Bobby Labonte to drive #96; ask.com to sponsor

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Bobby Labonte will drive the No. 96 Ford with Ask.com as a sponsor in 2009. The 2000 Cup Series champion, Labonte will drive for Hall of Fame Racing, which announced an alignment with Yates Racing on Tuesday. (read more)

Labonte was released from his contract with Petty Enterprises last month. He was driver of the famed No. 43 car for three seasons.

Hall of Fame Racing, formed by former NFL quarterbacks Roger Staubach and Troy Aikman, made its NASCAR debut in the 2006 Daytona 500. Two-time Cup Series champion Terry Labonte finished 17th in that race. Labonte and Tony Raines shared the car in 2006, with Raines taking over full-time in '07.

Arizona Diamondbacks executives Jeff Moorad and Tom Garfinkel purchased majority interest of the team in August 2007. Moorad, formerly chief executive officer of the Diamondbacks, resigned from that position last week to spearhead an ownership bid for the San Diego Padres. Garfinkel remains the Diamondbacks' executive vice president.

Several drivers were behind the wheel of the No. 96 last year, most notably J.J. Yeley and Ken Schrader, but none have the track record of Bobby Labonte.

He has 21 wins, 113 top-five finishes and 197 top-10s in 546 starts in the Cup Series. In addition to the 2000 series championship, Labonte has finished in the top 10 in points seven times in 16 full seasons.

Labonte made his Cup Series debut on June 3, 1991, at Dover; he finished 34th. His first full season was 1993, driving for Bill Davis Racing. Labonte joined Joe Gibbs Racing in 1995 and remained with the team through 2005, posting all 21 wins and the seven top-10 point finishes during that 11-year stretch.

He was named driver of Petty Enterprises' flagship No. 43 in 2006 and remained there until what Labonte termed a "perfect storm" led to the split from the team. (read more)

Aside from the Hall of Fame Racing team connection, Labonte has another tie to Aikman. Bobby and brother Terry were inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 2001 and the Labontes' class included Aikman, Dick "Night Train" Lane, Bruce Matthews, Mike Munchak and Norm Cash.

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OAKLAND, Calif., -- Ask.com, a leading search engine and an operating business of IAC, announced Wednesday it has entered into partnerships with NASCAR, NASCAR.COM and Hall of Fame Racing. Under the terms of the partnership with NASCAR, Ask becomes the Official Search Engine of NASCAR, with category exclusivity and a broad set of promotional rights in order to reach the sport's estimated 75 million loyal fans.

"As part of our strategy to go deeper into the highest-volume categories and provide the best answer, the first time, every time, we want to be the first place fans search online for NASCAR information," Ask.com CEO Jim Safka said. "Through these partnerships, we will break new ground by applying our semantic search technology capabilities to NASCAR-related content while also tapping one of the largest marketing channels in America.

"Our goal is to win over the millions of loyal fans by providing them with the best NASCAR search experience on the Web, and introduce them to all of Ask's capabilities when they come."

Former Cup Series champion Bobby Labonte will drive Hall of Fame Racing's No. 96 Ford in 2009, beginning with the Daytona 500 in February. (read more)

"Jeff Moorad and I are excited to add Ask.com as a primary sponsor on the No. 96 car," HoF co-owner Tom Garfinkel said. "We've been working closely with Ask.com for several weeks now, and their talented management team has come up with more creative ideas to serve NASCAR fans than I've seen in a long time. With our new Yates partnership and having a true champion and class person in Bobby Labonte behind the wheel, we're expecting great things on the race track as well."

Hall of Fame Racing on Tuesday also announced its alignment with Yates Racing. With the recent expansion of the Yates Racing facilities, the No. 96 will operate out of the Yates Racing complex in Concord, N.C. Yates fielded cars last year for Travis Kvapil and David Gilliland, and is adding Paul Menard to its roster this season. (read more)

"I'm excited to be part of what Ask.com is bringing to our sport," Labonte said. "In a time like this, it's great to see a sponsor come in with technology and ideas that will help all of the competitors in NASCAR and enhance the experience for all of our fans, no matter which driver or team they cheer for."

Under the terms of the partnership with NASCAR.COM, Ask will further extend its reach by exclusively powering the search experience on NASCAR.COM, the official online destination of NASCAR.

NASCAR.COM also will make available to its users Ask's exclusive new NASCAR toolbar, which integrates unique content and is designed to provide fans with convenient access to Ask's leading NASCAR search experience, and NASCAR.COM's best-of-breed editorial content.

Using its proprietary DADS, DAFS and AnswerFarm search technologies, Ask.com will search NASCAR's digital assets and structured data, making it instantly available to fans by entering natural-language queries into the Ask.com search box. For example, the query "Who was the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series rookie of the year in 1995" will return the exact answer, front and center on the first results page -- something no other search engine does.

Ask.com will begin rolling out these new offerings at the start of the NASCAR season in February and will continue introducing new search product features throughout the 2009 racing season.

"NASCAR, as well as our teams, tracks and drivers, will all benefit from the innovative search technology Ask brings to the sport. The biggest winners will be NASCAR fans, now able to get the answers they want about the sport they love at the speed of NASCAR," said Brian France, NASCAR Chairman and CEO. "We welcome Ask.com to the NASCAR family and look forward to their technology reaching every facet of our sport."

Ask.com's agreement with Hall of Fame Racing will make Ask the primary sponsor of the No. 96 Ford in the Sprint Cup Series, the sport's premier level, giving the brand a frequent presence in front of NASCAR's massive at-track crowds and broadcast audiences. According to NASCAR, 17 of the 20 highest-attended sporting events in 2008 were NASCAR races, and NASCAR is the second highest-rated regular season sport on TV.

