NASCAR Star Bobby Labonte Integral Part of TRG Five-Car Lineup at Rolex 24

NASCAR Champion Bobby Labonte will kick off speed weeks early as a crossover star for TRG as he joins the reigning champions of the Rolex 24 at Daytona. The team returns to the prestigious Grand-Am race with a five-car lineup and a strong desire to return to Victory Lane.

Labonte will be behind the wheel of a Porsche sporting his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series number, 71. He'll share the car with Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas, Tim George, Jr. and Spencer Pumpelly. Bernhard is a two-time winner of the race with TRG as Kevin Buckler's co-driver, including their overall win in 2003, and Dumas has been one of Porsche's lead drivers through many of their recent prototype campaigns. Additionally, the team will continue on with Tim George, Jr. who is looking to top his previous third and second place finishes, as well as Spencer Pumpelly who will be with the team full-time in 2010.

"I'm really excited about running in the 24 with TRG," Labonte said. "This is my first time running the race in the GT category and it took a few laps to get used to the Porsche at testing, but I think it's going to be an awesome race."

Kevin Buckler, TRG and TRG Motorsports team owner, is proud to see his two companies merge together for the biggest race in the Grand-Am season.

"Having Bobby join the TRG crew for the 24-hour race is really a perfect marriage of the two companies and it's great to see," Buckler said. "We've worked hard to build strong teams on both sides, but this is race that gives us the opportunity to have the two worlds mix and I think it's going to be really cool."

In addition to the No. 71, TRG will round out its lineup with four championship-contending cars. For TRG's No. 66 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup race car, the re-signing of AXA and Brent Koch as the primary sponsor has meant the return of many familiar names to the car. Andy Lally will be placed in the No. 66 to join forces with his old Continental Challenge Series co-driver Ted Ballou, who together garnered a win in 2007. The duo will be joined by Porsche veteran Pat Flanagan, series veteran Kelly Collins and Rolex 24 winner Wolf Henzler.

TRG's partnership with Flying Lizard Motorsports, meanwhile, will now move to No. 67. As the two most successful GT-category Porsche teams in recent years, Flying Lizard has partnered with TRG for this one-time event as a compliment to their full season effort in a different series. The car will be driven by Seth Neiman, Flying Lizard team principal, as well as long-time driver Johannes van Overbeek, and reigning Rolex 24 winners Patrick Long and Joerg Bergmeister.

Similarly, TRG is proud to announce the signing of a new car to the team, the No. 18. Re-joining the team will be two drivers who had made their debut with the team in 2009, Bruce Ledoux and David Quinlan. Both hailing from Boston, Ledoux and Quinlan look forward to continuing their Guardian Angel Motorsports brand of racing for charity, as well as returning driver Dan Watkins. Joining the team for 2010 will be two Daytona newcomers, Bob Doyle, and Tom Sheehan. Both drivers come from a variety of sportscar backgrounds, and the team as a whole looks towards providing a consistent, and most importantly enjoyable, event.

Finally, car No. 63 will be piloted by drivers Henri Richard, Zak Brown, Rene Villeneuve, Mark Thomas and Richard Dean. All five drivers come to Daytona with a very positive attitude and strong desire to succeed, and look forward to seeing the checkered flag on January 31st.

For Buckler, the opportunity to provide five cars during trying times is a testament to the team's hard work.

"To come in to this year's race, which is arguably under the most challenging economy the series has ever seen, with five cars is a victory in itself. I have personally been on the phone for weeks on end trying to make all of our programs work for everyone and their sponsors, and I'm proud to say that we're coming in to this year's race with such a solid lineup. To have this many cars come in with such a strong group of drivers is a great testament to not only all the work that's been going on around here the last few months, but really the last two decades of everything we've worked for to make sure we have a solid organization that can put complex programs like these together."

Whatever the outcome when the checkered flag falls, TRG's unmistakable drive will be more evident than ever at this year's race.

TRG was founded in 1993 and has been competing at the top level of motor racing ever since. The team has the most wins of any team in the Grand-Am Rolex Series with 26, including the 2005 and 2006 Rolex Series GT championship trophy to go along with wins at the Rolex 24 at Daytona and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

TRG is a manufacturer and distributor of high-performance racing parts. The group specializes in engine and chassis tuning as well as full service professional race car preparation. The company also provides electrical and mechanical engineering services, driver development and arrive-and-drive opportunities. TRG is based in Petaluma, California, near its home track of Infineon Raceway in Sonoma. TRG Motorsports, the company's NASCAR operation, is based in Mooresville, North Carolina and a new state-of-the-art facility is coming on-line at New Jersey Motorsports Park in 2010.