- Labonte Motorsports
NASCAR former team
Company_Name = Labonte Motorsports
Owner(s) Name =Bob Labonte ,Bobby Labonte ,Terry Labonte ,Justin Labonte
Championships = 2
Wins = 21
Car Number(s) = 5, 14, 33, 44, 81, 88, 94
Notable Driver(s) =Bobby Labonte ,Terry Labonte ,Justin Labonte , David Green
Notable Sponsor(s) =Slim Jim ,Shell Oil Company ,United States National Guard
Manufacturer =Chevrolet ,Oldsmobile ,Buick ,Pontiac ,Dodge
Shop Location =Charlotte, North Carolina
Racing Series =Winston Cup ,Busch Series
Year Opened = 1982
Year Closed = 2004Labonte Motorsports is a former part-time
Winston Cup team and full-timeBusch Series team. It was owned by the Labonte racing family fromCorpus Crispi, Texas and competed for several years under various incarnations.1980s
Labonte Motorsports debuted in 1982 at
Martinsville Speedway in the #44 Oldsmobile, when it was owned Bob Labonte. Bobby Labonte drove the car, starting fifteenth and finishing twenty-sixth after dropping out 30 laps into the race. They did not run a race until 1985, when Bobby drove two races in the #81 at Martinsville, his best finish being seventeenth in the fall race. In 1986, Terry Labonte drove two races, winning the pole atRoad Atlanta and finished second at the same race. Bobby returned run six races in the #88Winner's Circle Auto Parts Buick, but wrecked out of three of them. In 1989, he switched back to the #44 and had first three top-tens, including a fourth place finish atRockingham Speedway .1990s
Labonte ran his first full season 1990, with sponsorship from
Penrose Firecracker . Although he went winless, he had seventeen top-tens and finished fourth in the final standings. In 1991, he won two races and the Busch Series championship. That same season, Labonte Motorsports, ran five races at the Winston Cup level. Bobby ran two races for Bob, first in the 14, and then the 44, dropping out of both races with engine failure.Irv Hoerr then ran three races for Terry in the 44, his best finish being 19th atPocono Raceway . Terry also began fielding his own entries in Busch, driving five races in the #94Sunoco Oldsmobile and picking up a win atWatkins Glen International . In 1992, Labonte won three races but lost the championship by three points. Terry failed to win a race, but switched to the #14 after picking up sponsorship fromMW Windows .Bobby moved up to Cup in 1993, and was replaced by Labonte Motorsports mechanic David Green with Slim Jim becoming the team's new sponsor. Although he failed to win in his first season with the team, he had six top-fives and finished third in points. The #14 was shared by Bobby and Terry, who together won two pole positions. In 1994, Green won one race but also claimed the Busch Series championship. Terry had four wins out of twenty starts, and Bobby debuted the new #33
Dentyne Pontiac, winning atMichigan International Speedway . Green had another win in 1995, but fell to twelfth in the standings. Terry had one win and finished eighteenth in points.In 1996, Bob retired from racing and Bobby became the new listed owner of the 44. With Shell Oil sponsoring, Bobby ran sixteen races and won at
Nashville Speedway USA . Terry changed his number to 5 and picked up funding fromBayer /Actron , and won three races that season.Bobby Hamilton ran the season finale at Homestead, finishing 24th. He drove fourteen times in 1997, but failed to win a race.Andy Hillenburg andBrad Leighton drove in one-race deals for him, but they failed to finish in the top-ten. Bobby drove fifteen times in 1998, and had another win, along with sharing the ride withTony Stewart for five races, who had two top-tens.At the end of the season, Bobby sold his team to this employer,Joe Gibbs Racing .2000s
After taking 1998 off, Labonte Motorsports returned in 1999, with Terry owning and driving the #44 Slim Jim Chevrolet. He won his final career Busch race at
Talladega Superspeedway , and had three top-fives.Jack Sprague andSteve Grissom drove one race deals for him, and Terry's son Justin began racing, making nine starts that season with a best finish of fourteenth atMyrtle Beach Speedway . Labonte andGlenn Allen, Jr. shared the ride to begin the season, before Justin finished it out. His best finish was 20th at Nashville.Labonte Motorsports was inactive until Justin began running a part-time schedule in 2004. Driving the #44
United States Coast Guard Dodge Intrepid , he made sixteen starts and won theTwister 300 atChicagoland Speedway . The team partnered withHaas CNC Racing in 2005 to allow Justin to run a full-time schedule in the 44 Chevy. Despite three top-tens and a seventeenth place finish in points, Coast Guard departed forRichard Childress Racing at the end of the season, causing the team to close its doors again.External links
* [http://www.racing-reference.info/owner?id=labonbo01 Bob Labonte Owner Stats]
* [http://www.racing-reference.info/owner?id=labonbo02 Bobby Labonte Owner Stats]
* [http://www.racing-reference.info/owner?id=labonte01 Terry Labonte owner stats]
* [http://www.racing-reference.info/owner?id=labonte01 Justin Labonte owner stats]
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