Bobby Labonte: A Former Champ’s Long Slide Down
Arriving on the scene for Winston Cup racing in the early 1990’s, Bobby Labonte’s career would be perpetually overshadowed by the sensation of his era, Jeff Gordon, but having moved up the ranks with Bill Davis then to Joe Gibbs racing to start the 1995. Once at Gibbs, he caught fire making the Gibbs operations one of the top rides in NASCAR. He’d win three races for Gibbs including the Coca Cola 600 and both Michigan races in his first year and a championship in 2000. Joe Gibbs Racing became a two car operation and quickly newcomer from IRL, Tony Stewart, became the dominant driver in the operation, and Labonte started to seem like odd man out.
He went on to Richard Petty racing in what was supposed to be an effort to revitalize the #43 team to a sense of its former glory, but money problems and lack of resources found Petty’s family business coming on hard times looking for investors to prop up the operation. The results were no joy for Labonte who struggled even to finish respectably while working for Petty. When Richard Petty sold out to the Gillette operation, Labonte was caught in the squeeze and without a ride going into 2009.
Hall-of-Fame racing was looking for a driver. They had signed on to work with Robert Yates racing. What a deal – the Yates garage, champion crew chief, Todd Parrott, ASK.com sponsorship, perhaps Bobby Labonte was on the comeback.
Hardly, the deal turned into a disaster and late in the season, Labonte was squeezed out by a sponsorship deal preferring to unite behind their Nationwide driver, Erik Darnell, in Cup races so Labonte caught on with the lowly TRG team.
Though having some zip in some races for TRG, its lack of resources and no sponsor after Tax Slayer’s deal ended found Labonte relegated to a pathetic “start and park” driver.
That he would leave TRG hardly has to be a surprise. He will race for Robby Gordon in New Hampshire, but Gordon announced he might be forced to start and park. For Daytona, he will race for Phoenix racing’s 09 car, another start and park operation. Can it be anything more shameful than a past champion’s provisional being used to make the field, possibly bumping a team that intends to complete an entire race, only to start and park?
Since Labonte’s departure, Joe Gibbs racing has become neck and neck with Hendricks Motor Sports for the premier ownership group in NASCAR.
In addition to his Winston Cup championship, Labonte also won the Busch Championship in 1991 and the IROC trophy in 2001. Of the generation who’d push aside the generation of Rusty Wallace, Darrell Waltrip, Dale Earnhardt, and Bill Elliott, Jeff Gordon and Jeff Burton remain top level Chase quality contenders. Ward Burton is out of racing. Joe Nemechek flounders miserably as a single car start and park embarrassment. Bobby Labonte’s career appears to be in free fall.
We wish him the best of luck but hope he knows when it’s time to say when. Hopefully, that day has not come.
Arriving on the scene for Winston Cup racing in the early 1990’s, Bobby Labonte’s career would be perpetually overshadowed by the sensation of his era, Jeff Gordon, but having moved up the ranks with Bill Davis then to Joe Gibbs racing to start the 1995. Once at Gibbs, he caught fire making the Gibbs operations one of the top rides in NASCAR. He’d win three races for Gibbs including the Coca Cola 600 and both Michigan races in his first year and a championship in 2000. Joe Gibbs Racing became a two car operation and quickly newcomer from IRL, Tony Stewart, became the dominant driver in the operation, and Labonte started to seem like odd man out.
He went on to Richard Petty racing in what was supposed to be an effort to revitalize the #43 team to a sense of its former glory, but money problems and lack of resources found Petty’s family business coming on hard times looking for investors to prop up the operation. The results were no joy for Labonte who struggled even to finish respectably while working for Petty. When Richard Petty sold out to the Gillette operation, Labonte was caught in the squeeze and without a ride going into 2009.
Hall-of-Fame racing was looking for a driver. They had signed on to work with Robert Yates racing. What a deal – the Yates garage, champion crew chief, Todd Parrott, ASK.com sponsorship, perhaps Bobby Labonte was on the comeback.
Hardly, the deal turned into a disaster and late in the season, Labonte was squeezed out by a sponsorship deal preferring to unite behind their Nationwide driver, Erik Darnell, in Cup races so Labonte caught on with the lowly TRG team.
Though having some zip in some races for TRG, its lack of resources and no sponsor after Tax Slayer’s deal ended found Labonte relegated to a pathetic “start and park” driver.
That he would leave TRG hardly has to be a surprise. He will race for Robby Gordon in New Hampshire, but Gordon announced he might be forced to start and park. For Daytona, he will race for Phoenix racing’s 09 car, another start and park operation. Can it be anything more shameful than a past champion’s provisional being used to make the field, possibly bumping a team that intends to complete an entire race, only to start and park?
Since Labonte’s departure, Joe Gibbs racing has become neck and neck with Hendricks Motor Sports for the premier ownership group in NASCAR.
In addition to his Winston Cup championship, Labonte also won the Busch Championship in 1991 and the IROC trophy in 2001. Of the generation who’d push aside the generation of Rusty Wallace, Darrell Waltrip, Dale Earnhardt, and Bill Elliott, Jeff Gordon and Jeff Burton remain top level Chase quality contenders. Ward Burton is out of racing. Joe Nemechek flounders miserably as a single car start and park embarrassment. Bobby Labonte’s career appears to be in free fall.
We wish him the best of luck but hope he knows when it’s time to say when. Hopefully, that day has not come.
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