Allmendinger will replace Labonte in the Quicken Loans 400 at Michigan International Speedway.

Team co-owner Tad Geschickter clarified:

We’re not replacing Bobby he’s still our driver. But we have a few races that we don’t have any sponsor activation and it was pretty easy to do (a change and) some benchmarking. The big issue for a single-car team, how else do you benchmark for your car? And, Michigan is the only one set in stone (for a change). Bobby will be back in the car at Sonoma. It is just a good opportunity for us to verify what Bobby thinks the main issue is.

Allmendinger:

I have raced for Phoenix Racing some this year and feel confident I’ll be able to provide JTG Daugherty Racing with a good comparison. I’m thankful for this opportunity to work with the team and Bobby.

With Allmendinger taking over Labonte’s ride, Labonte’s streak of 702 consecutive starts was in jeopardy of ending. But, Phoenix Racing General Manager Steve Barkdoll confirmed that Labonte’s streak will continue, as he will pilot the team’s No. 51 Chevy in the Sprint Cup Series race at Michigan.

Barkdoll said:

We helped keep his streak going back then and he helped us because were able to get some sponsors with him driving for us. … Everything can change but we wanted to help keep Bobby’s streak going.

Labonte drove 14 races for Phoenix back in 2010, when his contract with TRG Motorsports ended mid-season.

For his part, Labonte expressed his gratitude:

[Phoenix Racing owner] James [Finch] has always been one of the first to reach out to offer help in a situation like this. I enjoy racing with Nick Harrison, Steve Barkdoll and the entire group of guys. I’m looking forward to this weekend. A few years back you didn’t have the opportunity like this, but now there are lots of talented drivers that can do one-offs and things like that.

We are continuing to make strides. We’ve come a long way. We have some momentum on our side going into Homestead and the off season. We hope to close out the year and give Clorox and all of our partners a strong finish.

Reutimann spent the 2012 Sprint Cup Series season driving for Tommy Baldwin Racing in the No. 10 that he shares with Stewart Haas Racing and Danica Patrick. He also drove for BK Racing in the team’s No. 93 Toyota Camry in two races, and one race in the No. 51 for Phoenix Racing, filling in for the suspended Kurt Busch in the Pocono 400.

Reutimann could drive a second car for JTG in 2013, if sponsorship can be found. Or, he may replace Bobby Labonte in the No. 47. No word has been given.

Hyder will be at Iowa Speedway, serving as crew chief for JTG’s K&N Pro Series East team and driver Cale Conley.

Related Stories

• JTG Announces Organizational Changes To No. 47 Team
• Furniture Row Racing Makes Crew Chief Change For No. 78

JTG has a candidate in mind to replace Berrier long term, but couldn’t get a deal done in time.

Berrier left JTG Daugherty Racing to join FRR.

Berrier said:

Furniture Row Racing has a reputation in the Sprint Cup garage for its commitment and potential. I welcome this opportunity and can’t wait to begin my new position at Indianapolis this weekend.

All three cars were found to be in violation of Sections 12-1 (actions detrimental to stock car racing); 12-4-J (any determination by NASCAR officials that the race equipment used in the event does not conform to NASCAR rules detailed in Section 20 of the rule book, or has not been approved by NASCAR prior to the event); and 20-3.2.1A (unapproved modification to an approved windshield) of the 2011 NASCAR rule book.

Crew chiefs Rodney Childers (No. 00), Frank Kerr (No. 47) and Chad Johnston (No. 56) were each fined $50,000 and suspended for the next four Sprint Cup events. They were also suspended from NASCAR until Nov. 23rd.

Car chiefs Steve Channing (No. 00), Raymond Fox (No. 47) and Anthony Lunders (No. 56) also received the same suspensions. And, MWR director of competition, Bobby Kennedy, has been placed on probation until the end of the calendar year.

