More Labonte rumors…to Evernham? Fed-Ex to the #18, Interstate Batteries? what might happen next at [Joe] Gibbs’ [Racing] is uncertain. While #18-Bobby Labonte insists he has no plans to leave Gibbs, that has not quieted the NASCAR garage, with the talk continuing, focused on the possibility car owner Ray Evernham would like to hire Labonte for his new third team [#10 Valvoline] next season. Gibbs may be moving his FedEx sponsorship from his new third team, with #11-Jason Leffler, to the team for which Labonte currently drives, which has been sponsored for years by Interstate Batteries, according to sources close to the team. And there could be more to the change, though it’s not at all clear just what [Jimmy Spencer reported this last week on NASCAR This Morning]. And it’s not clear just how Gibbs’ Interstate Batteries sponsorship might be aligned next season. Interstate boss Norm Miller is a close friend of Gibbs and is the man whose sponsorship helped launch Gibbs in NASCAR more than a decade ago. But over the years, the Texas battery maker has watched bigger and bigger companies join NASCAR as sponsors.(Winston Salem Journal)
AND rumors have Michael Waltrip possibly being aligned with Interstate Batteries somehow in 2006.
HOWEVER: last week Joe Gibbs Racing sent this: Claification of Labonte/Gibbs Racing rumors:
1. Joe Gibbs Racing is not planning a sports car team for 2006 and while Bobby Labonte enjoys the Rolex races, he is still a full-time Cup driver and is signed with JGR through 2008.
2. Interstate Batteries will be back on the #18 Chevy in 2006, as they have been since 1992, one of the longest running primary sponsors/team relationships in NASCAR.
3. And, as pointed out through various articles and in Bobby Labonte’s comments. The rumors are untrue and that’s about all that can be said.(JGR team spokesman)(7-25/19-2005)
