Leffler Released
Former Nextel Cup Champion Terry Labonte will step in behind the wheel of the no. 11 car for this weekend's race at Watkins Glen, joining his brother Bobby Labonte, who drives the no. 18 Interstate Batteries Chevy for JGR.
JGR Busch Series drivers J.J. Yeley and Denny Hamlin will split the driving duties in the remaining Nextel Cup races where Terry Labonte is not available to drive. Joe Gibbs Racing Press Release
05/27/05 Jason Leffler's future behind the wheel of the Joe Gibbs Racing-owned #11 FedEx Chevrolet seems very much in doubt after Leffler failed to qualify for this Sunday's Coca Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway. One source AR1 spoke to after Thursday's qualifying session said such a high profile sponsor such as FedEx "won't put up with (not making the field) for long" and that Leffler was "in serious trouble" if he missed the cut. It is rumored he could be out of the car as early as next week, with JGR Busch Series driver J.J. Yeley taking over on an interim basis. Pete McCole 05/15/05 Joe Gibbs may have given more questions than he gave answers when he was asked about struggling driver #11-Jason Leffler's future Saturday at Richmond International Raceway. "Obviously, you get concerned," he said. "You have a huge sponsor there and we're in it for the long haul. We signed Jason for the long haul and we are certainly going to go after it with Jason and try to get everything done we can there." Still, Gibbs said failure is not an option. "It always boils down to performance," Gibbs said. "It's gotta be a performance thing. We've got to be successful there." NASCAR.com