It’s time for the stretch run. If you follow baseball, you’ve seen this week several teams making last minute pick-up that veteran bat, that clutch arm with hopes that last minute acquisition will put them in good stead for those few remaining, dramatic weeks as pennant races are decided.
In the world of NASCAR Sprint Cup racing, TRG is in a race of a different sort. While drivers from Hendrick Motorsports, Stewart- Haas Racing, Joe Gibbs and Roush Fenway fight it out for the championship, another group of teams are in a race for relevance: to get inside the top 35 in owner’s points, to climb past that ulcer-inducing struggle for survival each week during qualifying.
The Racing Group, better known as TRG, has suddenly put themselves on the radar by acquiring the services of 2000 Winston Cup champion Bobby Labonte. For a multitude of reasons, this has the makings of a win-win.
For a few brief moments, Labonte’s streak of 568 consecutive starts appeared to be in jeopardy. I submit that streak won’t end this week.
Of Labonte’s 21 career victories, 6 have come at AMS. Those of you who have kept
an eye on the #71 that the Texan will piloting know that this car has not struggled to make races, on most Fridays, more than good enough to make the field with David Gilliland behind the wheel.
Now, I’m not here to knock Gilliland (after all, he’s been the one getting the TRG Chevy into races), but to use a political term here, Labonte brings “gravitas” to TRG. Not only does he have a trophy stand to point to bearing NASCAR’s coveted prize, he also brings with him a loyal, if not large, following of fans suddenly a lot more interested in the #71 ride.
While it was a sponsorship that led to Labonte’s demise at Yates/ Hall Of Fame, Tax Slayer, the relatively new sponsor for TRG’s Chevrolet will suddenly find their profile has raised a great deal. You could do a heck of a lot worse than having someone akin to the Gary Cooper of NASCAR wearing your logo on his firesuit.
While there’s no illusion that suddenly TRG has a championship contending team, there’s no doubt that Labonte’s hiring will offer a new and decidedly different look at where they stand in the scheme of things as they head for Atlanta with the track’s winningest active driver behind the wheel.
Good on TRG for bringing the one-time pride of Joe Gibbs Racing on board. As a fan, I appreciate them giving him a ride. Though I can appreciate the circumstances Yates finds themselves in, watching Atlanta without Labonte so much as having a shot at the race seems something of an injustice.
Labonte has at least a shot of getting in the race with a team that at the very least has to show up and in get in the show.
Bobby Labonte gets a ride, TRG gets a lift from a popular former champion. From here, it looks like a fair exchange.
PHOTO CREDITS- Upper left photo by mulsanne. #71 car by tigermoo02. To see more, visit flickr.com or click on the links.
{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
Bobby Labonte is now the driver who will bring TRG out of the hole, because of his gravitas? No, all he brings is a past champion’s provisional. Bobby stepped into David Gilliland’s car at Yates Racing, and his results have been worse that Gilly’s.
Bobby will be shocked when he gets into a car that is four generations old, and has parts that are snapping and breaking from stress and age. That is exactly what happened at Bristol, to the 71.
And, Bobby needs to realize that the only reason he is at TRG is because of his name. Not his performance.
Besides, look how the ‘Labonte gravitas’ helped to keep him at Yates.
what a bunch of poo this is, I put all my trust into Kevin Buckler and TRG. well any respect her had is out the window. to go to David’s fan base a few days ago and claim how they want o keep david (the reason TRG is even known)and flat out lie about David racing this weekend. David on track performance when TRG will let him race. has been much better than labontes the only difference is the equipment David has been given to drive,worn out hand me downs and he take thoes piles along with slugger and make every show he has been in the 71( they took away thew 71 from him at watkins glen, put him in a pile of crap and expected him to quality-the car was 2 seconds slower than the slowest car there yet he missed the field by.002 of a second) David has stood behind TRG being forced to be there start and park driver since he is the only one who can get those piles in the show–good thing bobby has a provisional-he would never get in the show
TRG-SHAME ON YOU,YOU HAVE LOST THIS FANS RESPECT i just hope bobby doesn’t get hurt in that hap-hazzard assembled car. no disrespect against slugger, they wont give him anything to work with
The big winner here is that slayer tax service. They get a bonus of having a past champion driving the car now and a driver who is more known and popular than the guy driving the 71 when they signed on.
you obviously have been to Davids web site. he doesn’t need past champion provisional to make a race. given equipment thats worth a darn he could be better known.heck he finished better in points than labonte did at yates–how can that be—younger, better driver maybe
@madmaxtv
@snafam.
Admittedly, it’s an ugly business. I don’t blame Gilliland fans for being upset. That saud, you can no doubt appreciate what Labonte fans were feeling earlier in the week. As Donald Trump says “It’s nothing personal, it’s just business.” Can’t deny Labonte’s popularity, the PC provision and just the cold, hard fatc he has 21 more career wins than Gilliland. Yes, he hasn’t won since 2003, but I’d counter, look what he’s been driving. I don’t expect there’ll be wins in this gig, but again, Labonte’s presence will certainly raise TRG’s profile.
Please excuse the typos there. Some people (me) should NOT multi-task.
