Labonte Motorsports - 1990s

1990s

Labonte ran his first full season 1990, with sponsorship from Penrose Firecracker. Although he went winless, he had seventeen top-tens and finished fourth in the final standings. In 1991, he won two races and the Busch Series championship. That same season, Labonte Motorsports, ran five races at the Winston Cup level. Bobby ran two races for Bob, first in the 14, and then the 44, dropping out of both races with engine failure. Irv Hoerr then ran three races for Terry in the 44, his best finish being 19th at Pocono Raceway. Terry also began fielding his own entries in Busch, driving five races in the #94 Sunoco Oldsmobile and picking up a win at Watkins Glen International. In 1992, Labonte won three races but lost the championship by three points. Terry failed to win a race, but switched to the #14 after picking up sponsorship from MW Windows.

Bobby moved up to Cup in 1993, and was replaced by Labonte Motorsports mechanic David Green with Slim Jim becoming the team's new sponsor. Although he failed to win in his first season with the team, he had six top-fives and finished third in points. The #14 was shared by Bobby and Terry, who together won two pole positions. In 1994, Green won one race but also claimed the Busch Series championship. Terry had four wins out of twenty starts, and Bobby debuted the new #33 Dentyne Pontiac, winning at Michigan International Speedway. Green had another win in 1995, but fell to twelfth in the standings. Terry had one win and finished eighteenth in points.

In 1996, Bob retired from racing and Bobby became the new listed owner of the 44. With Shell Oil sponsoring, Bobby ran sixteen races and won at Nashville Speedway USA. Terry changed his number to 5 and picked up funding from Bayer/Actron, and won three races that season. Bobby Hamilton ran the season finale at Homestead, finishing 24th. He drove fourteen times in 1997, but failed to win a race. Andy Hillenburg and Brad Leighton drove in one-race deals for him, but they failed to finish in the top-ten. Bobby drove fifteen times in 1998, and had another win, along with sharing the ride with Tony Stewart for five races, who had two top-tens. At the end of the season, Bobby sold his team to this employer, Joe Gibbs Racing.