2000 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Bobby Labonte will share seat time with AJ Allmendinger in the No. 47 Toyota Camry fielded by JTG Daugherty Racing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for the remainder of the 2013 season. The team is currently eyeing five races with the first taking place in the Quicken Loans 400 at Michigan International Speedway Sunday, June 16.
The move is being made by the single-car operation to help refine the direction for the team’s development of the Gen-6 Camrys housed in their Harrisburg, N.C. shop.
“Bobby Labonte wanted to help our team grow and develop when he signed on with our organization at the beginning of the 2011 season,” stated JTG Daugherty Racing co-owner Brad Daugherty. “He continues to do a tremendous job for us. Bobby has given us his ideas for improving the product and we believe AJ will do the same.”
Stated JTG Daugherty Racing competition director Bobby Hutchens, “A single-car team does not have the benchmarking capabilities of all the multi-car operations we compete against each weekend. This move will help us identify where our cars stand so that we can go to work on the next generation of our car design.”
Allmendinger believes he can assist the JTG Daugherty Racing team.
“I have raced for Phoenix Racing some this year and feel confident I’ll be able to provide JTG Daugherty Racing with a good comparison,” said Allmendinger. “I’m thankful for this opportunity to work with the team and Bobby (Labonte).”
“At the end of the day, the name of the game is to provide value to our sponsors,” JTG Daugherty Racing co-owner Tad Geschickter said. “We are realistic about our position in the garage as a single-car operation. However, we have always been able to punch above our weight to deliver a great value to our partners on and off the track. We have not been doing that with the new car and this move is an additional step in determining what areas we need to work on to improve our performance.”
JTG Racing PR
