| | Associated Press
PHOENIX -- When Bobby Labonte rolled slowly onto pit road
with a deflating tire two weeks ago at North Carolina Speedway, he
couldn't help but think how disastrous that puncture could be to
his championship chances.
Labonte lost a lap to the leaders -- including nearest pursuer
Dale Earnhardt -- before he could get back on track. And that's the
way he finished, coming in 20th, his third-worse finish of the
season.
But handling problems late in the race in Rockingham knocked
Earnhardt into 17th, allowing the seven-time place Winston Cup
champion to pick up only nine points on Labonte.
So with three races remaining, starting with Sunday's Checker
Auto Parts/Dura Lube 500 at Phoenix International Raceway, Labonte
holds a 201-point margin on Earnhardt.
Practice and first-round qualifying are scheduled Friday.
"We got through Rockingham," Labonte said with a shrug.
"After that tire puncture, we thought we were going to be in for a
worse day than what it turned out. Dale had a tough day, so we
definitely counted our blessings after that race was over. It could
have been a lot worse."
Indeed. After Earnhardt's spectacular win last month in
Talladega, Ala., where he picked up 58 points on Labonte, the
hard-charging veteran could have begun exerting some serious
pressure on Labonte with another top-five showing in Rockingham.
"We missed a real good opportunity," Earnhardt said. "I hate
that we didn't get more points on him there, but it's not over yet.
We're just going to need to keep racing hard and gets some
breaks."
Labonte, going for his first title since winning in the Busch
Series in 1991, insists he's feeling little pressure.
"I feel really good right now," he said. "Actually, we're
working on a little project around the house. That's probably
keeping me a little bit busy right now. It's keeping my mind off
things.
"But, for the most part, it's just business as usual. I take
(son) Tyler to school every morning that I can and just kind of
scoot around the house with my wife and son and do some normal
stuff every chance I get."
Labonte, whose older brother, Terry, is a two-time series champ,
isn't particularly superstitious. Still, he'd rather not talk about
winning the championship, yet.
"Right now, it's still way too close (in the points) for me to
worry about," Labonte said. "If there were two races left, I'd
feel a little bit better. If there was one race left, I'd feel a
lot better. But, with three races left, you can only feel so good.
"Last year, we had an average finish of 2.0 in the next three
races, but there's no guarantee. We've got to go out and make it
happen."
With 16 top-fives and 21 top-10s in 31 starts, Labonte's Joe
Gibbs Racing team certainly seems to know the formula for success.
"We've had some things happen in the second half of the season
that don't usually happen to us," Labonte said. "This time last
year we were on a pretty good roll and were getting some really
good finishes.
"Lately, we've had three or four bad races. But by no means bad
compared to what it could be. We might have dodged a bullet and not
been so bad as far as points go. It could be a lot worse."
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