| |
|
1999 In Review
|
|
Points: 2nd
Wins: 5 (Dover Downs, Pocono twice, Michigan, Atlanta)
Poles: 5
Top 5s: 23
Top 10s: 26
Earnings: 3,456,341
What Went Right?
It was a true breakthrough season for the younger Labonte, who posted career highs in wins, poles and top-5 finishes. He became the first driver to sweep races at Pocono and poles at Charlotte in the same season. His second-place finish in points was also a career high and he appears ready to soon join older brother Terry as a Winston Cup championship.
What Went Wrong?
Dale Jarrett had a little better season. The only fault in Labonte's season could when he was bad, he was really bad. Although he finished in the top 10 a total of 26 times, the eight times he didn't, he finished 19th or worse. But when you finish second in points, you have to go deep inside the numbers to find flaws. Bobby also had some problems in practice, crashing twice during the season.
-- Ron Buck
|
Drivers often call finishing second, "The first loser." Well, Bobby Labonte finished second to Dale Jarrett in the Winston Cup points race last year. Nobody, however, was calling the driver of the No. 18 Pontiac a loser.
Labonte did everything a champion does during a season, except take home the trophy at season's end. He was strong on tracks he'd been weak. He was dominate where he'd been good. He was at times unbeatable.
But in a year that saw him establish career benchmarks in every major statistical category, Labonte also learned what could be his most valuable lesson by watching the elite drivers he was fending off each week. Labonte was Jarrett's main threat for the final months of the season. And while he ultimately fell short of the crown, he proved maybe most importantly to himself that he has arrived as a challenger for the Winston Cup.
"We learned a lot (in 1999). I feel like the team has gotten stronger and I've gotten stronger as far as learning some things," Labonte said. "We're looking forward to the years to come and this just maybe gives a little taste to work harder next year.
"I think, yes, we can (challenge for the championship). There are still some areas we need to work on. I learned things last year that made me better. When you run up front like we did, it seems like you learn a lot. That's what we did this year. We can't wait to get started next year and have another shot at it."
Oddly enough, Labonte may not even be his own team's best shot to win the title in 2000. Some may say teammate Tony Stewart is the odds-on favorite to claim the championship this upcoming season. But don't be surprised to see both of Joe Gibbs Racing's Pontiacs setting the pace after the first few months of the season.
Pontiac isn't changing a thing when it comes to its 2000 cars, while both Ford and Chevrolet are introducing 2000 models of the Taurus and Monte Carlo. The 1999 Grand Prix raised a few eyebrows from other manufacturers and their drivers, who said the car had some downforce and aerodynamic advantages.
Labonte, however, isn't taking anything for granted, saying his team must not rest on its laurels. Sure, he's coming off career highs with five wins, five poles and 23 top-5 finishes. But there was also the matter of eight finishes of 19th or worse, races that likely cost him the championship.
"I think we don't want to falter, that's for sure. It would be very disappointing to go out there next season and not run good like we did this year," Labonte said. "But we know that can happen and we have to work hard at it. It's not going to come overnight. It's not just going to happen. We're going to have go out there and work real hard to do what we can do to finish races and run up front.
"Hopefully we can just extend our year this year into next season. With great runs week in and week out like we had this year. We're excited to just get started. We have a lot of key people back and are looking forward to trying to do better at tracks we didn't do good at this year. It's a matter of asking, 'What can we do to make every lap better next year?'"
But when Labonte imagines the 2000 season, it's hard for him to not include himself among the contenders.
"The competition is going to be just as strong as this year, if not stronger. There is going to be different players in it," Labonte said. "I see a lot of competitors out there. It's going to be close. Of course Dale Jarrett, Tony, myself. Mark Martin is always there ... Jeff Burton, really the same guys who are in the top five this year. But you are going to have
teams that are changing things around that could easily be there also."
|
What About 2000?
|
|
 |
"I think, yes, we can (challenge for the championship). There are still some areas we need to work on. I learned things last year that made me better. When you run up front like we did, it seems like you learn a lot. That's what we did this year. We can't wait to get started next year and have another shot at it."
-- Bobby Labonte
|
One thing that won't change is the way Labonte works with Stewart. The duo created a blueprint on how multi-car teams should function under the same roof. Labonte shared his Winston Cup experiences with his rookie teammate. Crew chiefs borrowed notes. The team owner treated each driver equally.
The result is a 1-2 punch into the 21st Century that could produce a Joe Gibbs' trophy case full of Winston Cups in the next decade.
"It's exciting, we have a lot of similarities in set ups, but a lot of differences as well. But it all works out great. It's all good," Labonte said of working with Stewart in 1999. "We can take our difference and try to make each other better and take the similarities and try to grow from that and make it stronger.
"I don't think it'll be any different (in 2000). Obviously, the help he got this year (from our team) was basic stuff. He's been around racing, it's not like he's a rookie when it comes to racing, just Winston Cup. The differences in how we work together next year will be small."
By not changing much in the way he goes about his business and fine tuning a few things, Labonte should live up to expectations in 2000. He says his focus will continue to just be competitive at every type of race track, something he was able to do in '99.
Labonte, long considered a non-factor when it came to flat tracks, actually swept the races at Pocono. He'd like to see the same improvement in his restrictor-plate results this year.
"1999 was a '10.'" Labonte said. "Last year finishing sixth in points, this year finishing in the top five -- all the way up at No. 2 -- you just can't guarantee anything each season, so we had a great season. Dale Jarrett won the championship, but hey, we had a great season to go along with his."
| |
ALSO SEE
Martin spotlight: Putting the pain aside
Stewart spotlight: The new sensation
Jeff Burton Spotlight: A list of goals
Gordon Spotlight: Entering a new era
Earnhardt Spotlight: Still intimidating
Wallace Spotlight: 'I'm still hungry'
Ward Burton: A foundation built for success
Skinner spotlight: Keeping 'big picture' in mind
|
