Auto Racing Capsules: Bobby Labonte still driven to chase glory
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."
Darlington's rebirth continues with Trucks race
DARLINGTON, S.C. (AP) — This is one NASCAR schedule shake-up Darlington Raceway president Chris Browning is not sweating out.
With NASCAR tracks all around him losing races and shifting dates, Browning continues to go full throttle to keep the old country track viable in the sport's modern age.
The latest burst of life? Saturday night's Camping World Truck Series event, the Too Tough To Tame 200, which marks the first time in six years the circuit's oldest superspeedway has unlocked its gates for more than one NASCAR weekend.
"So many people had put us on the endangered list," Browning said. "It's a great feeling where we are to where we were six years ago."
And that was clearly on the verge of extinction.
The signs were all there. In 2003, NASCAR's late leader, Bill France Jr., had called out Darlington as one of the sport's underperforming tracks. Then later that year, the event on Labor Day weekend, a tradition at the track since 1950, was pulled from Darlington and shipped off to California. Even worse, the track's lone date was Mother's Day weekend, considered an unsellable dark hole by promoters, so much so that NASCAR's top series had taken the day off the previous 18 years.
There were aging grandstands, old bathrooms and a foreboding sense the best days for the "Lady in Black" were in the rearview mirror.
Since then, though, it's been a bona fide Southern revival for the historic track. On Wednesday, track spokesman Jake Harris said Darlington received its 2011 dates for Mother's Day weekend: the Nationwide race on May 6 and the Sprint Cup event on May 7.
"There's a whole lot of comfort in that," Browning says.
The turnaround began when Darlington added $3.5 million in improvements, including a light system in 2004 that allowed the track to race at night for first time in its storied history. That led to a sellout in 2005, then three more the next three seasons. Darlington's owners, International Speedway Corp. (ISC), took notice and gave Browning's team about $10 million for capital projects, including repaving the track and adding a modern tunnel for infield access.
Browning remembers a turning point after the sellout in 2006, the second time the track ran on Mother's Day weekend. "I didn't hear anyone ask me if I thought we were going to be on next year's schedule," he said. "That was big."
Browning has kept pushing to find events that fit one of the region's staunchest fan bases. The track ran a U.S. Auto Club race during its NASCAR weekend in 2007, the first time in more than a half century that open-wheel racers cruised the egg-shaped oval.
In 2008, the track introduced a Historic Racing Festival that played into Darlington's role as a cradle of the sport. Racing greats like David Pearson and Cale Yarborough met with fans, who could also drive the layout with their car clubs. The third edition of the event is Sept. 24-26 and Browning says the response is growing. "We think when we look back 10 years from now, we'll see this as something good," he said.
Darlington leaders hope to say the same thing about the trucks. The series ran at Darlington from 2001-04, but scheduling problems — along with balancing three races over one weekend on an infield tight for space — ended that run.
When truck organizers asked if Darlington could hold a midsummer's night race, Browning jumped at the chance and hopes it stays for some time to come.
Todd Bodine, the truck series points' leader, is one of the few drivers on the circuit with significant Darlington experience. He has 38 starts at the track in NASCAR's top three series, including a 2003 victory in a Nationwide race where he slid across the finish line after hitting Jamie McMurray.
"Every corner is different. It's fast, it's aggressive, it's Darlington," Bodine said. "I love it."
Bringing the trucks here also exposes a new generation of drivers to the track. Timothy Peters' truck team came in for a March tire test and could not believe how quickly the track can grab you.
"I got my Darlington stripe early," he said after hitting the wall.
For Trucks racer Austin Dillon, the 20-year-old grandson of owner Richard Childress, the biggest memory of Darlington came in 1997 when the late Dale Earnhardt was carried from his car after hitting the wall twice during the first two laps of the Southern 500 on Labor Day. Dillon's father, Mike, had to jump in the No. 3 Chevrolet to take over.
Austin Dillon's glad for the chance to drive the matchless track and looks forward to returning for years to come.
"It's a historical place where many NASCAR memories have been made," he said. "This being NASCAR, you got to go there. You've got to go to Darlington."
-- Pete Iacobelli
Menard moving to RCR in 2011
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Paul Menard is taking his father's sponsorship money to Richard Childress Racing next season, giving that organization the financial security it needs to expand to the NASCAR-mandated maximum of four cars.
"When this opportunity to join RCR came about, it was a no-brainer," Menard said Wednesday.