Ask.com also is in discussions with NASCAR-sanctioned track operators and media rights holders to identify strategic opportunities that will allow the brand to reach the sport's 75 million fans through on- and off-line channels during the 2009 NASCAR season, including at-track displays and in-arena media.

~NASCAR.com~

yay Bobby has a ride wit ford



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I welcome Bobby Labonte to the #96 Yates/HOF Ford!

I wonder with adding ask.com as a sponsor will that attract google?

Google could be a HUGE money sponsor...

I have always like the Labonte Bros and its great to see Bobby drive a Ford this year!!!!

TeamBlueOval wrote:

Google could be a HUGE money sponsor...

And... who would NOT sponsor a big name like Bobby Labonte?

Google won't sponsor Bobby because he is sponsored by one of their competitors...

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Menard to get owners pts from other Yates team UPDATE 38 to 96; 28 to 98: from a NASCAR Press Conference at Daytona for the Fanfest. NASCAR Ramsey Poston asked the questions: Has any determination been made at Yates what the point affiliation will be for your team? Are you going to start from scratch? Are you going to get one of the other cars on points, and is there more concern or more excitement about starting out the year with a totally new bunch and how critical is it going to be to gel quickly with that group?
PAUL MENARD [#98 Menard's Ford]: As far as I know we're getting points so we'll be locked in. I'm not sure if it's #28 or #38 points, but one of them will slide over.(NASCAR PR)(1-17-2009)
UPDATE: Hall of Fame Racing today the #96 Ask.com Ford Fusion and Bobby Labonte as the manufacturers’ wild card entry into the famed Budweiser Shootout following NASCAR’s rule change on Friday. “The #96 joined the Ford family at the right time,” said Hall of Fame Racing Co-Owner, Tom Garfinkel. “We’re pleased to get Hall of Fame and Ask.com into the Shootout and have an early chance to start working towards solid top-five and top-10 finishes this season. We are pleased to be working with Bobby Labonte and Yates Racing and look forward to seeing this combination of talent come together for the first time in the Shootout.” Labonte and the #96 will also receive Yates Racing points from the #38, piloted by David Gilliland in 2008. The transfer will put the #96 in 27th position going into the Daytona 500 in February. Yates Racing’s #98 Menards Ford Fusion will start the 2009 season in 23rd position after a points transfer from the #28. Paul Menard will drive the machine for the full 2009 season. Travis Kvapil will start the season as a fresh entry in the #28 Yates Racing Ford. Sponsorship opportunities are available; please contact Jon Sands with Yates Racing at 704-720-4621.(Yates Racing/HOF Racing PR), see my 2009 Owners Points / first five races page for the list(1-19-2009)

Am I following this correctly? The two new guys (Menard/LaBonte) get the points from both the 28/38..... Gilliland is out and Kvapil starts with 0 and just a partial sponsorship? Right? So it pays to be a new guy with a PCP or bring your own sponsorship.

Andrew , do you think Todd had something to do with this decision.
I think he might have JMO.

DeeDee wrote:

Am I following this correctly? The two new guys (Menard/LaBonte) get the points from both the 28/38..... Gilliland is out and Kvapil starts with 0 and just a partial sponsorship? Right? So it pays to be a new guy with a PCP or bring your own sponsorship.

They are trying to make sure that the sponsors are in the races. TK doesn't have a sponsor, so it doesn't matter so much if he misses a race. Don't want your sponsors to miss any races.

Ask will sponsor 29 races in 2009 (I guess DLP will cover the others):

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Search Engine, Ask.com, Clarifies NASCAR Partnership: Search engine, Ask.com, and operating business of IAC, has issued clarification with regard to its recent announcement concerning the Hall of Fame Racing Agreement. The arrangement involves Ask as the primary sponsor of the #96 Ask Ford in the Sprint Cup Series. Mary Osako, SVP Worldwide Communications at Ask.com remarked, ''To clarify, Ask.com will be the primary sponsor on the #96 car in 18 of the first 21 races, but the overall agreement with Hall of Fame Racing entails the purchase of primary sponsorship rights to 29 races in total for the 2009 season. We apologize for any confusion.''(Hosting News)(1-21-2009)

Might as well change the 98 to 28. To be as nice as possible, I don't see anyone wanting to sponsor Travis or David.

I guess my signed YR hat is a relic now!

I think TK is just a filler in that car until Colin Braun, Erik Darnell, or Ricky Stenhouse are ready to move up.

TeamBlueOval wrote:

I think TK is just a filler in that car until Colin Braun, Erik Darnell, or Ricky Stenhouse are ready to move up.

Good Guess and no surprise

If its anyone I hope its Coli or Stenhouse

Yatesracing wrote:

If its anyone I hope its Coli or Stenhouse

To complete the new ROUSH TEAM BYE BYE YATES

If anyone should be moving up out of those three, it's Colin Braun.

Andrew...This is off the subject but you mentioned Stenhouse. What series is he going to be racing in this year?
I haven't seen his name on any series drivers charts. Not even ARCA. ~Is he still a Roush driver? ~I think his actions in the final ARCA race may have hurt him... ~JMO

He's going to be running a Roush NW car, sharing it with one of the Cup drivers.

Thanks. Any idea what # NW car:?:

I believe it will be the 16, with sponsorship from citifinancial.

thanks

I know Erik is the one holding himself back but will he hold back so long that he'll be so old that no one will want him?