Terry Labonte to run at Daytona: Two-time Sprint Cup champion Terry Labonte will race in the Daytona 500 for FAS Lane Racing, a start-up Cup team owned by former crew chief Frank Stoddard. Mike Skinner is expected to drive the remainder of the season in the #32 Ford. U.S. Chrome will be the primary sponsor with the Air National Guard an associate sponsor at Daytona. "We plan to run all the races this year," says Stoddard. "I'm hoping that more funding will come down the pipe and we can ramp up to be competitive."(USA Today), been told the team will not run in the Shootout. No word if Labonte will run in the Bud Shootout, for which he is eligible, with another team. No word on the #10 Stavola Labonte Racing Chevy team that ran a few races in 2010 and was supposed to run in 2011.(2-7-2011)

Richard Petty Motorsports on hold: The situation at Richard Petty Motorsports remains tenuous at best, despite reports to the contrary. Last week team officials said everything was set for this weekend’s Sprint Cup Series race at Phoenix International Raceway as well as the season finale the following week. But five truck drivers remained in Fort Worth at Texas Motor Speedway waiting for the call as to whether they were heading west to the next race or back to the shop in the east as of Tuesday evening. The organization has been in limbo as team owner George Gillett is still reeling from the financial hit he took Oct. 15 when the English soccer team he co-owned -- Liverpool Football Club -- was taken over.
RPM had planned to run two cars next season with AJ Allmendinger and Marcos Ambrose. However, until money can be secured to settle the current debts at RPM, it’s uncertain how much longer the organization will be around. Sources told FOXSports.com that Richard Petty, the team's namesake, was in talks with Andrew Murstein, President of Medallion Financial Group, in a bid to gain financial control of the company from Gillett.
As a backup plan for Paul Menard, who has already announced that he will leave RPM to drive for Richard Childress Racing in 2011, the #10 Stavola Labonte Racing Chevy stayed within two hours of Texas Motor Speedway in case it needs to turn around and head to Phoenix for Menard’s use. Stavola Labonte Racing has a technical alliance with RCR.(FoxSports)(11-10-2010)

Terry Labonte hopes to run his new team 14-15 races in 2011: Bobby Labonte will drive the # Gander Mountain Chevy that is partially owned by older brother Terry in this Sunday's AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, hoping to surprise folks and build momentum for the Stavola Labonte Racing team that Terry hopes will attract some sponsorship dollars to be able to run a partial Sprint Cup schedule next season. Terry Labonte admitted that he's skeptical that the race team will be able to find the funding it needs to run the 14 or 15 races it wants to participate in next season. He said running anything less than that type of schedule wouldn't make sense.(NASCAR.com)(11-6-2010)

Bobby Labonte driving for Stavola Labonte at Texas: After a strong performance at the Charlotte Motor Speedway, Stavola Labonte Racing announced that Bobby Labonte will return to the wheel of the #10 Gander Mountain Chevy team at the Texas Motor Speedway. Labonte will compete in the AAA Texas 500 this weekend. It is the last of three races for the team in 2010 as they prepare for 2011 with driver and co-owner Terry Labonte. Bobby Labonte finished 22nd in his first start for the team co-owned by his brother Terry and winning car owner Billy Stavola. Labonte will be making his 20th start at the speedway where he has two poles and three top-five finishes.(Stavola Labonte Racing/Breaking Limits)(11-1-2010)

Stavola Labonte Racing taps another Labonte to drive: Preparing for their second of three scheduled NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events in 2010, Stavola Labonte Racing heads to the Charlotte Motor Speedway this Saturday night for the Bank of America 500. Chief Operating Officer and co-owner Terry Labonte announced that his younger brother, and two-time Charlotte Motor Speedway winner, Bobby Labonte will pilot the #10 Gander Mountain Chevy for this race only. Terry will be back behind the wheel for the last race of the season in Texas as he prepares for 2011. Once again, the car will be powered by Earnhardt-Childress Racing Engines and sponsored by Gander Mountain with associate sponsorship from American Cement. The team has been busy as they continue to make plans for Terry to race in 2011 under the Stavola Labonte Racing banner. Comments from COO and Team Co-Owner Terry Labonte Heading into Charlotte: "Everyone is really looking forward to Charlotte. With Bobby being a past champion, we can concentrate on the race, and that's important for a new team like ours. Bobby has proven he can do well at Charlotte. I'll be back in the car at Texas. Billy, and everyone with this team, is still working hard putting all the pieces together for next season. Obviously we're concentrating on this weekend and getting the best results for Gander Mountain. It was great to be back at Richmond, and that has everyone motivated. We feel good about the progress we're making.(Stavola Labonte Racing/Breaking Limits)(10-11-2010)

Terry Labonte in the #55 at Richmond: Terry Labonte will replace Mike Bliss in the #55 Prism Motorsports Toyota for the Air Guard 400 on Saturday at Richmond International Raceway. #10-Stavola Labonte Racing crewmen, including crew chief Doug Randolph, were working on the car to get it race-ready (it was a start-and-park) and putting the decals of sponsor Gander Mountain on the car. Labonte had failed to make the race in what the team had hoped would be its debut.(SceneDaily), Bliss had qualifed the #55 Toyota 37th. With the driver change, the car and Labonte will fall to the rear of the field before the start of the race.(9-11-2010)