RCR ran four cars last season, but let Casey Mears go at the end of the year when it failed to secure financing to keep that team running. As a four-car team, RCR struggled on the track and failed to put a single car in the 12-driver Chase for the Sprint Cup championship.
Down to three cars this year, RCR has rebounded into one of NASCAR's top teams. Kevin Harvick is the current series points leader, Jeff Burton is in contention for a spot in the Chase and Clint Bowyer is in a tight battle for the 12th and final qualifying spot.
But the team couldn't turn down the financing from Menard, who brings with him a mediocre resume but sponsorship from his father's Wisconsin-based home improvement company. The Menard's chain is the third-largest home improvement company in the country.
"We feel Paul will contribute to the continued progress and success of RCR," Richard Childress said. "Paul will fit in perfectly with our team of drivers at RCR, and they are all looking forward to working with him. We're also very proud to be aligned with Menards, one of the great family business success stories in American history."
Menard is in his fourth full Cup season and is currently 23rd in the standings while driving for Richard Petty Motorsports.
He finished a career-best 26th in the standings driving for Dale Earnhardt Inc. in 2008. He jumped to Yates Racing last year, finishing 31st in the standings, and was absorbed by RPM when those two teams merged before this season.
Menard has one career NASCAR victory — a Nationwide Series win in 2006 — and 51 top-10 finishes in 152 Cup starts.
Moving to RCR gives that team yet another boost when the organization seems to be clicking across the board. Harvick has two victories this year and is expected to announce next week that Budweiser will sponsor him in 2011, and Childress' engines appear to be the best in NASCAR right now.
But the Menard defection also leaves RPM in a bit of a bind.
The team announced last week that it had re-signed AJ Allmendinger, but star driver Kasey Kahne is leaving at the end of the year and his sponsorship from Budweiser is also out the door. Elliott Sadler has said the team told him he won't be brought back, and now Menard is taking much-needed sponsorship dollars away from the organization.
"Paul is in the middle of his best season of competition in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and we feel like our strong commitment to him and that team in addition to the great support from Ford Racing has been a major part of that," said Foster Gillett, RPM's managing partner and team owner.
"With 14 races to go, we expect the No. 98 team to finish just as strong as it started this year."
RPM is expected to sign Marcos Ambrose to drive for the team in 2011, though his sponsorship remains unclear.
-- Jenna Fryer
N.H. Motor Speedway keeps both NASCAR races in 2011
LOUDON, N.H. (AP) — Officials from the New Hampshire Motor Speedway and Gov. John Lynch have announced that the track will keep both its NASCAR races in 2011.
One race will move from June to July.
Next year's NASCAR races will be held on July 17 and Sept. 25. The IndyCar Series race will be held on Aug. 14.
The 2011 schedule was announced Wednesday on the track's infield in Loudon.
IndyCar
Graham Rahal hoping for late-season surge
LEXINGTON, Ohio (AP) — Graham Rahal's closet is getting full, and not only with the designer duds the IndyCar driver prefers.
In a sartorial chronicle of his career, the 21-year-old collects the firesuits he wears during races.
He just never expected his collection to get so big so fast. Rahal, the son of 1986 Indy 500 winner Bobby Rahal, has spent 2010 in search of a ride, driving four different cars for four different teams. It's not the kind of path he envisioned when he became the youngest driver to win an IndyCar race two years ago at St. Petersburg.
He's arguably the best young American driver on the circuit, an Ohio native who comes from one of open-wheel racing's first families. And he's spent half the season looking for a job.
Welcome to life in IndyCar.
"If you're one of the best guys in any other sport, all you're worried about next year is what team and how much money you're going to make," he said. "Here, it's if you're going to be here still. That's what's tough about this."
Now Rahal is back to where he once belonged, signing a deal with Newman/Haas Racing last month to finish the season. He'll race everywhere but Kentucky the rest of the way.
Is driving part time — technically speaking — what he wants? No. Does he have a choice? Not really.
Then again it beats what he did during races at Kansas, Texas, Watkins Glen and Edmonton, sitting at home while the series went on without him.
"It's no fun whatsoever," he said.
Not when compared to getting behind the wheel. Rahal's deal with Newman/Haas started in Toronto last month, and he didn't hesitate to mix it up, starting a war of words with Ryan Briscoe when he nudged Briscoe out of the way. Rahal finished fifth while Briscoe faded to 18th.
Later Briscoe went to his Twitter account to blast Rahal, calling him a "part-time" driver who can afford to take chances because he's not battling for a points title.
