Robert Allen Labonte was born on May 8,1964 and is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver and current analyst for NASCAR on Fox.
80 Facts About Bobby Labonte
2.
Bobby Labonte currently competes full-time in the Superstar Racing Experience, driving the No 18 car.
3.
Bobby Labonte is the uncle of former Xfinity Series race winner Justin Labonte.
4.
Bobby Labonte is the first driver to complete the NASCAR Triple Threat at the same track, by winning races at Martinsville in each of NASCAR's top three racing series.
5.
Bobby Labonte was born on May 8,1964, in Corpus Christi, Texas.
6.
Bobby Labonte began racing in 1969 in quarter midgets in his home state of Texas, winning his first feature race one year later.
7.
In 1980, Bobby Labonte made his NASCAR International Sedan Series debut in Atlanta, finishing third.
8.
Bobby Labonte made his Busch Series debut in 1982 at Martinsville Speedway, finishing 30th.
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Bobby Labonte returned to the Busch Series in 1985, running two races in a car he owned himself at Martinsville.
10.
The next season, Bobby Labonte prepared his car, which Terry drove, and Terry won his first Busch pole position and finished second at Road Atlanta.
11.
In 1987, Bobby Labonte won 12 races at Caraway Speedway, clinching the track championship, in addition to working for Jay Hedgecock.
12.
Bobby Labonte founded his own team and drove the No 44 Oldsmobile.
13.
Bobby Labonte was successful, winning two poles, scoring six top-5s, and 17 top-10s.
14.
Bobby Labonte's 1992 season was a successful one, and he ended up winning three races, but lost the championship title to Joe Nemechek by three points.
15.
In 1993, Bobby Labonte was called up by Bill Davis Racing to drive in the Winston Cup Series.
16.
Bobby Labonte signed a contract to drive the No 22 Ford Thunderbird.
17.
Bobby Labonte was second place behind Jeff Gordon for Rookie of the Year honors.
18.
Bobby Labonte competed in two Busch Series races, winning a pole and finishing second and 24th respectively.
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Also, Bobby Labonte continued to operate his main Busch Series team, hiring David Green to drive for him.
20.
The next season, 1994, Bobby Labonte achieved his second major success as a car owner when his Busch Series driver, David Green, won the championship.
21.
Bobby Labonte collected one top-5 and two top-10s and finished 21st in the standings, just missing out on the top 20 because of Todd Bodine's two-position points standings gain in the final race of the season.
22.
In 2007, Bobby Labonte won the Busch Series race at Talladega Speedway in April 2007, edging Tony Stewart to the line in a thrilling finish.
23.
In 2016, Bobby Labonte returned to Joe Gibbs Racing to compete in the Xfinity Series opener at Daytona, driving the No 18 Camry.
24.
Bobby Labonte would pick up his first career win in the Coca-Cola 600 in 1995, a win he would call later in 2018 the favorite of his career.
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Bobby Labonte would go on to sweep the races at Michigan and finish 10th in the standings.
26.
In 1996, Bobby Labonte won the season-ending race at Atlanta, the same race where his brother Terry won the championship.
27.
Bobby Labonte would go on to win the season-ending race at Atlanta for the second year in a row.
28.
Bobby Labonte ended up seventh in the standings, his best finish at that point in his career.
29.
In 1998, Bobby Labonte won at both Atlanta and Talladega, as well as pole positions for both Daytona races, finishing second to Dale Earnhardt in the 500.
30.
Bobby Labonte finished the year in sixth in final points, improving by a position.
31.
In 1999, Bobby Labonte won five Winston Cup races, the most he has ever won in a single season.
32.
Bobby Labonte started the race, but at the 1st caution was relieved by Matt Kenseth.
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Bobby Labonte finished second in the points to Dale Jarrett, losing the championship by 201 points.
34.
In 2000, Bobby Labonte won four races, the early-season race at Rockingham, the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis, the Southern 500 at Darlington, and the fall race at Charlotte.
35.
Bobby Labonte led the point standings for 25 weeks straight after taking over at California, and never relinquished it on the way to winning the Winston Cup championship, finishing ahead of Earnhardt by 265 points, completing all but nine of the 10,167 laps that season, with 4 wins, 19 top-five finishes, 24 top ten finishes, 3 poles, an average finish of 7.4, and had zero DNF's.
36.
Bobby Labonte would become the second driver in NASCAR history to win the championship and NOT score a single DNF.
37.
Bobby Labonte began the 2001 season with a seventh-place finish in the Bud Shootout.
38.
Bobby Labonte's hood broke off and got attached to Stewart's car, which flipped over twice.
39.
Bobby Labonte did not have another Top 10 finish until the Virginia 500 at Martinsville, where he finished in eighth.
40.
Bobby Labonte did not have back-to-back Top 10's again until the autumn races at Charlotte and Martinsville, where he finished 10th and fourth respectively.
41.
