Labonte to Replace Ambrose for JTG Daugherty in 2011

JTG Daugherty Racing announced today that 2000 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Bobby Labonte will take the reins as driver of the No. 47 Toyota Camry for the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series 36-race schedule. 

“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. “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’s credentials speak for themselves. The Corpus Christi, Texas native is a 21-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series winner with 26 pole awards, 114 top-five and 199 top-10 finishes. Team owners Jodi and Tad Geschickter and Brad Daugherty are pleased Labonte accepted the offer to drive the JTG Daugherty Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series entry as they enter their third full-time season of competition at Daytona International Speedway on February 13th.

“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.”

“We would like to give a warm welcome to Bobby as he joins the JTG Daugherty Racing family,” said Jodi Geschickter. “We know he is an amazing fit for our sponsors and racing organization. The Labonte name has a history of excellence. Bobby is a proven winner, a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion and his character is solid. We share similar goals and views regarding the future. We are pleased that he has accepted the offer to join JTG Daugherty Racing in 2011.”

JTG Daugherty Racing’s partners concur.

“We are extremely excited to have Bobby coming on board,” said Grant LaMontagne, Senior Vice President and Chief Customer Officer of The Clorox Company,  the longest running sponsor partner of JTG Daugherty Racing. “He’s a champion and a great fit for our brands. We expect to have a serious run for the Chase next season.”

This announcement follows Marcos Ambrose’s decision to part ways with JTG Daugherty Racing at the end of the year, which was confirmed on Tuesday by team officials.
Photo Credit: Rusty Jarrett / Getty Images for NASCAR)

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Ambrose Departing JTG Daugherty at Conclusion of 2010 Season

After five successful years together in NASCAR’s top touring divisions, JTG Daugherty Racing and Marcos Ambrose will part ways at the end of the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season.

“JTG Daugherty Racing and our sponsors are obviously huge Marcos Ambrose fans and we are disappointed to see him leave after five great years of building a program together from the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, to the Nationwide Series, and into the Sprint Cup Series,” said Tad Geschickter, co-owner of JTG Daugherty Racing along with Brad Daugherty and Jodi Geschickter. “Marcos is a friend and he is a great talent. He will be an asset to his next team.

“While we hate to see him move on at the end of the season, we will remain focused on winning races with Marcos,” Geschickter continued.  "We are excited about our company's development. We have NASCAR’s greatest and most loyal sponsors, a growing fan base, and a steadily improving race team.”

“We have enjoyed working with Marcos and getting to know his family and friends from both the United States and Australia,” Jodi Geschickter added. “They have brought a lively dimension to our racing family and we have appreciated the opportunity to get to know them. Although we will miss Marcos, we have an amazing team at JTG Daugherty Racing and we look forward to announcing our plans for 2011.”

Daugherty echoes the Geschickter’s sentiments and wishes Ambrose much success in his future endeavors.   

“We are thankful for the opportunity to work with Marcos for the last five years and it has been an enjoyable experience,” Daugherty said. “We wish him the utmost success and best wishes. JTG Daugherty Racing has a bright future and we already have great plans in place for the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season.”

The two-time V8 Supercar champion’s first appearance with JTG Daugherty Racing was at Martinsville Speedway in 2006 when he made his NASCAR debut in the Camping World Truck Series. Ambrose naturally progressed the next year to the NASCAR Nationwide Series spending two years in the division before competing full-time in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for the racing organization.

“It has been a great five year journey for me and JTG Daugherty Racing,” Ambrose said. “I am proud of being their driver and of what we have been able to accomplish together. I want to personally thank Tad, Jodi and Brad and the entire race team for everything they have done. Our plan is to complete the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season with the same desire and commitment and end our relationship the same way it started with a positive attitude and the willingness to win. I will do everything I can to help JTG Daugherty transition into next year with their new driver.

“After five years, I personally felt it was time for a change,” Ambrose continued. “I have no firm plans of what will come next for me and my career. I would like to continue in NASCAR and finish off what I started, but I have not discounted returning to Australia. I’m grateful to JTG Daugherty Racing for giving me an opportunity to become a NASCAR driver and I wish them the best in the future.”

The Launceston, Tasmania Australia native has recorded four top-five and nine top-10 finishes with JTG Daugherty Racing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and has also delivered two Nationwide Series victories. His career-best Cup finish is a second-place finish at Watkins Glen International last season.

Currently Ambrose has two top-10 finishes and is 27th in the driver points standings after 20 starts this season.

JTG Daugherty Racing will make an announcement in the near future regarding their driver for the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season.

--JTG Daugherty Release

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