100% when you ask people about the 18 car without showing a picture, I'm pretty sure 95% of the time you'll hear them mention Bobby's name and the green interstate batteries paint scheme.
@@gianni4925 what's more boring, the same driver winning race after race, or maintaining their points lead and picking up wins when they can? After all, two years prior to that, Jeff Gordon won 13 times in 1998 with an average finish of 5.7. He too clinched the championship early. 1992 I feel is the gold standard for a season long points battle, where 6 drivers (Davey Allison, Alan Kulwicki, Bill Elliott, Harry Gant, Kyle Petty and Mark Martin) were mathematically in with a shot of winning the championship. It ultimately came down to 2 drivers giving everything they had to lead at least a lap, lead the most laps and or win the race. Alan Kulwicki led the most laps of the 1992 Hooters 500 (103 to Bill Elliott's 102) to clinch the title by 10 points despite Elliott scoring 5 wins to Kulwicki's 2
@@gianni4925 no system is ever perfect, however, it means that every race from first to last matters to a driver. In other words, it's in their interest to perform to the best of their ability from the Daytona 500 to the Season Finale. Besides, clinching a title a race early is not unusual, in F1, Michael Schumacher holds the record for the earliest a championship has been clinched. In 2002, he mathematically clinched the championship in June, just over half way through the season, round 11 of 17. Not only did he finish every single race, not just in the points but on the podium as well. His worst finish that year was 3rd in round in Malaysia. He was so dominant that year that the FIA, while to this day maintain a year long points battle, reduced the gap in points between positions (for example, up to 2002, the gap between the race winner and second was 4 points, 10 for a win, 6 for second and from 2003, it was 10 for a win and 8 for second). And it worked, in 2003, the championship battle went down to the last race and despite only winning one race compared to Schumacher's 5, Kimi Raikkonen only missed out on the title by 2 points. It was like the battle between Jeff Gordon and Terry Labonte in 1996, the very fast but inconsistent driver against the not so fast but much more consistent driver going head to head for the title (as I'm sure you know, Jeff Gordon had 10 wins to Terry Labonte's 2)
People never give enough credit to what Bobby did that season. He clinched it a race early AND held of DALE EARNHARDT for the title. Mighty impressive.
@@rcracer8872 explain how it's easier to win? You are just a sad pathetic delusional Earnhardt fanboy gives his fanbase a bad name. JJ, like Sr, are the best of their respective era's, yet your disdain for JJ makes your opinion on the matter irrelevant
Bobby's season has been criminally forgotten by a lot of people. No one brings up how Grade A consistent he was that season. He and Jimmy Makar worked great together and too an underrated combo. Also, the year prior, I considered it a preview because he went for the longest of time without a DNF. I'd say the Goody's Headache Powder 500 at Bristol was what hurt his shot of catching Dale Jarrett.
Yep, toward the end of the 1999 Goodys 500 the car caught fire and one of the pipes under the car was gone and it was on fire. The car was so smoky Labonte somehow was able to drive the smoldering junk heap to the pits and they put the fire out.
From there, Mayfield/Dallenbach got together and Terry Labonte spun, all happening in a span of two minutes. Leading to that infamous ending with he and Dale.
He also broke his shoulder in a Busch Series race in the middle of the year. Maybe it ultimately didn't matter, but it certainly didn't help. From 1996-2001, the only better drivers were Jeff Gordon and Dale Jarrett.
@@abg7750 it was amazing how good he was at Atlanta, Texas and similar style tracks. Seemed like he was always upfront or near it in all those races. He was really underrated as a driver and it's upsetting people don't talk about him more. I think it's more cause of how his career ended up after this title. He never was the same after winning it. If he challenged for a title atleast one more time I think people would remember him more foundly. He was a great driver in a era that had the deepest field of talent Nascar ever had in the 90s.
Labonte was my favorite driver alongside Earnhardt and Tony Stewart (to a lesser extent) for a long time. When Dale died, I followed Tony Steward and Bobby Labonte equally. Once Labonte left Gibbs, I continued to favor Tony Stewart and also a very young Kyle Busch who was about to make his first season in the Hendrick #5 car. Now it's Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, and Chase Elliott. Bobby Labonte was awesome to me, he was this cool customer who never seemed to get too rattled, always bounced back with a smile, and could run Earnhardt down almost anytime he wanted to. He definitely played a role in the growth of Tony Stewart's driving career too, like a mentor of sorts.
