Bobby Labonte Bio/Stats
3Widealley.com By mjrjrfan

Bobby has got to be the hands down nicest guys in NASCAR who is both liked and respected by his peers and fans alike!

 

By Mike Harris

The Associated Press

Bobby stands alone......

While Jimmie Johnson has now matched Cale Yarborough's record of three straight Cup titles, and Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt both hold a record seven championships, there is still at least one title winner in NASCAR with an unmatched record.
Bobby Labonte remains the only driver in NASCAR history to have won titles in both Cup (2000) and the second-tier Nationwide Series (1991).
"I have to consider that one of the highest honors of my career," Labonte said. "I mean, no one else has done it.
"There have been a lot of great drivers that have competed in both series and I'm sure someone will join me eventually. Carl (Edwards) is coming closer and closer every year. I'm beginning to feel like the '72 Dolphins."
Edwards won the Nationwide championship in 2007 and came close to repeating in that series and beating out Johnson for the Cup title this year. But the Roush Fenway Racing driver came up 21 points short in Nationwide and 69 short in Cup.
When Labonte won his title in what was then the Busch Series, it was truly a feeder series for Cup.
"Back then we were guys hoping to make it," Labonte said. "I owned my own team and really enjoyed racing against Chuck Bown and Rob Moroso and Kenny Wallace. Those are some of the best memories I have. We would really get after it. I learned so much during those years."
Labonte still occasionally races in the Nationwide Series, but he concentrates most of his efforts on driving the No. 43 Dodge for Petty Enterprises. The younger brother of two-time Cup champion Terry Labonte finished 21st in the 2008 season standings in Cup.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Date Of Birth: May 8, 1964
Spouse: Donna
Place Of Birth: Corpus Cristi TX
Home Town: Trinity NC
Team: Petty Enterprises
Car Owner: Richard Petty
Crew Chief: Jeff Meendering
Car Number: 43
Manufacturer: Dodge
Primary Sponsor: Cheerios

Years:  2 Petty / 17 in Cup
Starts: 546
Poles: 26
Wins: 21
Top 5's: 113  
Top 10's: 197
(Through 2008)

1964 - Born in Corpus Christi, Texas on the 18th of May.
 
1969 - He began racing in quarter midgets in his homestate of Texas, winning his first feature race one year later. From then until 1977, he drove in quarter-midgets throughout the United States.
 
1978 - He advanced to the go-kart ranks, but moved to North Carolina with his family following Terry's advancement to the Cup series.
 
1982 - He made his Busch Series debut at Martinsville Speedway, finishing 30th. Following his graduation from Trinity High School, he worked as a fabricator on Terry's cars at Hagan Racing. 
 
1985 - Returned to the Busch Series, running two races in a car he owned himself at Martinsville, his best finish was a seventeenth.
 
1987 - Won twelve races at Caraway Speedway, clinching the track championship, in addition to working for Jay Hedgecock. The following season, he competed at Concord Motorsports Park, winning six times, and ran six more Busch races, finishing 16th at Darlington Raceway.
 
1990 - He competed in the Busch Series full-time in the 44th Slim Jim Oldsmobile he owned. He won two poles, both at Bristol Motor Speedway, and finished fourth in points.
 
1993 - Moved up to the Cup Series, driving the 22th Maxwell House Ford Thunderbird for Bill Davis Racing.
 
1996 - His first career win at the Coca Cola 600 in 1996.
 
1997 - He switched car makes as he drove a Pontiac Grand Prix.  
 
1998 - Won the pole for the Daytona 500, he would also go on and finish 2nd to Dale Earnhart.
 
1999 - He won five Winston Cup races, the most he has ever won in a single season. He finished second in the points to Dale Jarrett, losing the championship by over 200 points.
 
2000 - Went on to win 4 races at Darlington, Charlotte, and swept both races at Pocono.
 
2001 - He finished 6th in the points standings. 
 
2002 - He only had 1 win, which was at Martinsville in the spring. It was his first career short track win at Martinsville.
 
2003 - Rebounded and finished 6th in the standings. Labonte won 2 races at Atlanta, and at Homestead. 
 
2004 - He didn't win a race for the first time since 1996. 
 
2007 - Began the 2007 season with a 21st place finish in the Daytona 500, after avoiding the many accidents the race had.