Labonte-Yates Racing Deal: A Product Of the Economy

Hall of Fame Racing had the sponsor, but no team.

Yates Racing had the team that could campaign the No. 96, but lacked a sponsor.

Bobby Labonte has the attractiveness sponsors love, plus proven abilities. It also does hurt to have a championship provisional in your pocket.

Basically, Yates and Hall Of Fame Racing landed the best available driver for the No. 96 car in Labonte.

Labonte is the 2000 Sprint Cup Champion, winning 21 races. He entered the Sprint Cup in 1993 with Bill Davis Racing. In 1995, he moved onto Joe Gibbs Racing but then signed with Petty Enterprises after the 2005 season. In 2008, he signed an extension, even with the team selling majority ownership to Boston Ventures.

Interesting enough, he asked for his release from Petty Enterprises in December and they granted it. At Yates Racing, Labonte will be driving a Ford—part of a three car team— as he will drive the No. 96 and run the entire season.

He'll have sponsorship from Ask.com. They'll be onboard for the first 18 races of the season and the company has the option to add more races or just add the final 18 races of the season.

They are a first-time sponsor in the sport and it is nice to see them make this move with how tough the economy has been. They also signed a deal with NASCAR to be the "Official Search Engine of NASCAR.” They also are looking at adding a track display as well as talking with various track operators concerning media opportunities.

“As part of the strategy to go deeper into the highest-volume categories and provide the best answer, the first time, every time, we want to be the first place fans search online for NASCAR information,” said Ask.com Chief Executive Officer Jim Sakka in a press release. “Through these partnerships, we will break new ground by applying our semantic search technology capabilities to NASCAR related content while also tapping one of the largest marketing channels in America. Our goal is to win over the millions of Loyal Fans by providing them the best NASCAR search experience on the web, and introduce them to all of Ask's capabilities when they come.”

I really think this deal is the product of the economy. With all the mergers, it's led too many strange things to go on but I like this move by Labonte.
It will be interesting to see if Hall Of Fame Racing can put the disastrous 2008 season behind them. They finally have a quality driver to see what they can do and finally find success in Sprint Cup.

For Yates Racing, this gives the team a proven veteran—one that can be a benefit for the struggling team and one that they can build off of. Sure it will be successful, since Labonte will be in Roush equipment.

The only confirmed teammate for Labonte is Paul Menard in the No. 98 car. The team still hasn't announced whether Travis Kvapil or David Gilliland will be driving for them in 2009 or which car number will be the third car number—either the No. 28 or No. 38.

I actually like this move by Labonte, but I’m bummed he's not in a Chevy, but I'll take it. I think both of these teams have the hunger to survive and they want to reach the plateau that gives them weekly success in Sprint Cup.