March 31, 2002
- Labonte Testing a Chevy? UPDATE: hearing that after wrecking his #18 Interstate Batteries Pontiac during testing at Texas Motor Speedway, the #18 team broke out the backup car to test and it was a…….Chevy, not a Pontiac.(3-27-2002)
UPDATE: #18-Bobby Labonte tested with a Pontiac and a Chevrolet at Texas Motor Speedway earlier this week, but company President J.D. Gibbs says the team is simply researching what the Monte Carlo offers. He was in both cars on Monday and Tuesday but logged extra hours in the Monte Carlo after crashing his Pontiac. Gibbs remained adamant that the team is not leaving the Pontiac ranks for the security of a make with significantly more competitors. He defined those plans as the development of the 2003 Pontiac, a project ongoing at Gibbs and the Johnny Benson-Ken Schrader shops. Gibbs said his team has studied Dodge and Ford noses as well. But putting a Chevrolet on a Winston Cup track is new ground. “As of right now, we have no plans to run a Chevrolet,” Gibbs said. Still, Gibbs said Labonte was comfortable in both cars. “They’re pretty close,” he said. “We have no plans to switch from Pontiac.”(Richmond Times Dispatch)(3-31-2002)
- What is up with Pontiac? Speculation is rampant about the General Motors brand’s future in the sport. Joe Gibbs Racing [#’s 18 and 20] is trying to quell the rumors, pointing to the 2003 model under development as proof of Pontiac’s staying power in the sport. First, the make dwindles to only five full-time Winston Cup teams. Then Pontiac teams start building Chevrolets, admittedly a common practice among teams, but drivers test these cars. And the make’s sponsorship contract for the Pontiac Excitement 400 [Richmond] is in the final year of a multiyear contract.(Richmond Times Dispatch)(3-31-2002)
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