Biography

JTG Daugherty Racing is proud to enter the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season with championship driver Bobby Labonte to contend for a spot in the coveted Chase during their third full-time season at the pinnacle of the sport.

Labonte may be new to the JTG Daugherty Racing team, but he is definitely not new to the scene owning 21 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victories, 10 NASCAR Nationwide Series wins and a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series win.

In fact, his name is synonymous with champion. In 2000, the Corpus Christi, Texas-native was crowned the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion after an impressive four wins, 19 top-five and 24 top-10 finishes. The very next year he added to his accolades by winning the IROC Championship. He is also the 1991 NASCAR Nationwide Series champion. Ten years prior, he was hoisting a trophy for winning a Late Model Championship that helped pave the way to a successful career in NASCAR.

It all began at a very early age. Only five years old, Labonte strapped himself into a quarter-midget for the first time and that was the beginning of a life-long racing career just like his older brother Terry - - a two-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion. Winning seemed to come easy for the younger Labonte, who won his first national quarter-midget race at age seven. He went on to win quarter-midget races all over the United States in his pre-teen days.

During his adolescent years, Labonte moved to North Carolina in 1979 as Terry worked up the NASCAR ranks. Once introduced to NASCAR, he worked for Hagan Enterprises in 1982 as a mechanic and fabricator on the cars that his brother raced to a third-place finish for the national championship.

When working at Hagan, Labonte raced Late Models all over North Carolina. In his spare time, he decided to help build his own NASCAR Nationwide Series car. Finally the time came at the young age of 18 when he made his debut (9/25/82) at Martinsville Speedway in the division. With a 30th-place finish and $220 race winnings in his pocket, Labonte started building a platform for Bobby Labonte Racing that would eventually lead him to NASCAR’s top level.

During the 80’s competing in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, Labonte continued to sharpen his skills racing Late Models at Caraway Speedway (Asheboro, N.C.) and Concord Motorsports Park (Concord, N.C.). Labonte won a championship at Caraway in 1987 and won six times at Concord the next year.

For a total of 18 years, Labonte competed in the NASCAR Nationwide Series racing for himself and teams like Richard Childress Racing, Joe Gibbs Racing and Kevin Harvick Incorporated to name a few. Labonte racked up 10 wins, 51 top-five and 100 top-10 finishes and 10 poles. Most importantly he won a championship in 1991 with his own racing organization. It was a great accomplishment considering his first full season was the year prior where he finished fourth in the standings and was named Most Popular Driver.

The 1991 NASCAR Nationwide Series championship year prepped Labonte for his next move. That same year, Labonte made his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series debut (34th-engine) on June 3rd at Dover International Speedway for his own team.

During 1992, Labonte came so close to his second NASCAR Nationwide Series championship by finishing only three points behind champion Joe Nemechek. He delivered three wins that year along with 13 top-five and 19 top-10 finishes.

Two successful seasons in the division garnered attention from the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series garage and at the beginning of 1993 team owner Bill Davis came calling to offer Labonte a full-time ride with his racing organization.

That year Labonte competed in his first full NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season with Bill Davis Racing (BDR) earning six top-10 finishes and posting his first career pole at Richmond International Raceway in September. He was also the runner-up in the Raybestos Rookie-of-the-Year standings to Jeff Gordon and finished 19th in the points standings.

In 1994, Labonte returned to BDR and earned one top-five, two top-10 finishes en route to a 21st-place finish in the championship standings. At the end of the season, Labonte decided to make his next move that would prove to be long-term.

He began his first of 11 seasons at Joe Gibbs Racing winning his first career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 28, 1995. He also won both races at Michigan International Speedway that year. In addition to his three victories, he recorded seven top-five and 14 top-10 finishes en route to a tenth-place finish in the points standings.

In the No. 18 Interstate Batteries machine, Labonte delivered a total of 21 victories during his tenure at Joe Gibbs Racing and finished in the top 10 in the championship points seven out of 11 seasons. He also won one of the most prestigious events - - the Brickyard 400 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on August 5, 2000.

Out of all the years there, the 2000 season was definitely the highlight of his career when he won the Sprint Cup Series championship with four victories. Along with brother Terry (1984 and 1996), they became the first brothers to win the Sprint Cup championship. Labonte made the decision late in 2005 to drive for Petty Enterprises and take the reins of the famed No. 43 Dodge. He crossed the finish line in the top-five four times and finished in the top-10 seven times. In 2006, Labonte posted three top-five and eight top-10 finishes.

The 2007 season saw Labonte give Petty Enterprises its best points finish (17th) since 1999. After three seasons in the No. 43, Labonte made the decision to part ways with the organization and join Hall of Fame Racing for 2009 and finish out the season with TRG Motorsports. His relationship continued through the next season with TRG as he piloted the No. 71 entry. Labonte also drove for Phoenix Racing in the No. 09 machine and competed in one event in the No. 7 car fielded by Robby Gordon Motorsports to meet 36 starts.

In July 2010, Labonte and JTG Daugherty Racing announced a new partnership to compete for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship in 2011. Team owners Jodi and Tad Geschickter along with Brad Daugherty feel that Labonte will help the aspiring team find victory lane during their junior year.

• During 2001, Bobby and his brother, Terry, had a park named in their honor in their hometown of Corpus Christi, Texas.
• In 2004, Labonte initiated the building of the North Carolina Quarter-Midget Association Speedway in Rowan, County, N.C.
• Racing heroes while growing up included A.J. Foyt, Richard Petty and brother, Terry.
• Finished in the top-10 seven out of 11 seasons with Joe Gibbs Racing.
• The Bobby Labonte Foundation works to support local families by providing food, shelter and clothing. They also work to enrich the lives of children through numerous programs both locally and nationally.

AWARDS:

• Late Model Champion, 1987
• Nationwide Most Popular Driver, 1990
• Nationwide Champion, 1991
• Sprint Cup Rookie of the Year Runner-Up, 1993
• Sprint Cup Champion, 2000