Rahal bristles at being called a part-timer. He believed he had a deal for a full-time gig this season only to have it fall through over the winter.
"We all know the only reason I'm not here (full time) is because of issues that were out of my reach," he said. "I certainly wouldn't have expected to be in this position."
He's tried to make the best of it. He hooked up with Sarah Fisher Racing for three events at the beginning of the season, an experience Fisher described as a learning experience for her team.
"It was awesome," she said.
Even if Fisher allows she was surprised someone of Rahal's caliber found himself without a regular ride even as less accomplished drivers found spots.
"We have stars who may not excel in one area, but may have a link or an ability to go in and sell partnerships," she said. "There are so many different elements with it. What we were able to do with him at the beginning of the year is, 'here's a program, go drive it.'"
Rahal finished ninth in St. Petersburg, but the results tailed off from there. He was 17th in Alabama and 22nd in Long Beach.
After that he headed to Indy, where he finished 12th while driving for his father. Then he subbed for the injured Mike Conway in the No. 24 at Iowa.
The carousel finally came to a stop back where it started at Newman/Haas. It's a spot he's comfortable with, one where he believes he has a chance to be competitive every weekend.
It certainly looked like it at his home track — at least for a day. Rahal led practice on Friday before things went awry. He qualified 25th then endured an eventful afternoon that included a spin into the gravel on his way to finishing 20th.
"It was a difficult weekend," he said.
The good news is that there are more opportunities on the horizon. He's got two weeks to get ready for Sonoma and is hopeful the money to run Kentucky will come along. There's only one real way to guarantee it: get to the front and stay there.
"I hope that we can get into somewhat of a rhythm," he said. "It's a team I'm familiar with. ... I feel like as long as we can get a few races back together and run well, it only makes expectations each and every weekend higher."
It's still too early to think about next season, though it's always there in the back of his mind. If he has to skip from team to team to get in a car, he'll do it. At least he's driving, right?
"It's been a great learning experience to see how really four different teams operate," he said. "I wouldn't wish it upon anybody, but it is good to see and hopefully (as a driver have really improved and gotten better because of it."
-- Will Graves
Auto Racing Glance
NASCAR
Sprint Cup
Site: Brooklyn, Mich.
Schedule: Friday, practice (Speed, noon-1:30 p.m.), qualifying (Speed, 3:30-5:30 p.m.); Saturday, practice (Speed, 9-10 a.m., noon-1:30 p.m.; Sunday, race, 1 p.m. (ESPN, noon-4:30 p.m.).
Track: Michigan International Speedway (oval, 2.0 miles).
Race distance: 400 miles, 200 laps.
Last year: Brian Vickers won after leader Jimmie Johnson ran out of gas with two laps left. Vickers, sidelined this year by blood clots, gave Red Bull Racing its first victory. Jeff Gordon was second. Johnson finished 33rd.
Last week: Juan Pablo Montoya raced to his second Sprint Cup victory, winning a duel with Marcos Ambrose on the road course at Watkins Glen. Also the winner on the road course at Sonoma in 2007, the Colombian star led 74 of 90 laps and beat Kurt Busch by nearly 5 seconds. Ambrose was third.
Fast facts: Kevin Harvick leads the season standings with 3,210 points with four races left before the 10-race Chase. Gordon is second with 3,025, followed by Jeff Burton (2,895), Busch (2,892), four-time defending series champion Johnson (2,882) and Denny Hamlin (2,872). Hamlin and Johnson lead the series with five victories, with each worth 10 bonus points when the points are reset for the 12-driver Chase. Harvick has two victories. Mark Martin is 12th, 10 points ahead of Clint Bowyer. ... In June at the track, Hamlin raced to his fifth win of the season, leading 123 laps. ... Kasey Kahne, set to replace Martin in the No. 5 Hendrick Chevrolet in 2012, will drive a Toyota for Red Bull next season. Kahne is winless this season for Richard Petty Motorsports.
Next race: Irwin Tools Night Race, Aug. 21, Bristol Motor Speedway, Bristol, Tenn.
Online: http://www.nascar.com
| NATIONWIDE |
|---|
| CARFAX 250 |
Site: Brooklyn, Mich.
Schedule: Thursday, practice; Friday, practice (Speed, 2:30-3:30 p.m.); Saturday, qualifying (Speed, 10 a.m.-noon); Sunday, race, 2 p.m. (ESPN, 1-4:30 p.m.).
Track: Michigan International Speedway (oval, 2.0 miles).
