Bobby Labonte's Excited to Be with Hall of Fame Racing

While Bobby Labonte was 90 percent sure, I, as a Bobby Labonte lifer fan, was 99.9 percent sure he would be driving for Earnhardt Ganassi Racing in 2009, in either the No. 41 and or No. 8.

But then along came Hall of Fame Racing with Ask.com sponsorship and an alliance with Yates Racing.

This ultimately caused Labonte to pass on the Earnhardt Ganassi Racing deal and want to drive the No. 96 for Hall of Fame Racing.

"That would have been a great deal, too," Labonte said. "but this obviously was an opportunity that presented itself [as] secure, let's go racing for the year and be competitive and all that stuff. I know that was going to be the place I needed to be."

The deal with Hall of Fame Racing and Yates Racing was finalized on Jan. 10, they had Ask.com in hand and that's all it took to sign Labonte.

At the same time Earnhardt Ganassi Racing did not have full sponsorship yet for their  No. 8 and no guarantees they would.

Labonte hasn't revealed anything about his negotiations with Earnhardt Ganassi Racing, other than to say he has a new found respect for Chip Ganassi and it would be a made for TV sitcom with horror and drama mixed in.

He did mention, "It was kind of wild. It was just touch and go for a little bit. Or not touch and go, just kind of tough."

In June 2008, Labonte had signed a four-year contract extension to stay at Petty Enterprises and the team sold majority of ownership to Boston Ventures.

The media made it look like Petty Enterprises released Labonte.

It was Labonte who asked for his release from the team. At the time, the team was laying off employees and had nothing other than 15 races lined up with sponsors for the No. 43.

They were looking at mergers, talking to various teams, he also had an option to remain driving the No. 43 should the merger with Gillette Evernham Motorsports gone through.

Which did happen, they are now called Richard Petty Motorsports.

"The baggage I had was not what they needed," he said, referring to his salary that was relatively high as a former Champion. "It was best to part ways and go on and hope they did what they ended up doing."

Labonte will have Todd Parrott as his crew chief. He'll also inherit the No. 38 owner points and a guaranteed starting position for the first five races due to the top 35 rule.

He'll have Paul Menard as a teammate in the No. 98 Menard's Ford, also Travis Kvapil will be running in five races in the No. 28 and could change to full-time with more sponsors.

Now David Gilliland is still under contract with Yates Racing, and don't think he'll be racing in a fourth team car.

It's an upgrade for him teammate wise, any way you look at it.

Labonte is excited to be at Yates Racing, under the Hall of Fame banner, with its affiliation with Roush-Fenway Racing, getting its cars, engines, and technology.

He feels he'll be able to compete for wins, poles, and even make the Chase.

"I'm pinching myself because this is a great opportunity," said Labonte, who last won a race driving the No. 18 in 2003 for Joe Gibbs Racing.

He has won in both the Camping World Truck Series in 2005 and the Nationwide Series in 2007.

Hall of Fame Racing's co-owners, Tom Garfinkel and Jeff Moorad, are excited to have Labonte as their driver and credit Yates Racing co-owner Max Jones with having a big role with landing him.

While it was rumored that Hall of Fame Racing was closing, they, like so many other teams, were looking to merge or form an alliance with another team, which they did with Yates Racing.

Of all the mergers this off-season, I like this one the best. Hall of Fame had a sponsor, Yates Racing had the team, and Labonte had the attractiveness sponsors love, plus proven ability.

I'm excited for Labonte, happy I don't have too watch another year of struggles in the No. 43.

I guarantee we'll see the No. 96 in victory lane this year and in the Chase.