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Bobby Labonte deserves another chance

Jeremy Dunn's photo
Atlanta NASCAR Examiner

Ten years ago, Bobby Labonte firmly established himself as a frontrunner when he won five races and finished second in the final Cup standings.  A year later, he won four races while pulling away from Dale Earnhardt en route to his first and only career championship.  It appeared as if more great things were on the horizon for Labonte in 2001 and beyond. 

Bobby Labonte scored eleven wins in a three-year span from 1998 to 2000, more than all drivers with the exception of Jeff Gordon and Jeff Burton.  For various reasons, Labonte began a steady decline in performance following his championship season.  In 2005, Labonte and Joe Gibbs Racing opted to part ways.  Labonte took a giant leap of faith and jumped on the fledgling Petty Enterprises ship.  While he was more competitive in than any driver in the storied No. 43 since Bobby Hamilton and then John Andretti in the late 1990’s (not 2000’s), he rarely was a factor. 

Following the 2008 season, Gillett Evernahm Motorsports absorbed Petty Enterprises, hence the name Richard Petty Motorsports, leaving no room at the inn for the 2000 champion.  Labonte teamed up with Hall of Fame Racing and formed a union with Yates Racing with Ask.com as the sponsor for the majority of the races.  The union appeared promising after a fifth place finish at Las Vegas back in March.  His best finish since was twelfth in the rain-shortened Coca Cola 600.

In August, HOF revealed that Labonte would relinquish the No. 96 ride for seven races to make room for Roush Fenway Racing developmental driver Erik Darnell.  The reason was primarily sponsor-related.  However, Labonte immediately found another ride with TRG Motorsports, and turned in his best performance of the season in the underfunded No. 71 Chevrolet at Atlanta on Labor Day weekend.  He finished in the eighteenth position, but he consistently ran in the top twelve and fifteen for the majority of the race, something he was unable to do in the Roush-Yates powered Ford. 

He turned a 30th place car into a top 15 performance at Atlanta, which proved that he is still a heck of a wheelman and deserves another opportunity with a solid team.  Unfortunately, his future is up in the air as of now.

At the age of 45, he is no long-term solution for any team, unless he turns into another Mark Martin.  With that said, I believe that he has enjoyed a solid career, and should have the opportunity to end his career on top and on his terms.  There are few qualify rides available. 

Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing’s No. 1 is the most appealing because of the way the No. 42 has performed, as well as the fact that Bass Pro Shops is the primary sponsor for at least half of the season.  Richard Childress Racing, which helped resurrect Jeff Burton’s career, would be a pleasant upgrade from Hall of Fame Racing.  Despite a recent run of solid showings, Casey Mears appears to be on his way out at RCR, so the seat may open, but Jack Daniel’s will not return as sponsor, and sponsorship has not been found for the No. 07.

Other than the No. 1 and No. 07, Labonte has extremely limited options, which is a shame.  A past champion with a few good years left in him should not have a difficult time attracting a sponsor, but the current economic conditions say otherwise. 

Do not allow his cool and collective demeanor fool you, Labonte was and still is a fiery competitor.  I once saw and in-car clip of him at Charlotte slamming his hand on the steering wheel in fury as Jeff Gordon sailed by him for the lead late in the race.  Labonte still has the desire to race, not just ride for a paycheck.  Hopefully, he will land an opportunity in solid equipment.        

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, Atlanta NASCAR Examiner

Jeremy has covered NASCAR since 2005, and his articles have been featured on websites such as SpeedwayMedia, Suite101, and local magazines such as SpeedSouth. He is the author of the published book entitled 'Superstars Of Pro Football: Ray Lewis.'

Comments

  • PJ 2 years ago

    Great article on Bobby Labonte.Hope he gets a good ride to prove that he can still drive a race car and get the job done.I'll be pulling for you Bobby.Someone please give this man a decent ride.One of the class acts in Nascar.

  • Barry the Canadian 2 years ago

    Thanks for the article. Having followed Bobbys career since 1997, I enjoyed his ride to the top. You have correctly identified the uncontrollable factors that have seen his outings suffer in the past few years. I wonder what this past champion might do, if he were given an opportunity such as Mark Martin was. Come on Mr Childress, I was at your raceshop last week, Give that Labonte dude a chance to drive one of your cars, he has a tremendous drive to win.

  • Carl D. 2 years ago

    Thanks for the article. Boby is a class act. I agree that he deserves a competitive ride for 2010. If one can't be found, I hope he doesn't settle for crappy rides on a week-to-week basis like his brother Terry does.

  • Rob 2 years ago

    I'm curious as to why there little to no mention of a return to JGR. I know their fourth team is very part-time at this point, but given their past history together, I would think they could do well together. With Tony Stewart doing his own thing now, I don't see why Labonte would not be an excellent fit at JGR. Especially given his experience and his professionally demeanor, it could just be the final ingredient to help get Busch and Hamlin over the top. Logano would certainly benefit from the experience as well, but I think it could help both Busch and Hamlin the most. At 45 and running a limited schedule, he would bring the firery competition and beneficial advice to both of those driver, with hurting their championship desires by being a contender himself.

  • JohnP 2 years ago

    Thanks for the memory lane. Bobby was a favorite driver of mine from 1996 to about 2004 when he left Gibbs. I still follow him to an extent. In 1996, last race of the year, at Atlanta was a real Nascar moment. The last race started with three possible Cup winners. And this was using the old system. Hhhmmm. Lets not go there. Bobby won the race, his first Cup win. His brother pulled off the Championship by just 37 point over Jeff Gordon, and 89 points over Dale Jarrett. The possible Cup winner changed all race long as positions changed on the track. Edge of the seat exciting. When over, Bobby and Terry took a joint victory lap. What a populare win, or wins actually. Both guys are a class act.

  • Kevin, UK 2 years ago

    Bobby is still more than capable out outrunning most of the other drivers out there. In decent equipment Bobby could still be a champion. Heck look at Terry - he became a champion for the 2nd time over a decade after his first! For my money Bobby was a better driver than Mark Martin. Mark hade a few lean years even in Roush cars - If Bobby was in the 5, he'd be right in the championship hunt too.

  • grumpyoldman 2 years ago

    Bobby's time has come and gone. New generations are coming into NASCAR, and Bobby needs to go home to Texas, or use his Champions Provisional for some start and parks.

  • Kevin UK 2 years ago

    Grumpy - Is that why Mark is still in the #5, because he can't use his Champs provisional? ;)

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