Slugger Labbe

Richard "Slugger" Labbe (born June 14, 1968) is an American technical consultant who currently works for Toyota Racing Development.

[1] His father, Ray, worked on cars in the NASCAR Busch North Series and often brought his son to the events.

The team won the race at Michigan International Speedway that year and qualified for a berth in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

Labbe missed four races that season due to a suspension handed down by NASCAR for an illegal sway bar mount.

[5] Labbe spent the first half of 2007 with Sterling Marlin at MB2 Motorsports but then headed to High Point, North Carolina and Bill Davis Racing for the second.

[2][6][7] Labbe began the 2008 season working with Formula One champion Jacques Villeneuve helping him with the switch from open wheel to NASCAR before sponsorship fell through.

Labbe coached Speed to his first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series win at the spring event at Dover International Speedway.

[2] In 2009, Labbe moved to TRG Motorsports leading David Gilliland in the team’s first season in NASCAR Cup Series.

In 2010, he was crew chief for the Richard Petty Motorsports (RPM) car driven by Paul Menard in his fourth full-season of Sprint Cup.