I honestly think Bobby one of the best NASCAR drivers ever (top 20) because of this season. This season showed how good he actually was. People think of him as a back marker but don't remember this. I remember him as a champion not a field filler. Awesome video Darian!
Bobby Labonte's 2000 season wasn't super flashy, but it was super consistent. He "only" won four times and led a scant 465 laps all season. Those are the reasons why it's probably a somewhat forgotten championship season. Nonetheless, he only had three finishes outside of the top fifteen and his worse finish was 26th in the Spring Richmond race.
Him, Jr, Gordon, Stewart, and Jarrett were always a pain in the ass to beat in the early EA games. I didn't like Bobby bc of it but now I've grown to appreciate his dominance that year
Thank you for this video. He was a family favorite of mine. I’ve always loved the guy. Bobby doesn’t get enough credit for how good he was. He honestly should’ve won about 10 more races in his career. Thank you for this. You always do a tremendous job with these videos. Thank you for this.
My dad met Bobby in June of 2000 and later got married in September of 2000. I was born in 2003 and my favorite NASCAR drivers are Bobby Labonte, Jeff Gordon and Matt Kenseth. I would love to meet them so much.
My favorite drive ever. After this season though, Gibbs focused the entire team effort on Tony Stewart. Stewart had bigger star power therefor could bring Mr Gibbs more money so from 2001 forward Labonte failed to garner the same attention from Gibbs racing. Along with a ton of bad luck, the results showed that.
Championship Seasons: Jeff Gordon 1998 Bad Seasons: Martin Truex Jr 2014 Championship Seasons: Tony Stewart 2011 Bad Seasons: Carl Edwards 2012 Championship Seasons: Chase Elliott 2014 Bad Seasons: Tony Stewart 2014-2015 Good Seasons: Matt Kenseth 2013 Bad Seasons: Dale Jarrett 2003 Good Seasons: Carl Edwards 2008 Bad Seasons: Terry Labonte 2004 Good Seasons: Mark Martin 2009 Bad Seasons: Bobby Labonte 2005 Good Seasons: Martin Truex Jr 2016 Bad Seasons: Kasey Kahne 2007 Good Seasons: Clint Bowyer 2012 Bad Seasons: Ricky Rudd 1999 Good Seasons: Tim Richmond 1986 Bad Seasons: Dale Earnhardt 1992 Good Seasons: Bill Elliott 1985 Bad Seasons: Richard Petty 1989 Good Seasons: Harry Gant 1991 NASCAR Busts: David Stremme Good Seasons: Rusty Wallace 1993-1994 NASCAR Busts: Rick Crawford Good Seasons: Greg Biffle 2005
He was also an IROC champion which is pretty cool considering the other drivers that he raced against those years. He was and always will be my favorite driver. The sweet looking green #18 Pontiac always stuck out in the field. He may have only won 21 races but he was a hell of a racer. I remember cheering my ass off when he won, which I believe was his last Nascar win, in a Busch series race at Talladega passing Tony Stewart on the last turn during the final lap in 2007. He’ll always be the true driver of the #18!!
I remember watching the fall Atlanta race with my grandpa, who was a big Earnhardt fan. I was a big Labonte fan. I told him that Dale may have won the battle but Bobby was going to win the war. He laughed. When Bobby won the title, he remembered what I had said. Good times.
Bobby Labonte was the 2000 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Champion and the 24th and Final Champion for NASCAR on GMA. GMA Network's 20 Years of covering NASCAR races produced 24 champions, 18 of those were both from the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and the NASCAR Xfinity Series respectively, while 6 of those were from the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series
My dad was a huuuuge Bobby Labonte fan. Looking back at old races, I can certainly see why. He was a front runner so frequently, and one of the biggest threats at Superspeedways! I'm going to share this video with him.
Nascar Busts: Danica Patrick Championship Seasons: Tony Stewart 2011 Bad Seasons: Tony Stewart 2015 Nascar Busts: David Gilliland Good Seasons: Bill Elliott 1985 Championship Seasons: Jeff Gordon 1995 Bad Seasons: Dale Earnhardt 1997 Good Seasons: Chase Elliott 2018 Just some ideas.
I used to hate Bobby Labonte's because I blamed him for Dale not winning (I was 5/6 that year) it wasn't till 2003 that I began to like bobby, and it wasn't till 2005 that I began to miss his dominance.
