Bobby Labonte 2010 Preview, Predictions & Odds

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Bobby Labonte 2009 Stats

Bobby Labonte 2009 Recap & Review

A year that started with such promise back in February ended with many questions in November. Bobby Labonte and his No. 96 Ask.com Ford started the year so strongly that many were talking Chase berth. After six races the team had a top 5, only one finish worse than 22nd, and sat 19th in the standings. Even in their one bad race, Bobby had driven from 40th to 25th only to have the engine let go.

But shortly after their hot start, wrecks at Texas and Talladega dropped the team to 30th, and they never seemed to recover after that. The team did manage to string together five straight finishes better than 23rd from late June through early July, but again, they had DNF’s in two of the next three races and it was back to 30th in the standings for the team. Finally, after not getting the results all sides wanted, Labonte was removed from his driving duties for seven of the final 12 races. Bobby was, however, able to land on his feet… sort of. TRG Motorsports put him in the No. 71 car for the seven races he was available and in their first pairing at Atlanta, Labonte drove the car, which sat 37th in the owner standings, to an 18th place finish. In his second race, he started eighth and finished 22nd; two races later, he drove the car to the team’s first top 10 finish at Talladega. Labonte, happy with the team and their progress — not to mention a lack of quality rides in Silly Season — then resigned with them to drive full-time in 2010.

Bobby Labonte may not be the driver he once was, but is still one of the better drivers in NASCAR and a real class act to go along with it. He has done more with less over the last several seasons and never once complained about his circumstances. In 2009, he posted eleven top 20 starts and 18 top 20 finishes. That’s four more top 20 finishes than Dale Earnhardt, Jr., who had more money and better equipment behind him than the militaries of most world countries have. He also had a handful of other runs that looked like surefire top 20’s, only to get caught up in someone else’s wreck of suffer a mechanical failure. Not bad driving for the two teams he drove for.

Bobby Labonte 2010 Preview & Prediction

At first glance, upstart TRG Motorsports and former Cup champion Bobby Labonte might appear to be strange bedfellows — until you realize the focus and dedication surrounding team owner Kevin Buckler. The best-performing new single-car team, TRG was the sport’s underdog success story, building a small-scale model for growth with David Gilliland that kept it nipping at the heels of Cup’s top teams. Its enthusiasm and diligent work ethic were the main attractions for Labonte, looking to revitalize a career that’s fizzled since leaving Joe Gibbs Racing in 2005.

The 45-year-old Texan is still capable of running at the front of the pack, as evidenced by grabbing TRG’s only top-10 finish in 2009 (Talladega) despite running only seven races behind the wheel of the No. 71. It was the high point for new sponsor TaxSlayer.com, which expanded its support to a 12-race deal in 2010 at a time when even the best teams struggle for funding.

Buckler has reason to smile now that he possesses major talent behind the wheel. Labonte is the 2000 Sprint Cup champ, with 21 career Cup victories to his credit. But just as the final piece of the puzzle appeared to fall into place, another one broke loose when crew chief “Slugger” Labbe was released in early December.

In Labbe’s place steps series veteran Doug Randolph, who must immediately address one nagging problem: finishing races. TRG piled up five DNFs for wrecks to go along with a handful of dreaded “start and parks.” Obtaining funding also remains a concern, as sponsorship for 24 of 36 races is still “TBD.”

To earn his 200th career top 10, Labonte will likely need to put the No. 71 in the top 35 in owner points (an occurrence that may play out by itself, depending on the health of some other teams), allowing the group to focus on race setups that’ll make 10th a weekly goal rather than a yearly miracle. If the on-track product can match the off-track enthusiasm, that’ll be a mere formality for a program focused on improvement. It is, however, a tall order for a team still in its infancy.

Bobby Labonte 2010 Predictions

We predict that Bobby Labonte will finish 29th in the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

Bobby Labonte Betting & Odds

Bobby Labonte NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship Odds: +5000

Bobby Labonte Betting Trends & Situations

• after finishing worse than 15th, average finish is 27.6
• when racing in February, average finish is 24.1

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