After word came that Bobby Labonte was being replaced by Andy Lally in the #71 TRG Chevrolet a domino effect played out. Almost immediately it was said that Labonte would race the Robby Gordon Motorsports #7 and not too long after that it was confirmed.
“When we found out that Bobby was available to drive for us, we jumped at it,” said team owner Robby Gordon. “To have a past champion driving your car is a good opportunity. I think we can learn from him this weekend and it will help our program moving forward.”
Originally the RGM #7 was going to be driven by P.J. Jones in a start and park effort due to lack of sponsorship. Now Gordon is saying that Labonte will pilot the car for the entire race. There has been no word as to whether Labonte is bringing any additional sponsorship over to the car for this weeks race.
Labonte, 46, has 30 starts at Loudon and an average finish of 15.7. His best finish on the one-miler was second in the 2000 September race.
While few would be surprised if Labonte and TRG Motorsports parted ways (an annoucement is expected later today) owner Kevin Buckler says that is not the case thus far and that they were still trying to figure everything out.
It’s also unclear where Labonte will race if he does indeed walk away from the #71 car. Labonte and Gordon had been linked a few times over this winter but nothing official ever happened and Labonte returned to TRG.