NASCAR Champion Bobby Labonte Returns to Joe Gibbs Racing After 19 Years

A NASCAR Hall of Famer is rejoining his championship team after 19 years. Bobby Labonte, brother of Terry Labonte and current NASCAR analyst on FOX, has announced his return to Joe Gibbs Racing, but this time, he’ll be trading his firesuit for a brand ambassador role.

In a recent episode of NASCAR Race Hub on FS1, Bobby Labonte himself announced to the world the unexpected development. This marks a significant homecoming for Labonte, who spent a decade driving the #18 Pontiac, accumulating 21 wins for Coach Gibbs’ organization. A period that saw the Corpus Christi, TX, native garner most of his notable accomplishments.

Some iconic victories for the JGR talisman include the 1995 Coca-Cola 600 and the Brickyard 400, as well as the Southern 500 in his championship-winning year of 2000. However, Bobby Labonte’s final checkered flag waved dramatically at the 2003 Ford 400 season finale at the Homestead-Miami Speedway.

His former team owner, Joe Gibbs, also expressed his enthusiasm for the return of the only non-Toyota champ at JGR alongside Tony Stewart, shining a light on his tremendous contributions and legendary company. “Bobby is a big part of our history and success here at JGR,” Gibbs said in an official statement on the Joe Gibbs Racing website.

“We are excited to have him in this new role, consulting across several areas of our operations. He will be a tremendous asset to our partners in sharing his knowledge and passion for racing as well as educating our guests and fans through appearances and on social media,” he concluded. After separation from JGR in 2005, Bobby Labonte went on to drive for various other teams like Petty Enterprises and JTG Daugherty Racing, never finding a permanent place to stay.

An Active Hall of Famer Comes Home

This sentiment is emphasized better in his own words, “Joe Gibbs Racing played such a pivotal role in my career and it has always felt like home to me.” The legend ran his final Cup Series race at Talladega in 2016 for the now-defunct Go Fas Racing, where he shared the seat with 7 other drivers for the whole season. Now he’s back joining the operations behind these cars.

Beyond his championship title, Bobby Labonte holds many unique feats. Labonte’s career saw him bagging 21 NASCAR Cup wins, 10 NASCAR Xfinity wins, 3 IROC wins and 1 NASCAR Truck Series win. His accomplishments also include the 2000 Winston Cup Championship, the 2001 IROC Series Championship, and his induction into the 2020 NASCAR Hall of Fame. Labonte accomplished becoming the first driver to complete the impressive ‘triple threat’ feat at the Martinsville Speedway, where he won races in all three of NASCAR’s top national series.

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Even today, he continues to compete in Tony Stewart’s Superstar Racing Experience Series, while becoming the oldest winner to win an SRX race at the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway in 2022. The legend was additionally, named into NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers list just last year.