutely want to work
hard to help our race team improve. My commitment continues to give the best
efforts possible each weekend. That has never changed and this opportunity will
hopefully make everyone, including myself, get a better understanding of where
improvements can be made. We just completed our first test at Kentucky, which
was valuable time spent on the track, that should assist in improving our team
performance starting this weekend and going forward."
Labonte, the 1991
Nationwide Series champion and 2000 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion, does not
have a contract for the 2014 race season, and said he still wants to help the
Tad and Jodi Geschickter-owned team move forward.
"I enjoy racing for
Tad, Jodi and Brad Daugherty," commented Labonte. "They have given me
a great opportunity to help this team grow. It's where my focus has been since
racing with the team in 2011. I want to see this team get better and will do
what I need to do to make that happen."
Labonte will be making his 705th NASCAR Sprint Cup
Series start this weekend.
No comments:
Post a Comment