I'm gonna smack you like Bobby Labonte! Awesome video Darian! In case you're wondering, that's one of my famous catchphrases that I love to say to be silly. Keep em coming!
Labonte being forced out of the #18 after 2005 is the dumbest move in NASCAR history, yes 2005 he had a rough season but in 2006 he out drove Yeley while Labonte was driving in a fucking Petty car. If he stayed at JGR until 2008 he could of gotten at least 1 or 2 more wins
Long time viewer just subscribed. Also a frequent r/Nascar redditor. Love your content and podcasts keep it up! You Eric, Jaret, and David etc have great takes on Nascar and the racing world.
Championship seasons: Tony Stewart 2011, Jeff Gordon 1995 and 1998, Terry Labonte 1996, Martin Truex Jr, 2017 Missing Rings: Carl Edwards 2011, Sterling Marlin 2002
I miss the Gibs team of Labonte and Stewart. They were my favorite drivers. I loved Stewart as soon as he walked in the door cause I saw him race minis at the dirt track and he was my first autograph so seeing him in the cup was awesome. Ended up winning 3 races his rookie season. Homestead, Richmond night, and Phoenix. Funny enough he would go on to has his best days at those tracks most of his career. I wish they stayed together
Championship Seasons: Rusty Wallace 1989 Good Seasons: Carl Edwards 2011 First Wins: Dale Earnhardt Jr. 2000 Bad Seasons: Tony Stewart 2014 NASCAR Busts: Sam Hornish Jr.
A lot of the reason why Bobby gets forgotten about is largely due to how much of a transition and emotional year 2000 was.. everything changed then in just a few months and he got crowned during all of that. The network deals changed in a drop of a hat and we lot the networks who truly cared for the sport in ESPN, CBS, TNN, and TBS. Fox and NBC came on and they did care but it's never really been the same since then. DW retired and the sport lost one of it's main personalities; Earnhardt was on his way out and didn't know it, Jr and Kenseth were the hot rookies and Kurt Busch started later in the year which brought the future in play. Jarrett and Martin had a down year as did Ford while Pontiac picked it up. The most subtle change was just the spirit of the circuit.. for me it never really felt the same spiritually after 2000 once the Napa 500 hit it's been 100% different. That race itself is one of the saddest and most dreary non death races Nascar has had. No one really cared to be there that day they just went through the motions in a lot of ways. Bobby won the title but he wasn't that solid and took it easy to a top 5 but never even really competed which was unusual for him at Atlanta. Gordon had a meh day.. crowd wasn't much there even if it was a Monday. Poor Nadeau had to win such a dreary race. Same happened at Indy.. that race is so sad to watch especially at the end during ABC's tribute. Bobby had awful luck that year in terms of big moments but he deserved that title he was so damn dominant and consistent. He didn't win a ton but he didn't need too he was always at the top almost every race. Makes his 2001 even more WTF due to how inconsistent he really was.
Nascar Busts: Reed Sorenson Nascar Busts: Danica Patrick Good Seasons: Mark Martin 2009 Good Seasons: Carl Edwards 2008 Good Seasons: Denny Hamlin 2010 Championship Seasons: Jimmie Johnson 2007 Championship Seasons: Martin Truex Jr 2017 Championship Seasons: Tony Stewart 2005
There was no game plan. He shown over the previous 5 seasons that he peaked in 2000 and fell off significantly after that. Maybe 10 years prior he would have been fine, but as the sport was getting younger in the early 2000's, his age began to show. Petty was probably the only team that showed interest in him.
My question is after Joe Gibbs let him go, why did he get pushed to worse and worse race teams? He was so good back in the day and I think he deserved better imo.
@@Highline_29_Designs Hendrick in 2006 had Gordon, Johnson, Busch and Vickers, there was no spot available Labonte replacing Kurt Busch at Roush in 2006 would of been interesting
If JGR hadn’t split the driver and crew chief up, they would have been fighting for championships after 2000. Never understood why you split a championship team.
They didn't though. Jimmy Makar stayed the crew chief until the end of 2002, then Michael "Fatback" McSwain took over. I heard recently (don't remember from where, so take it for what you will) that Interstate Batteries were putting a substantially smaller amount of money toward the 18, then Home Depot was, when their contract renewed in 2004, which led to lesser cars than Tony had. Whether there is any truth to that, I don't know, but 2004-2007 before M&M's the 18 was filled in with different sponsors. Boniva, Wellbutrin and Advair are a couple. I got waaayyy off topic there, sorry....
