Bobby Labonte still driven to chase glory

Aug 11, 2010 - 4:44 PM By JOHN KEKIS AP Sports Writer

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y.(AP) -- Bobby Labonte sat down at the driver's meeting at Watkins Glen with Matt Kenseth, then joked for a moment with J.D. Gibbs before NASCAR began its prerace rundown of the rules.

Six hours later, Labonte climbed from his No. 09 Chevy after placing 35th in the Sprint Cup race at The Glen on Sunday, finishing six laps behind winner Juan Pablo Montoya because of battery problems.

Next season can't begin soon enough for the former Cup champion.

"It's frustrating when you're not winning races," Labonte said.

Winning or being in contention for a victory used to be easy for the native of Corpus Christi, Texas. He raced quarter midgets as a kid, then demonstrated he had the potential to be a star driving a late model in 1987, winning 12 times in 23 races at Caraway Speedway in Asheboro, N.C.

Four years later, Labonte was the champion of the Busch (now Nationwide) Series and nearly won the title again in 1992, finishing second to Joe Nemechek - by three points - in the closest race in the history of NASCAR's top three national series.

Labonte began racing full-time in Cup for Bill Davis in 1993, and that breakthrough season every driver dreams of came in 1995 when Labonte moved to Joe Gibbs Racing, replacing Dale Jarrett in the No. 18 car. Labonte finished 10th in points, winning his first Cup race - the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte - in his 74th start.

In 1999, Labonte finished second in points to Jarrett, winning five races, five poles, and posting 26 top-10s. A year later, he was the champ, beating the late Dale Earnhardt by 265 points and joining brother Terry in that elite fraternity of drivers. The Labontes are the only brothers in NASCAR history to win Cup titles.

"We just had everything going," Bobby said. "We were the car to beat week in and week out."

Five years later, with Tony Stewart the star in the Gibbs garage, Labonte left the best ride he ever had.

"I'd been there for 10 years," said Labonte, who has 21 career wins but none since November 2003 at Homestead. "It was just one of those things where there's no explanation. I was there for five years before I won the championship. We had good years and we didn't have so good years. We won the championship and won some races afterward. Why do people do what they do?"

"Sometimes, it's time for change," said Terry, the Cup champion in 1984 and 1996. "He'd been there a long time. I'm not sure he was happy."

It's been a downhill ride since. After leaving Gibbs, Labonte spent three seasons with Petty Enterprises, then was left in the lurch by the merger that created Richard Petty Motorsports.

"I had a signed contract with Petty that kind of got all screwed up with the economy when it hit a low point," Bobby said. "That kind of put me behind the eight ball as far as being in a position that we were growing and getting better."

"You talk about getting caught in a perfect storm. It's been a bad situation," said Terry, his brother's rock in this time of turmoil. "One day it looked so good with Richard Petty Motorsports. He signed a good contract. Then six months later the whole thing's fallen apart - after he had already passed up a couple of opportunities to get in something else. Tough times there."

Jeff Burton, driving now for resurgent Richard Childress Racing, is one of Labonte's closest friends in the garage.

"I've been through a period where I didn't run as well as I was accustomed to running but never got in the situation that he's in today," said Burton, who left Roush Racing in the middle of the 2004 season after his on-track performance began to suffer. "As a champion and a winner - he's won everything he's ever been in - he has a lot of pride in that, and to be in a situation where he can't run and can't be competitive is really, really hard. It's hard to put in words what that feels like.

"The only way that you can handle it is you've got to be optimistic, you've got to keep your head down, you've got to be willing to question yourself, but at the same time you have to have confidence," Burton said. "It's hard to do both."

Last year, Labonte competed for Yates Racing and finished 30th in points, the worst of his career as a full-time driver. Sponsorship woes forced him to TRG Motorsports in December, and those woes continued this season. Labonte has had rides with TRG, Phoenix Racing and Robby Gordon Motorsports, finally cutting ties with TRG over its start-and-park strategy.

Through it all, Labonte has managed to keep his string of consecutive starts intact. He remains second among active drivers - one behind Jeff Gordon - with 604 since 1993. And he has a new ride for next year, replacing Marcos Ambrose for JTG-Daughtery Racing.

"I think he'll do really well," Burton said. "One of the things that happens when you're accustomed to running well and you don't, it remotivates you. And then when you do start doing well again, you have much more appreciation for it.

"Bobby Labonte appreciates what Jimmie Johnson's doing right now more than Jimmie Johnson does," Burton said of the four-time reigning Cup champion. "That's nothing against Jimmie Johnson - he puts a lot of effort in - but when you get it back you're going to do everything in your power never to lose it again. Sometimes, you don't know what you've got until you lose it."

With the end of his driving career looming, the 46-year-old Labonte has visions of departing on a high note.

"You want to be at the highest of the high that you can be in the sport," Labonte said. "I want to be winning championships. It's not, well, 'I just want to run 10th.' That's not what you want."