Bobby Labonte managed to work his way up the field and took the lead on lap 107.
42.
Bobby Labonte led for 23 laps before falling back in the pack.
43.
Bobby Labonte retook the lead on lap 184 but was involved in a frightening last-lap crash.
44.
In 2002, Bobby Labonte only had one win, which was at Martinsville in the spring.
45.
Bobby Labonte went on to finish 16th in the final points standings and failed to finish in the Top 10 for the first time since 1996, while his teammate Stewart went on to win the championship.
46.
In 2003, Bobby Labonte rebounded and finished eighth in the standings after winning two races.
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Also, Bobby Labonte went on a tear during the spring with three straight second-place finishes.
48.
In 2004, Bobby Labonte did not win a race for the first time since 1994 and finished 12th in the standings.
49.
Bobby Labonte fell out of the Top 20 in points, and only had four Top 5s, one of which was a dramatic second at Lowe's Motor Speedway in the Coca-Cola 600.
50.
Bobby Labonte went on to race some Truck Series events, which included a win at Martinsville.
51.
Bobby Labonte joined Petty Enterprises to drive the famous No 43.
52.
Bobby Labonte ended up finishing 21st in the points standings, three spots better than he did two years before.
53.
Bobby Labonte began the 2007 season with a 21st-place finish in the Daytona 500, after avoiding the many accidents the race had.
54.
In 2008, Bobby Labonte continued his contract with Petty Enterprises, but experienced a largely unsuccessful season, gathering only three Top 10's and no Top 5's on his way to finishing 21st in the Sprint Cup point standings.
55.
On January 13,2009, Bobby Labonte was confirmed to be the driver of the No 96 Ford Fusion for Hall of Fame Racing, now in a partnership with Yates Racing.
56.
Bobby Labonte found a ride with TRG Motorsports and it's 71 for the 7 races he was out of the 96.
57.
Two races later Bobby Labonte gave TRG its best qualifying effort with an eighth-place start, Bobby Labonte came home 22nd.
58.
At Talladega, Bobby Labonte finished 10th after, at one point, running second in that race to Dale Earnhardt Jr.
59.
For 2010, Bobby Labonte was reunited with Doug Randolph as his crew chief.
60.
On June 22,2010, it was announced that Bobby Labonte would be leaving the No 71 due to the team being unable to secure sponsorship.
61.
Bobby Labonte replaced Marcos Ambrose as the full-time driver of the No 47 JTG Daugherty Racing Toyota Camry, with support from Michael Waltrip Racing.
62.
Bobby Labonte finished 4th in the Daytona 500, earning Labonte his 200th career top 10 finish in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
63.
Bobby Labonte ran in the 47 for the entire season until the 2013 Quicken Loans 400 at Michigan International Speedway, in which he ran the No 51 for Phoenix Racing.
64.
Later in the year Bobby Labonte suffered broken ribs in a cycling accident, forcing him to miss three races, starting with the AdvoCare 500 at Atlanta.
65.
In December 2014, Bobby Labonte announced that he would drive for Go FAS Racing on the restrictor-plate tracks in 2015, taking over for his brother Terry who retired after the 2014 GEICO 500.
66.
In 2016, Bobby Labonte received the sponsorship of Bombardier Recreational Products and Cyclops Gear allowing him to run the four restrictor-plate races for Go FAS Racing.
67.
In June 2017, Bobby Labonte competed in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series race weekend at Brands Hatch, driving the No 1 Ford for Alex Caffi Motorsport.
68.
Bobby Labonte became the first Cup Series champion to race in the Euro Series.
69.
Bobby Labonte started 22nd in both of the weekend's two races, and finished 10th and 14th.
70.
In 2018, Bobby Labonte joined RDV Competition to drive the No 18 Toyota full-time in the Euro Series.
71.
Bobby Labonte began competing on the SMART Modified Tour in 2021.
72.
Bobby Labonte won two features in 2021 but couldn't run full-time because of conflicts with him racing in the Superstar Racing Experience.
73.
In February 2014, it was announced that Bobby Labonte would appear as a racing analyst for the new program NASCAR America on NBCSN.
74.
Bobby Labonte made his TV debut early in the 2014 season.
75.
In 2017, Bobby Labonte moved to FS1 as an analyst on Race Hub and Race Day programs.
76.
Bobby Labonte has two children from his previous marriage to Donna Slate, Robert Tyler, and Madison, and is an avid outdoorsman.
77.
Bobby Labonte owns Breaking Limits, a marketing, public relations, events and sponsorship agency, working out of High Point, North Carolina.
78.
Bobby Labonte continues to own a Red Mango yogurt shop on the campus of Duke University.
79.
The Bobby Labonte Foundation continues to provide grants to non-profit organizations located in the Triad of North Carolina whose work supports building stronger foundations for children and their families.
80.
Bobby Labonte founded Longhorn Chassis with his brother Terry in 2010.