There was a *ton* of talent in NASCAR from the late 90s to the mid 00s. The key was JGR being a two-car team and Stewart being younger but beating Labonte in 2001 in the standings. Less and less resources were put into Labonte's crew and more into Stewart (and eventually the new #11 addition). Once Labonte left JGR it was all over. Petty Enterprises wasn't even close to having the talent of any of the other crews in NASCAR.
You should do a championship seasons on Tony Stewart. Obviously his 2011 championship would make a good video but im really interested in either his 2002 or 2005 championships.
I really liked Bobby Labonte a lot when he raced and I was little when he won this championship, but I didn't find out he had a championship until years after that. I didn't watch NASCAR at that time in 2000 as I started watching it years later. Also, here's plenty of ideas. Good Seasons Mark Martin 2002 Kasey Kahne 2004 Kurt Busch 2002 Kevin Harvick 2001 Carl Edwards 2005 Denny Hamlin 2006 Jeff Burton 2008 Clint Bowyer 2012 Ryan Newman 2014 Dale Earnhardt Jr 2014 Martin Truex Jr 2015 Kyle Larson 2016 Chase Elliott 2017 Ryan Blaney 2017 Aric Almirola 2018 Bad Seasons Matt Kenseth 2008 Jeff Gordon 2005 Dale Jarrett 2003 Kurt Busch 2006 Ryan Newman 2006 Kevin Harvick 2009 Kurt Busch 2012 Tony Stewart 2013 Greg Biffle 2016 Jeremy Mayfield 2009 Brad Keselowski 2010 Carl Edwards 2012 Tony Stewart 2015 Carl Edwards 2009 Ricky Rudd 1999 NASCAR Busts Dario Franchitti Kevin Conway Ricky Carmichael Steve Kinser Christian Fittipaldi Kyle Krisiloff Loy Allen Jr Steve Wallace Eric McClure Jason Jarrett Tyler Walker A.J. Foyt IV Brian Scott Bill Lester Justin Labonte Patrick Carpentier Shane Hmiel David Stremme Todd Kluever
I will be a die hard Bobby Labonte fan until the day comes I kick the bucket. I wasn't much of a fan anymore of the #18 after Kyle Busch took over and when M&M's took over as the main sponsor.
I never rooted so hard for him when he pushed Trevor Bayne around the track. I never hated Jimmie Johnson until he beat Bobby at the Coca Cola 600 on the last lap. I had hoped he race him rough and hard
2000 was about Bobby Labonte's peak of his career and the after 2001 then things took a downturn and by 2004 Interstate Batteries couldn't sponsor as many races and then performance suffered as Interstate put a lot of money into the team.
Championship Seasons: Martin Truex, Jr. 2017 Good Seasons: Jimmie Johnson 2002 Bad Seasons: Dale Earnhardt, Sr. 1992 NASCAR Busts: Brian Vickers First Starts: Kevin Harvick 2001 ( Winston Cup Series ) Gone Too Soon: Tim Richmond
That Interstate Batteries Green look is iconic.
100% when you ask people about the 18 car without showing a picture, I'm pretty sure 95% of the time you'll hear them mention Bobby's name and the green interstate batteries paint scheme.
Bobby drove that car the best. 2003 Monte Carlo is my favorite version
Bobby Labonte's career really is criminally underrated
The man completed all but 9 laps in the course of the ENTIRE SEASON! That is an incredible amount of consistency!
If I was a fan during that year, I would’ve said after the season ended “Boring”.
@@gianni4925 what's more boring, the same driver winning race after race, or maintaining their points lead and picking up wins when they can? After all, two years prior to that, Jeff Gordon won 13 times in 1998 with an average finish of 5.7. He too clinched the championship early. 1992 I feel is the gold standard for a season long points battle, where 6 drivers (Davey Allison, Alan Kulwicki, Bill Elliott, Harry Gant, Kyle Petty and Mark Martin) were mathematically in with a shot of winning the championship. It ultimately came down to 2 drivers giving everything they had to lead at least a lap, lead the most laps and or win the race. Alan Kulwicki led the most laps of the 1992 Hooters 500 (103 to Bill Elliott's 102) to clinch the title by 10 points despite Elliott scoring 5 wins to Kulwicki's 2
@@SiVlog1989 Nothing is wrong is both of them, I just think the old system could be very predictable at some circumstances.
