Back in the day Bobby Labonte was revered as a NASCAR superstar. He was winning races and leaning into the hearts of Americans. He had championships and top 10 points finishes every season. He had legendary battles with NASCAR superstars; often resulting in a win. He was one of the top 5 drivers in NASCAR with his appearance in every ad, commercial, picture, or diecast. Every NASCAR fan thought of Bobby Labonte as one of the toughest competitors every week. Every newspaper and magazine wanted to feature Bobby in their articles and reports. On NASCAR.com Bobby was in every advertisement they had for “Your favorite driver”. He was on the cover of every magazine like Beckett. In Beckett magazine his trading cards were valued as one of the top five most expensive. He was a true champion.

As Bobby reached the 2003 season his popularity had sunk along with his race finishes. After 2003 he had no wins for the next 4 years straight. It had become an all-time low for him. Most of 2004, 2005, and 2006 were full of disappointment for Bobby Labonte. His finishes were filled with crashes and poor speed. He began to disappear from NASCAR’s advertisements, commercials and pictures. During race broadcasts Bobby had begun to disappear from getting coverage. Everyone began to focus on younger drivers. By the start of 2007 Bobby had fallen out of the top 20 NASCAR drives in competition and popularity. He did have a few good moments of hope for his career.

In 2005 he barely lost the Coca-Cola 600 by a few feet over Jimmie Johnson. He had worked harder than any driver in that race to try to win, and he needed than win more than Jimmie Johnson did. He avoided every big crash and problem that each driver had had. His car was without a scratch and ready to race at the end. Also in 2005 he won a great truck series race for Dennis Setzer. He barely lost to Ron Hornaday a week before at Atlanta in an exciting photo finish. He came into Martinsville looking for redemption for a disappointing loss the week before. He worked his way up through the field and stayed out on a pit stop strategy move. He held off all challengers to win his first truck race.

In 2007 Bobby was looking for another win any way he could get one. His Cup Series ride was a little better than the year before but it was not quite good enough for a win. In the Busch Series Bobby was now the main driver for Kevin Harvick’s Dollar General Chevy. He was competitive every week. He came into Talladega not knowing what to expect due to his usual poor finishes there. He did not qualify well because he was set up for a race set-up. He ran most of the day in the back of the pack. He avoided the pile ups including Kyle Bush’s wild wreck. After a green/white/checker finish got underway Bobby hooked onto the back of Tony Stewart pushing him all the way to the front straightaway on the last lap. Going through the tri-oval Bobby showed his old buddy Tony a trick that he never taught him. He pulled out by him on a slingshot move. Tony and Bobby weren’t the only ones amazed with that fantastic move. They were happy with each other in victory lane. It seemed like Bobby’s career was on its way up. Bobby was in store for another good surprise.

Bobby Labonte entered NASCAR’s top world in 1991 with great skill and popularity. Someone was watching him from day one as his career expanded from the Busch Series up to the Cup Series. Richard Childress liked Bobby Labonte’s driving style throughout his career. He was there in 1995 to watch Bobby win his first race in the difficult Coca-Cola 600. Next he saw Bobby sweep both Michigan races. He saw Bobby’s domination of Atlanta over the next several years. He watched Bobby’s strength at the restrictor plate races in 1998. He watched Bobby’s domination in the points in 1999 and 2000. He saw his legendary victory over Rusty Wallace in the 2000 Brickyard 400 followed by his 2000 championship. He saw that Bobby, like Jeff Burton, had hit a tough place in his career. He now wants to help Bobby, like Jeff Burton, come out of his tough place. Richard has now offered Bobby a part time Busch Series schedule driving the famous number 21. Next year after Bobby’s contract with Petty Enterprises expires he might be considered for a full time cup ride in Richard Childress’s fourth team. Bobby Labonte can go from near rock bottom to a Cup Champion again in the Sprint Cup Series.

Bobby Labonte will always be a true champion no matter what happens. Throughout his ups and downs he always had the heart and skill of a champion. All it will take will be a few good runs and he will be back on everyone’s map as a NASCAR star. Bobby never lost his skill and sprit, so when he had good equipment he will shine. Bobby is ready for the best and he is about to get it.