Race distance: 250 miles, 125 laps.
Last year: Brad Keselowski won his home-state event for the third of his four 2009 victories, passing Brian Vickers on the final turn.
Last week: Marcos Ambrose won for the third straight time at Watkins Glen, leading 60 of 82 laps and beating Joey Logano by 2.8 seconds.
Fast facts: Kyle Busch has nine victories this season, one short of the series record he shares (2008) with Sam Ard (1983). Busch is second in series history with 39 victories — nine behind Mark Martin. Busch isn't running for the championship after taking the season title last year. ... Keselowski has three victories this year and tops the standings, 327 points ahead of rival Carl Edwards. ... The race is the second for the series' new car model. The car was used at Daytona in July and will run at Richmond and Charlotte before being fully integrated in 2011. Ford also is moving from Fusion to Mustang, and Dodge from Charger to Challenger. ... Danica Patrick is making her first series start since a 24th-place run at Chicagoland Speedway on July 9.
Next race: Food City 250, Aug. 20, Bristol Motor Speedway, Bristol, Tenn.
Online: http://www.nascar.com
| CAMPING WORLD TRUCKS |
|---|
| Too Tough To Tame 200 |
Site: Darlington, S.C.
Schedule: Saturday, practice, qualifying (Speed, 5:30-7 p.m.); race 7:30 p.m. (Speed, 7-10 p.m.).
Track: Darlington Raceway (oval, 1.366 miles).
Race distance: 200.8 miles, 147 laps.
Last year: No race. Kasey Kahne won the last Trucks race at the track in 2004.
Last week: Series leader Todd Bodine raced to his second victory of the season, leading the final 88 laps at Nashville Superspeedway. Austin Dillon was second.
Fast facts: Bodine has a 174-point lead over Aric Almirola. ... Ken Schrader is driving the No. 2 Chevrolet for Kevin Harvick Inc.
Next race: O'Reilly 200, Aug. 18, Bristol Motor Speedway, Bristol, Tenn.
Online: http://www.nascar.com
| NHRA FULL THROTTLE |
|---|
| Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals |
Site: Brainerd, Minn.
Schedule: Friday, qualifying; Saturday, qualifying (ESPN2, 11 p.m.-1 a.m.); Sunday, final eliminations (ESPN2, 10 p.m.-1 a.m.).
Track: Brainerd International Raceway.
Last year: Tony Pedregon raced to the last of his three 2009 victories, beating Ron Capps in the Funny Car final. Morgan Lucas (Top Fuel), Minnesotan Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) and Hector Arana (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also won.
Last event: Robert Hight beat father-in-law John Force in the Funny Car final July 25 at the Mile-High NHRA Nationals. Doug Kalitta (Top Fuel), Allen Johnson (Pro Stock) and Andrew Hines (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also won.
Fast facts: Force, a record 14-time season champion, has four Funny Car victories this season and a record 130 overall. The 61-year-old Force has a 28-point lead over Hight in the season standings. ... In Top Fuel, Larry Dixon has a 229-point advantage over Tony Schumacher. Dixon has eight victories this year.
Next event: Mac Tools U.S. Nationals, Sept. 1-6, O'Reilly Raceway Park, Clermont, Ind.
Online: http://www.nhra.com
| INDYCAR |
|---|
Next race: Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma, Aug. 22, Infineon Raceway, Sonoma, Calif.
Last week: Dario Franchitti won at Mid-Ohio for Target Chip Ganassi. The Indianapolis 500 winner in May, Franchitti tied Gordon Johncock for 12th place on the open-wheel victory list. Series leader Will Power was second.
Online: http://www.indycar.com
| FORMULA ONE |
|---|
Next race: Belgian Grand Prix, Aug. 29, Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium.
Last week: Mark Webber won the Hungarian Grand Prix on Aug. 1 for his fourth victory of the year, taking advantage of a penalty against Red Bull teammate Sebastian Vettel. Webber took the lead in the series standings, four points ahead of McLaren's Lewis Hamilton. Vettel was given a drive-through penalty for falling more than 10 car-lengths behind the safety car.
| OTHER RACES |
|---|
ARCA RE/MAX SERIES: Garden State ARCA 150, Sunday, New Jersey Motorsports Park, Millville, N.J. Online: http://www.arcaracing.com
U.S. AUTO RACING CLUB: Silver Crown, Thursday, Berlin Raceway, Marne, Mich. Sprint Car, Saturday, Salem Speedway, Salem, Ind. http://www.usacracing.com