@@gianni4925 no system is ever perfect, however, it means that every race from first to last matters to a driver. In other words, it's in their interest to perform to the best of their ability from the Daytona 500 to the Season Finale. Besides, clinching a title a race early is not unusual, in F1, Michael Schumacher holds the record for the earliest a championship has been clinched. In 2002, he mathematically clinched the championship in June, just over half way through the season, round 11 of 17. Not only did he finish every single race, not just in the points but on the podium as well. His worst finish that year was 3rd in round in Malaysia. He was so dominant that year that the FIA, while to this day maintain a year long points battle, reduced the gap in points between positions (for example, up to 2002, the gap between the race winner and second was 4 points, 10 for a win, 6 for second and from 2003, it was 10 for a win and 8 for second). And it worked, in 2003, the championship battle went down to the last race and despite only winning one race compared to Schumacher's 5, Kimi Raikkonen only missed out on the title by 2 points. It was like the battle between Jeff Gordon and Terry Labonte in 1996, the very fast but inconsistent driver against the not so fast but much more consistent driver going head to head for the title (as I'm sure you know, Jeff Gordon had 10 wins to Terry Labonte's 2)
People never give enough credit to what Bobby did that season.
He clinched it a race early AND held of DALE EARNHARDT for the title.
Mighty impressive.
Dale still the goat what 48 to 49 year old be that good still?
@@DiehardtNG10 Jimmie Johnson or David Pearson are the GOATS with Sr, and there are quite a few drivers that were competitive at that age
@@M1lesJames I know about Pearson the second best
Jj is just a chase champ.
@@DiehardtNG10 can't discredit JJ's championship tho, he raced under the rules that were put in place for 42 other drivers
@@rcracer8872 explain how it's easier to win? You are just a sad pathetic delusional Earnhardt fanboy gives his fanbase a bad name. JJ, like Sr, are the best of their respective era's, yet your disdain for JJ makes your opinion on the matter irrelevant
Bobby's season has been criminally forgotten by a lot of people. No one brings up how Grade A consistent he was that season. He and Jimmy Makar worked great together and too an underrated combo.
Also, the year prior, I considered it a preview because he went for the longest of time without a DNF. I'd say the Goody's Headache Powder 500 at Bristol was what hurt his shot of catching Dale Jarrett.
Yep, toward the end of the 1999 Goodys 500 the car caught fire and one of the pipes under the car was gone and it was on fire. The car was so smoky Labonte somehow was able to drive the smoldering junk heap to the pits and they put the fire out.
From there, Mayfield/Dallenbach got together and Terry Labonte spun, all happening in a span of two minutes. Leading to that infamous ending with he and Dale.
He also broke his shoulder in a Busch Series race in the middle of the year. Maybe it ultimately didn't matter, but it certainly didn't help.
From 1996-2001, the only better drivers were Jeff Gordon and Dale Jarrett.
@@abg7750 it was amazing how good he was at Atlanta, Texas and similar style tracks. Seemed like he was always upfront or near it in all those races. He was really underrated as a driver and it's upsetting people don't talk about him more. I think it's more cause of how his career ended up after this title. He never was the same after winning it. If he challenged for a title atleast one more time I think people would remember him more foundly. He was a great driver in a era that had the deepest field of talent Nascar ever had in the 90s.
Labonte was my favorite driver alongside Earnhardt and Tony Stewart (to a lesser extent) for a long time. When Dale died, I followed Tony Steward and Bobby Labonte equally. Once Labonte left Gibbs, I continued to favor Tony Stewart and also a very young Kyle Busch who was about to make his first season in the Hendrick #5 car. Now it's Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, and Chase Elliott. Bobby Labonte was awesome to me, he was this cool customer who never seemed to get too rattled, always bounced back with a smile, and could run Earnhardt down almost anytime he wanted to. He definitely played a role in the growth of Tony Stewart's driving career too, like a mentor of sorts.
I honestly think Bobby one of the best NASCAR drivers ever (top 20) because of this season. This season showed how good he actually was. People think of him as a back marker but don't remember this. I remember him as a champion not a field filler. Awesome video Darian!
