11 Car

[Cheryl]

Lou and heard some program on XM yesterday where someone was kidding Michael Waltrip about his plans for next year.  The other driver said something like, "11....10...."  I couldn't figure out what they were talking about for the longest time (couldn't remember there was even an 11 car out there right now).  Finally during the race, I realized it was the Joe Gibbs, #11 with FedEx as sponsor.  I know everyone is speculating that Leffler won't be in the car for much longer.  I can see Michael taking the ride for a year or two until Gibbs is ready to move JJ Yeley or Denny Hamlin up from Busch (neither is ready for Cup IMHO).  Then today, I see this rumor on Jayski:

"Cary Agajanian, #11 Jason Leffler's attorney, would not confirm reports that car owner Joe Gibbs has offered to buy out the remaining 18 months of Leffler's contract for $5 million, but Agajanian would not deny that such an offer could be on the table. "I can't comment on that ... but I'm not denying it either," Agajanian said. "There could be talks. We're not in the middle of everything that goes on. There could be talks. A car owner has the right to speak to his driver, and we encourage that. Honestly there could be discussions between them. But we're not involved in them. That's a very personal thing between Jason and the Gibbs folks." If Leffler were free, Agajanian said he would be negotiating any contract with a new team. Terry Labonte substituted for Leffler at Sonoma in June, and Labonte could apparently be called upon again [at Watkins Glen and a few others races].(Winston Salem Journal)"

Sounds like that may be where Waltrip is headed....

Cheryl

[Desmond]

Tony Stewart, Bobby Labonte and Michael Waltrip would be a very formidable stable...

But who would Waltrip's sponsor be?  FedEx or Napa?

[Cheryl]

Tony Stewart, Bobby Labonte and Michael Waltrip would be a very formidable stable...

But who would Waltrip's sponsor be?  FedEx or Napa?

FedEx I'm sure, since Joe Gibbs has the deal with them.  Plus, imagine if Michael put all the effort into promoting FedEx that he has done with NAPA.  Certainly would pit FedEx up against the all the press Dale Jarrett has gotten for UPS the last few years.  Now, that would be a formidable contest!  

Cheryl

[drpep (brian)]

So long Jason it was nice knowing you. Nascar.com under headlines, Leffler out.

[Cheryl]

The NOL article had no author credit or source, so I wanted to make sure it was an official announcement.   I went to the Joe Gibbs' Racing site and this is the annoucement from there:

http://www.joegibbsracing.com/season_2005/news_cup/08_aug/050808_11_release.php

Just don't trust NOL, especially when they don't credit a source.  

Cheryl

[BillKP71]

Was watching the (successful) landing of the shuttle this morning and saw something on the news crawl at the bottom of the screen about Leffler being "fired". Didn't see any additional details.

[Desmond]

Bill, I don't know what specific details you wanted, but here's a summary:
--Joe Gibbs Racing had to pay some amount of money to buy out Leffler's contract, because it was due to expire at the end of 2006.
--Terry Labonte will drive the car at Watkins Glen this weekend, as he did at Sonoma in June.
--After that, JGR plans to alternate driving duties among T. Labonte (who will also continue to be in the #44), Denny Hamlin, and J.J. Yeley.