Bobby Labonte back with Joe Gibbs Racing for an XFINITY race

Bobby Labonte

Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) announced a partnership with NOS Energy Drink (owned by Monster), as primary sponsor of the team's #18 NOS Energy Drink Toyota in the NASCAR XFINITY Series.

Kyle Busch will drive his first NOS program race at Atlanta and in subsequent races that total 16 XFINITY Series events this season. To kick off the 2016 race schedule at Daytona, Joe Gibbs Racing and NOS Energy Drink announced they are also bringing back another champion for the XFINITY series program start, longtime race winner and past Joe Gibbs Racing veteran racecar driver Bobby Labonte.

"We've always sought out the most determined, fearless and committed athletes to represent our company and brands," said Vice President of Sports Marketing, Mitch Covington. He commented further, "With Kyle (Busch) in the seat most of the year and a strong Daytona start with Bobby (Labonte), we have every reason to believe our program will win."

Labonte proved to be a strong selection to kick off the NOS Energy Drink program for the first race of the season as he rejoins Joe Gibbs Racing while they celebrate their 25th year of NASCAR racing.

"I'm excited about the opportunity to drive for JGR again. I didn't think this would ever happen and when Joe called me about the program, it was a 'no-brainer.' Great race team, great cars, the opportunity is a good one. There would be nothing better than to hang a flag in this building too," said Labonte of the Daytona opportunity in front of him with the #18 JGR XFINITY Series team.

A Texas native, Labonte was an early driver of the #18 with JGR and earned them 21 victories and a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship in 2000. Labonte is also a NASCAR Champion in the XFINITY Series (1991) and the IROC Series (2001) and has victories recorded in all three of NASCAR's premier racing series. 2016 marks Labonte's 30th consecutive year as a professional racecar driver.

The #18 team's goal will again be to capture an Owner's Championship in the XFINITY Series. With Busch and Labonte confirmed and the recent announcement of Matt Tifft as driver of the #18 for races later in the schedule, crew chief Chris Gayle is eager to attack that goal. JGR