NASCAR Cup Series

Bobby Labonte to drive for JTG Daugherty Racing

Published Jul. 28, 2010 1:00 a.m. ET

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Bobby Labonte has officially been named as driver of the No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing Toyota for the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup season.

The team announced its new driver a day after it released that Marcos Ambrose would not return to the car next season.

“JTG Daugherty Racing is a solid race team that has come close to winning races with Marcos Ambrose and I’m looking forward to developing our new partnership in 2011,” Labonte said in a news release. “The team is thriving and their technical alliance with MWR (Michael Waltrip Racing) is intact. It’s great to have next year already set in stone so when this season ends we can begin focusing on next year right away. Everything is in place and we have all the right ingredients to win races together.”

Labonte, 46, is the 2000 NASCAR Cup champion. The Corpus Christi, Texas, native has 21 career victories to his credit. He has earned 199 top-10 finishes, 114 of them top fives, with 26 pole positions in his 18 years of full-time Cup racing.

JTG Daugherty, owned by Jodi and Tad Geschickter and Brad Daugherty, is in its third season of Cup competition. 

“We are really happy Bobby has decided to join our team because I have known him for a long time and I have always admired him as a professional driver and as an individual,” Daugherty said. “He will do an outstanding job representing our products and team. He has gotten to a point in his career that he still has some things to accomplish. He is highly experienced with a championship on his résumé’ and we know he is capable of winning.”

Sponsor representatives from The Clorox Co., also embraced the change.

“We are extremely excited to have Bobby coming on board,” said Grant LaMontagne, senior vice president and chief customer officer of The Clorox Company. “He’s a champion and a great fit for our brands. We expect to have a serious run for the Chase next season.”

Labonte has driven for TRG Motorsports, Robby Gordon Motorsports and Phoenix Racing this season and is currently 31st in the drivers standings.

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