And Silly Season Takes Another Turn: Labonte to Yates

With all we have seen the past few months in terms of Silly Season moves, I guess I shouldn't be so surprised by the various wheelings and dealings that keep cropping up in Sprint Cup.

But this one threw me off guard: Bobby Labonte will be moving to Hall of Fame Racing for the 2009 season, and not EGR as originally anticipated. Essentially, he will be driving for Doug Yates' team after yesterday's announcement that Hall of Fame was switching from Toyota to Ford, and forming a technical alliance with the smaller of the Blue Oval's two multi-car teams.

The 96 team will be housed in the Yates Racing shop and be operated by Yates personnel, with HOF team owners Tom Garfinkel and Jeff Moorad continuing to foot the bill.

The Yates/HOF announcement mentioned that the 96 team would run full-time in 2009, with (gasp!) a new sponsor for the sport, Ask.com, on board. I gathered at the time that Yates would be combining one of his two teams from last year with the HOF effort, since he had three drivers (Travis Kvapil, David Gilliland, and Paul Menard) and essentially one sponsor (Menard's) lined up for the new season.

With the latest news that is rolling in, this appears to be the case, although we'll have to wait for the official word tomorrow. As of the moment, it looks as if Paul Menard and the new 98 team will get the 38's points from 2008 in order to be locked in for the first five races, with Travis Kvapil and the 28 team keeping their accumulated points and guaranteed spot.

The 96 keeps its points (although the car number might change), which wasn't going to do them much good anyway unless: a. qualifying was rained out; b. a bunch more locked-in teams withdrew their plans to run a full schedule in 2009; or c. they hired a past champion.

Yates and the Hall of Fame Racing ownership team have gone the route of option "c" by bringing in Labonte, although the points transfer from the 38 to 98 apparently means the end to the David Gilliland era in the 38 car (I highly doubt Yates will expand to a fourth car for David, given the fact that the sponsor situation still appears iffy).

Labonte's past champion's provisional should give Yates a coveted three guaranteed spots through Bristol, although if both he and Tony Stewart were to need a PCP at one of the first five 2009 events, Labonte would DNQ (I think it is safe to say that it is unlikely that we are going to have to worry about sending good drivers home after Daytona, so don't chew your nails off during qualifying, Labonte fans).

Bobby Labonte and Yates should be a good fit together. The 28 team ran really well considering the lack of financial resources in 2008, and with Todd Parrott and Travis Kvapil back together in '09, should continue to field a strong effort.

Menard will have veteran Larry Carter's crew chief expertise to lean on as he tries to prove that he isn't the Nicole Richie of the garage area (living off of daddy's riches). Labonte gives Yates a veteran, championship-winning driver who can attract additional sponsorship to the team, guide Kvapil and Menard, and bring the team back to prominence.

A lot of strides were made in the first year with Doug Yates in charge of his father's team, and adding Labonte to the fold gives the team an "A list" driver who can take the organization to a whole new level. Believe me: Bobby Labonte's performances at Petty Enterprises may have been pedestrian, but in top-notch equipment, the guy can still win races.