NASCAR: Top-Five Drivers To Never Make The Chase
No. 4 – Bobby Labonte
The 2000 Cup Series champion did his best driving the the days before the Chase in what old school fans call the ‘Winston Cup era.’ Even so it’s hard to believe Labonte never made a Chase birth in nine full-time seasons during the Chase era. In 2004 Labonte he barely missed the Chase finishing 12th in the point standings for Joe Gibbs Racing. He spent the 2005 season with JGR finishing 24th in the standings before both sides moved on.
Labonte moved to Petty Enterprises to drive the famed No. 43 car for the 2006 season. The Petty organization had seen better days by the time Labonte got there. He joined a team that had won just two races since 1985. He would have three respectable seasons with Petty Enterprises, finishing 21st, 18th and 21st in the point standings. After the 2008 season the team merged with Gillette Evernham Motorsports to form Richard Petty Motorsports. Labonte was out of a ride for the first time in his career and was still searching for a ride through December.
In January 2009 it was announced Labonte would run the full season for Yates Racing driving the No. 96 car with sponsorship from Ask.com. He would also be paired with former crew chief Todd Parrott. The team got off to a great start including an impressive fifth place finish at Las Vegas. Turmoil soon followed as his sponsor backed out and the team finished 30th in the points. He finished 31st in points in the 2010 season driving for TRG Motorsports and Phoenix Racing before JTG/Daugherty Racing gave him a call.
In his time with JTG Daugherty Racing Labonte ran for a single car operation with no affiliation. That’s tough to do and the performance lacked at times. Still Labonte and his team finished a respectable 23rd in the standings in 2012. In the middle of the 2013 season the 49 year old Labonte and the growing team decided to move in another direction. The team hired AJ Allmendinger and got a technical alliance with Richard Childress Racing. Since leaving JTG Daugherty Racing Labonte has run part-time and hasn’t competed for a Chase spot since, however consistency got Labonte on the list.
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