It wouldn’t be quite so ugly for the fans of Gilliland, except that this is the second time in less than one season that Gilly gets his car given to Labonte. And I heard Lee Spencer talking about this deal, yesterday on Sirius. She kept talking about how Bobby hasn’t seemed to be able to get a grip on the COT. Then she would turn around and say that he could give excellent feedback to TRG. Huh? How can that be?
And, how much did the ‘raising of the profile’ help Yates? They still couldn’t get Bobby sponsored for those other races, and pulled him out. Bobby’s gravitas may be fading.
@snafam. Your point is well taken. You can only go without winning so long, yet here we are, TRG, Labonte and Gilliland were all in the news today. Where was TRG a week ago? To play “devil’s advocate” here, Yates got more from Labonte’s presence than they would have without him.
More than anything, it’s stink for Labonte to somehow be played for the bad guy in this. He didn’t ask to be benched by Yates, the shoe was on the other foot for him at Yates. BTW- Darnell won’t likely produce any better results than Labonte did.
Bobby was entered in this car too late this week to use the past champions provisional…according to Jayski.
So he has to actually qualify his way in.
Good luck with that old man.
Did I see that David Gilliland will now be able to do 3 races in a fourth Gibbs car later this year? Good for him.
LaBonte: You’re a ride stealer!
@grumpyoldman. He’ll get in. With all due respect to Gilliland, if he can get a car in a race, so can Bobby.
Hey- more power to Gilly if he lands that JGR ride. It’ll be a chance to find out what he can do with a quality ride. I hope he does well.
A ride stealer? Did I miss something? I didn’t know Labonte stole Gilliland’s ride. I thought TRG offered it to him ;) lol!
Seems like a lot of “those most highly regarded” look into their shaving mirrors every day and still behold images of themselves as brave and strapping 22 year olds. Guys like Bobby Labonte and Elliott Sadler….and maybe even Dale, Jr. need to accept their longevity, limitations and fading talents.
As they continue to hang on, assign blame, make excuses and fail to achieve, they only delude themselves.
There is only one Mark Martin !
All the old sandbaggers need to hang up their Pumas !!!
I think some people are getting a little bent out of shape here. I hate that Bobby is not having a good season, but I understand what Yates did in this case. I also understand what TRG did. Both moves make sense if you think about them rationally. I hate it for Gilliland too, but now info has come out that he will race the Wood Brothers #21 this weekend. That team has really improved this year by taking a step back to part time. I wish sucess for Eric in the 96, Bobby in the 71 and David in the 21. I hope they all have solid finishes this weekend at Atlanta.
we (gilliland fans) dont hate bobby labonte, he is just another pawn like david is. we are just upset at the way the whole thing went down. david was being a “team “player by lower his standards by doing start and parks to help the “team” build sponsors and funds. well they finely land a sponsor and look what happens. three days ago TRG posted a press release that david was in fact going to be able to actually race at his favorite track-then he is out a day later. the whole thing could have been handled much better. after talking directly with a upper managment person at TRG i find what the whole thing is about. david was working a deal with JGR with the approval and support of TRG and when they knew it was going to happen TRG had a problem with keeping a sponsor if there seat was empty. they actually helped david get the ride with wood brothers.we might be just minor fans but we have a passion for nascar and our drivers-we should at least be given a heads up on whats going on. not find out from a press release. bottom line us fans are the ones that make nascar go, sponsors bring the money but we keep the sponsors alive. so dont you feel it would be nice to return the favor to people who spend there hard earned money to make it all happen. good luck to bobby and David. time for big business to stop being big business and remember who keeps them in business
madmaxvtx
@madmax. I personally love it when fans speak up for the lesser appreciated drivers. I don’t care who you are, you have to have talent to race at this level.
It’d be refreshing to see a good race run by Labonte, Gilliland and Darnell.
I find it irritating that BIG sponsorship has taken over NASCAR, I remember years ago when you would watch a race, you got to “see the race” as in the whole field of drivers. Now it’s to the point that all you get to watch are the big name drivers, and to hell with the rest! Personally I’m sick of watching 3 to 7 drivers the whole race through.
Also, I am a Bobby Labonte fan. And one thing I have noticed, in my opinion Bobby was up and coming (years ago) doing very well, wins a championship, All is going well. then Tony Stewart comes along… (I’m also a Tony fan so don’t beat me up… getting to my point) Home Depot comes on board, big sponsorship, BIG $$$, then Bobby starts falling in the standings. His cars don’t seem to perform as well as Tony’s… huh! what happened? No BIG $$$ from his sponsors, Bobby gets stuck with the crap cars, motors, etc. Doing the best he can with what he’s got… As far as him joining the Petty’s and now Yates… same story, Doing the best he can with what he’s got!!
Granted, there is alot more that goes into it than just $$$ But, I think people need to take a step back and look at the whole picture!
I have a friend of mine, that is friends with Matt Kenseth and he has gotten so frustrated with the way that NASCAR has gotten, that he doesn’t even watch a race anymore!! That should speak volumes! Thank for your time… just my 2 cents worth! Go Bobby!!
I want nascar to go back to racing, enough with the business is business crap. i use to be involved with a home grown dirt track racing team where the bonus for the weekend was we earned enough to get our pit passes paid for. now there was some great racing. it wasn’t business against business, it was racer against racer and the best man won not the guy with the biggest pockets.
madmax