The car owners, Rob Kauffman (No. 00), Tad Geschickter (No. 47), and Michael Waltrip (No. 56), have each been penalized with the loss of 25 championship owner points. Drivers David Reutimann (No. 00), Bobby Labonte (No. 47), and Martin Truex Jr. (No. 56) have each been penalized with the loss of 25 championship driver points.

JTG Daugherty owner Brad Daugherty said:

We are very disappointed in this entire situation and we will not appeal NASCAR’s ruling. We look forward to racing at Martinsville Speedway this weekend and getting ready for next season.

Team chief race engineer Brian Burns will assume the role as crew chief for the No. 47 Toyota Camry replacing Kerr and Bob Bechstein has been named car chief replacing Fox following the penalties.

MWR also commented on the penalties:

Michael Waltrip Racing is ultra-sensitive and very serious about working within the guidelines of NASCAR policy. We do not condone this type of activity and as such we will take appropriate internal corrective action immediately. We thank NASCAR for providing a fair and equitable platform for all of its competitors and respect its decisions; therefore, we will not appeal.

Pat Tryson will take over for Johnston as crew chief for the no. 56 team. Tryson was recently replaced on that team earlier this year.

Allen Mincey, race mechanic of the No. 56, will serve as interim car chief for that team in place of Lunders.  Bobby Kennedy will serve as interim crew chief in place of Childers on the No. 00. Chris Hall, race mechanic with the No. 00 , will serve as interim car chief for that team in place of Channing.

Frank Kerr, the team’s current crew chief, will move to the role of shop forman, while Todd Berrier will become the team’s crew chief and general manager in 2012.

Berrier said:

I’m looking forward to this new opportunity with JTG Daugherty Racing and working with Bobby.

Larte Zatta, of TRD, will join the team as director of engineering.

JTG also announced that Kingsford Charcoal, Busch’s Baked Beans, the Kimberly-Clark Corporation, Hidden Valley, KC Masterpiece Barbecue Sauces & Marinades, and Glad will return as sponsors for the team.

It was initially reported that Michael Waltrip Racing would end its technical alliance with JTG, to make room for the addition of Clint Bowyer. It was later reported, however, that JTG and MWR are likely to maintain their alliance.  

While the two teams are still reportedly still allies, JTG will move from MWR’s shop to its own shop. As part of the original alliance, MWR provided cars and crew to JTG, and housed the cars in its shop. It appears that JTG will now support their own cars in their own shop.

Dega Wreaks Havoc on Chasers

On Lap 174, Michaeal Waltrip was pushing Bobby Labonte when Labonte lost control of his race car and spun in the middle of the turn.  Kurt Busch had no where to go and drove straight into the side panel of Labonte.  This destroyed the hood of Busch’s race car and ended his day.  The elder Busch brother finished the race in 36th position, 15 laps down.  This did not help his chances for the championship, knocking him down one spot in standings to eighth place, 52 points behind the leader.

Luckily for Kurt Busch, he isn’t the only Chase driver that struggled at Talladega.  Hendrick Motorsports’ Chasers did not finish as expected on Sunday, coming home with 25th (Dale Earnhardt Jr), 26th (Jimmie Johnson), and 27th (Jeff Gordon) place finishes.  All three drivers rode out the race in the back of the pack and just didn’t seem to have the momentum to race towards the front at the end.

Earnhardt remains in ninth position in standings, 74 points behind the leader.  Thanks to others’ misfortune, Johnson moved up one position to seventh place, but is now 50 points behind the leader.  Jeff Gordon also moved up one position; however, he is now 82 points behind the leader.   I would say this is the end of Hendrick Motorsports’ chances to win the title.  Johnson would be the only driver with a chance, but he would need the drivers ahead of him in the Chase to have substantial bad luck to overtake them.

Kevin Harvick came to Talladega only five points behind leader Carl Edwards.  Leaving Talladega, he is in fifth position, now 26 points behind the leader.  Early on in the race, Harvick had a fast car; he even led the race on six different occasions.  But, he fell victim to a large pile-up on Lap 104 when AJ Allmendinger spun on the front-stretch. Harvick finished the race in 32nd position, nine laps down.

Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Kyle Busch and Joey Logano worked well together early in the race.  On Lap 67, as the duo was attempting to make green flag pit stops, Trevor Bayne cut in front of them, abruptly separating the pair.  This caused Logano to spin his race car and forced Busch to drive down pit road to avoid an accident.  Logano then blew a left-front tire on the backstretch, bringing out the caution. Busch was then sent to the rear of the field for failure to reduce speed while driving down pit road.

Busch was able to recover, leading the race on Lap 90 with help of his teammate, Denny Hamlin.  After the pile-up on Lap 104, however, Busch was unable to race his way to the front and finished the race in 33rd position.  Logano on the other hand, was able to push Tony Stewart to the lead of the race on Lap 136, despite the damage to his race car. Logano finished the race in 24th position.  Busch is now sixth in standings, 40 points behind the leader.

Chase for the Sprint Cup

Carl Edwards remains the points leader after finishing in 11th position at Talladega.  Fellow Roush driver Matt Kenseth sits second, 14 points behind Edwards.  Brad Keselowski gained three spots in the standings, moving to third, just 18 points back.  Tony Stewart moved up to fourth position after finishing the race in seventh place and is now 19 points behind Edwards.

Both Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch dropped positions because of their misfortune and are now in fifth and sixth position.  Rivals Kurt Busch and Jimmie Johnson are now right beside each other in standings, sitting in eighth and ninth position.  Dale Jr and Jeff Gordon round out the top-10 in ninth and tenth positions, respectively.  Denny Hamlin and Ryan Newman reside in 11th and 12th place, respectively.

Best Efforts of the Race

The Red Bull Racing team of Brian Vickers and Kasey Kahne have to be recognized for their effort on Sunday.  Kahne started 26th, Vickers 30th, and the two pushed their way into the top-five within 10 laps.  They had troubles with the two-car tandem on Lap 159, causing Kahne to spin across the nose of Vickers to bring out a caution.  But with 50 laps to go, the pair had already hooked back up and were headed to the front.  Unfortunately they just couldn’t catch the RCR tandem, but still came home with fifth (Vickers) and sixth (Kahne) place finishes.

Dave Blaney’s third place finish at Talladega represented Tommy Baldwin’s Racing’s best finish yet at the Cup level.  Blaney was in the battle at the front in both the Daytona 500 and the spring race at Talladega this year, but couldn’t get the finishes he deserved.  This is a big step for a small organization with a short history in the sport.  Team owner Tommy Baldwin hopes the Talladega finish is a step in the right direction for a more competitive season in 2012.

Landon Cassill and Casey Mears deserve a shout-out for their strong effort at Talladega.  Before the race had even one lap in the books, Mear’s No. 13 GEICO Camry had moved from its 42nd starting position into 26th.  On Lap 3, Mears paired up with Cassill to head to the front.  They spent most of the race in the Top 5 and Top 10 until lap 174 when Mears lost his drafting partner.  Cassill was collected in a turn two crash involving Bobby Labonte and Kurt Busch, forcing Mears to find another dancing partner.  Although their finishes of 16th and 17th do not represent their hard effort, the fact that they survived Talladega tells the story by itself!

Geschickter said:

We are looking at a number of different options that will enable us to continue to share notes and technical support with Michael Waltrip. [This partnership] has definitely helped us be a better team. As it looks today, we are going to assert some independence. But we continue to work every week with Michael to figure out what (the relationship) is going to look like.

Geschickter did confirm that the No. 47 would move from the MWR shop to its own shop in Harrisburg, NC. The team is currently working on a deal to remain with Toyota in 2012.

The team plans to make an announcement regarding its driver lineup and manufacturer soon. Geschickter expects Bobby Labonte to be back. He said:

Bobby and I shook hands, which is all we’ve ever needed to do. Short of signing a contract, we’re feeling pretty good about getting that done.

Geschickter also indicated that in 2013, the team would like to expand to a multi-car operation.