New Labonte team, to be RCR 4th team in 2011? The fourth [Richard Childress Racing] team is preparing for [Paul] Menard's arrival already as RCR will field the equipment and personnel for Terry Labonte in the three races he is doing this year for [#10 Gander Mountain Chevy] Stavola Labonte Racing to get that future Menard team up to speed. It's certainly a possibility that crew chief Doug Randolph, who is working as crew chief for Labonte in those races, could take the [crew chief] role with Menard next season.(FoxSports)(8-17-2010)

Stavola Labonte Racing announce 2010 plans: Veteran NASCAR team owner Bill Stavola is back on the racing scene, joining with two-time Sprint Cup Series Champion Terry Labonte to form Stavola Labonte Racing. The duo have partnered with award-winning sports marketing and sponsorship professional Bill Henneberry who will oversee their sales and marketing efforts. Stavola Labonte Racing makes its 2010 debut in the #10 Gander Mountain Chevy on Sept. 11 in Richmond, followed by Oct. 16 in Charlotte and finishing strong on Nov. 7 at Labonte’s home track in Texas. An expanded 2011 season will be announced soon.
Gander Mountain will serve as the primary sponsor for all three races, with American Cement serving as associate sponsor. Stavola, who managed teams with Rookies of the Year Dick Trickle and Jeff Burton and veteran drivers such as Bobby Allison, will serve as the team’s Chief Executive Officer after nearly a decade out of the sport. Stavola and Labonte will back their decades of experience and history of winning with the right combination of technology and equipment provided through their partnership with Richard Childress Racing and Earnhardt-Childress Racing Engines, who will supply RCR-built Chevrolet Impala race cars and ECR-built Chevrolet power plants.(Stavola Labonte Racing), see an image of the car on my #10 Team Schemes page.(8-12-2010)

Terry Labonte to run some races: Two-time Cup Series champion Terry Labonte is expected to run three races this season for former owner Billy Stavola [was #8 Stovola Brothers from 1984-1998 with four Sprint Cup Series wins in 524 races]. Labonte will drive the #10 Chevy at Richmond, Charlotte and Texas. Cars and engines will be provided by Richard Childress Racing.(FoxSports), no word on a sponsor or crew chief. A website for the team was found, but with little information at stavolalabonteracing.com.(8-1-2010)

Laobonte & Stavola?: Semi-retired driver Terry Labonte and former team owner Bill Stavola are both getting back into NASCAR full-time as co-owners of a new race organization. StavolaLabonte Racing will field cars in the Sprint Cup Series, possibly next year, with Labonte driving initially. Bill Henneberry, the former VP/Marketing at Hertz and a former MLB marketing consultant, also has an ownership stake and will run the day-to-day operations of the race team. Jim Schwebel, a 20-year veteran at the NFL and most recently the league's Senior VP/Corporate Sales, will lead the sponsorship sales effort through the agency he runs, Apel Inc. Atlanta-based Career Sports & Entertainment will handle PR, marketing and branding. Labonte is a former Sprint Cup champion, while Stavola owned NASCAR teams with his brother, Mickey, from '84-98.(SportsBusiness Journal)(2-1-2010)

Stavola back in NASCAR? MORE: Friday's Sports Business Daily is reporting - Semi-retired driver Terry Labonte and former team owner Bill Stavola are both getting back into NASCAR full-time as co-owners of a new race organization. StavolaLabonte Racing will field cars in the Sprint Cup Series, possibly next year, with Labonte driving initially.(Sports Business Daily, need subscription)(10-9-2009)
MORE: Former NASCAR Sprint Cup champion [1984, 1996] Terry Labonte, who is preparing to run his fifth race of the season this weekend at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, hopes to compete in as many as eight to 10 events in 2010. Labonte as back this weekend in the #08 Carter/Simo Toyota, which is running a partial schedule this year. Labonte finished 24th in the Daytona 500 for Prism Motorsports and has run three races this year for Carter/Simo Racing. “If I end up running some more races next year, I felt like there are some tracks I haven’t been to in years, and I don’t have as much experience in these cars,” said the 52-year-old Labonte. “If I run eight, 10 races next year, I need to get as many laps as I can. I’ve got to learn as much as I can about these cars.” Labonte said he and former car owner Billy Stavola have tossed around the idea about starting a team. “He’s a good guy and was in the sport for a long time and had a good reputation,” Labonte said. “He would be a good guy to be associated with. We’re kind of kicking around the idea. On the one hand, it’s the perfect time to get in because you would be able to hire people today that you would not have had a chance two years ago. On the other side of the coin, I’ve never seen it so hard on the sponsorship side.” As far as running a full season, Labonte said he doesn’t think he has it in him. As far as the remainder of this year goes, Labonte said if the team has a good run in the NASCAR Banking 500 this weekend, he might run the car again later this year.(SceneDaily)(10-22-2009)