2000 Cup Champ Looks Back at His Career-Saving Partnership With Joe Gibbs

Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr, John Hunter Nemechek, and Ty Gibbs have one thing in common with Bobby Labonte—Joe Gibbs Racing. Till 1994, everything was going smoothly for veteran NASCAR driver and 2000 Cup Series winner Bobby Labonte. It was then that his stability was shaken up. While he did well as a team owner that year in the Xfinity Series, his career as a driver in the Cup Series took a hit. It was at this point that Joe Gibbs came to his rescue.

When Bobby Labonte saw his sponsors leave the sport, he had very little hope. Gibbs then made an offer that strengthened the stability he had momentarily lost. Labonte gave fans a peek into what happens beyond the tracks as he shared his story in the Untold Stories Archives of NASCAR. 

Joe Gibbs turned into a savior with one replacement

As the 1994 season drew to an end, tension rose for Labonte. According to his interview, he was in regular contact with Dale Jarrett at that point in time. However, a phone call changed his life. At this point, both Dale Jarrett and Labonte were looking to change their teams. So, these occurrences had near-perfect timing. 

“He wasn’t happy where he was at. There was an opportunity at Robert Yates with him, you know, ‘Can you get out of your deal?’ ‘I don’t know.’ ‘Can you get out of your deal?’ ‘I’m not sure yet.’ You know and so we were discussing this for 30 days. It seemed like he was trying to negotiate out of his contract to get Robert Yates,” said Labonte.

However, things started to look better for him as Dale Jarrett won the Mello Yello 500 at Charlotte and ended the contract with JGR. It was only a few weeks later that Labonte’s life started looking up. After all, Joe Gibbs had decided to extend a partnership to Labonte.

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“Joe did give me the old ‘Give me a call’, and so I get on the airplane fly home red-eyed. I get home the next day. My phone rings, it wakes me up at 10 o’clock. ‘Hey, this is Joe Gibbs. I didn’t wake you up’ but I’m like ‘No, sir. I’m ready. What do you want to do?’ Right, so I ended up going down and meeting with him,” reminisced Labonte. They finalized the deal in the first meeting itself. 

A paper napkin changed Labonte’s life

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Things only went uphill for Labonte hereon. He had made quite a good impression on Joe Gibbs that season. “I thought Bobby was just, you know, he was driven, very competitive but also a good guy and a good partner. All parts of performing in NASCAR, Bobby had it,” confirmed Joe Gibbs. What went on to be a fruitful partnership had started with just a piece of napkin. 

Labonte accepted the first offer Gibbs made with zero hesitation for partnership. The offer was made on a piece of napkin, but it definitely sealed the deal. That is how the iconic Gibbs-Labonte duo started, and he had been doing justice to the #28 car ever since. 

“He was on…. a cocktail napkin and he wrote down the number and I looked at it and I looked push it back. I said ‘Yep, sounds good to me.’ So just kind of, you know, went from there on signing a contract with him and driving for him.” 

Labonte went on to bag the first win of his career at Coca-Cola 600 in 1995 after signing up with JGR. He has also been heard calling this race the most favorite one of his career. Thus, all it took was one phone call and a piece of napkin. He then entered a partnership that made his 2000 victory possible.

Read More: Denny Hamlin Confesses to Being at Odds With Joe Gibbs Racing Member After Falling Victim to Hendrick Motorsports Star