| | DOVER, Del. -- As a hard charger from the outset of his career, Bobby Labonte never figured to be the fuel economy king of NASCAR.
Now, when gas mileage looks to be a factor near the end of a race, radio scanners often crackle with this phrase: "The 18 car says it has enough to go the distance."
Labonte smiles when he hears that, and knows that on Sunday the same message might be passed along pit road should the MBNA Gold 400 become an economy run. He isn't embarrassed by it, but that certainly wasn't the way he figured he'd win for the first time at Dover Downs International Speedway.
|  | | Bobby Labonte won the pole and the race last time he was at Dover Downs International Raceway. |
"All those years, we were a top-five, top-10 car, and then to win on gas mileage, well ..." he said, his voice fading off almost as if he can't believe it happened.
That it did, three months ago in the MBNA Platinum 400, and Labonte has been labeled as a gas miser ever since.
"We've been fast here, and that's not the way I wanted to win, but we'll take it, whatever," the driver for Joe Gibbs Racing said.
But Labonte, who seeks his 12th career victory and fifth this season, takes little of the credit for his new-found ability.
"It starts off with the shop, with preparation of the race car, tuning of the engine," he said. "It doesn't burn excess fuel, just enough not to hurt the performance."
Teammate Tony Stewart, whose stout run for the front in June ended when he was forced to pit for a late splash of gas, marvels at Labonte's ability to go farther than the rest on a tank of fuel.
"Bobby's a right-foot braker, and I'm a left-foot braker," he said, noting a difference in driving styles.
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(Fuel mileage) starts off with the shop, with preparation of the race car,
tuning of the engine. It doesn't burn excess fuel, just enough not to hurt the
performance. ” |
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— Bobby Labonte |
A driver who uses his left foot on the brake pedal gets on it before his right foot completes its throttle-down maneuver in the turns. A right-footed driver is off the gas before touching the brake. His lap time might be slower, but his fuel mileage better.
That's especially true on a high-banked oval like Dover. Here, they build great speed on the long straightaways before the drivers must throttle down and in just a few seconds get back on the gas.
It's an art. Come off of the gas too abruptly, and precious power is lost. Get back on too hard, and fuel is wasted.
Labonte can't say exactly why he's become so adept at it.
"My style of driving seems to complement what the crew has done," he said. "I don't have any other answer."
But he knows what an advantage he has, and in a sport as competitive as Winston Cup racing anything one team does better than the others can be worth several positions on the race track. In Labonte's case, it can be even more dramatic.
"Just about every race we go to, it seems like we can go a lap further than a lot of people," he said. "It's not me. It's just efficiency, all of us working together."
Crew chief Jimmy Makar said, "Everybody's got a race track that seems to agree with the way the car's set up. Dover's just a place where we've been able to run, a place Bobby likes."
That part is remarkable, considering the feelings of most racers about The Monster Mile. That Labonte runs it so well is important, Makar insists.
He says the attitude of a driver often permits him to figure out new ways to attack a track.
"I like the place," Labonte said. "I don't know why, because nobody else does."
Perhaps, but Labonte's principal competition Sunday has accounted for six victories at Dover. Dale Jarrett, who leads him by 254 points with eight races remaining, also won on fuel, in June 1998.
Mark Martin, third in the points, another 18 behind Labonte, is the two-time defending race champion.
Jeff Gordon, who led the past two June races until pitting in the waning laps, is a three-time Dover winner. He shares with Jeff Burton the series lead in victories. Both are seeking their sixth this year.
Joe Nemechek, who got his first career victory last Sunday at Loudon, N.H., also might figure in the mix. | |
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