Bobby Labonte's 2000 season wasn't super flashy, but it was super consistent. He "only" won four times and led a scant 465 laps all season. Those are the reasons why it's probably a somewhat forgotten championship season. Nonetheless, he only had three finishes outside of the top fifteen and his worse finish was 26th in the Spring Richmond race.
just like Kenseth
@@michaelbelcher8805 It's along the same lines but Labonte definitely had a better season between the two.
@@michaelbelcher8805 matt only won 1 race which led to the chase format lol
@@fatpatlives1998 Speaking of Matt Kenseth, he would win the 2000 Rookie of the Year award.
And not to mention, ZERO DNF's.
I was always a Terry Labonte fan but always respected Bobby. The 2 greatest Nascar driver's to ever come from my home state of Texas
Oh yeah, I forgot that Bobby won a championship. That reminds me.
Bad seasons: Bobby Labonte 2005
Him, Jr, Gordon, Stewart, and Jarrett were always a pain in the ass to beat in the early EA games. I didn't like Bobby bc of it but now I've grown to appreciate his dominance that year
Don't forget Newman since Thunder 2003 to Chase for the Cup he often been very consistent.
I remember in nascar 98 it was Wallace. Bobby is my fav driver though, that interstate18 was a bad bad car lol
4:22
Circuit City, Pontiac, Winston Cup Series.
How soon we forget.
"...gets forgotten about." Well, that just makes me sad. 😔 He remains my favorite driver, and I loved rooting him on.
OMG Bobby Labonte is my all time favorite Nascar driver. I can't freaking wait for this! less than 2 hours! :D
People seem to forget just how dominate he was that season. Everything went nearly perfect and he completed all but 8 laps that season.
Thank you for this video. He was a family favorite of mine. I’ve always loved the guy. Bobby doesn’t get enough credit for how good he was. He honestly should’ve won about 10 more races in his career. Thank you for this. You always do a tremendous job with these videos. Thank you for this.
My dad met Bobby in June of 2000 and later got married in September of 2000. I was born in 2003 and my favorite NASCAR drivers are Bobby Labonte, Jeff Gordon and Matt Kenseth. I would love to meet them so much.
My favorite drive ever. After this season though, Gibbs focused the entire team effort on Tony Stewart. Stewart had bigger star power therefor could bring Mr Gibbs more money so from 2001 forward Labonte failed to garner the same attention from Gibbs racing. Along with a ton of bad luck, the results showed that.
Bobby Labonte was my favorite driver growing up. Seeing him do doughnuts in celebration of his 2000 cup win was an awesome memory.
Championship Seasons: Jeff Gordon 1998 Bad Seasons: Martin Truex Jr 2014
Championship Seasons: Tony Stewart 2011 Bad Seasons: Carl Edwards 2012
Championship Seasons: Chase Elliott 2014 Bad Seasons: Tony Stewart 2014-2015
Good Seasons: Matt Kenseth 2013 Bad Seasons: Dale Jarrett 2003
Good Seasons: Carl Edwards 2008 Bad Seasons: Terry Labonte 2004
Good Seasons: Mark Martin 2009 Bad Seasons: Bobby Labonte 2005
Good Seasons: Martin Truex Jr 2016 Bad Seasons: Kasey Kahne 2007
Good Seasons: Clint Bowyer 2012 Bad Seasons: Ricky Rudd 1999
Good Seasons: Tim Richmond 1986 Bad Seasons: Dale Earnhardt 1992
Good Seasons: Bill Elliott 1985 Bad Seasons: Richard Petty 1989
Good Seasons: Harry Gant 1991 NASCAR Busts: David Stremme
Good Seasons: Rusty Wallace 1993-1994 NASCAR Busts: Rick Crawford
Good Seasons: Greg Biffle 2005
He was also an IROC champion which is pretty cool considering the other drivers that he raced against those years. He was and always will be my favorite driver. The sweet looking green #18 Pontiac always stuck out in the field. He may have only won 21 races but he was a hell of a racer. I remember cheering my ass off when he won, which I believe was his last Nascar win, in a Busch series race at Talladega passing Tony Stewart on the last turn during the final lap in 2007. He’ll always be the true driver of the #18!!
Now it's ty Gibbs
Labonte and Busch made the 18 famous
A very underrated driver in my opinion. I miss that #18 Interstate battery Pontiac.
I remember watching the fall Atlanta race with my grandpa, who was a big Earnhardt fan. I was a big Labonte fan. I told him that Dale may have won the battle but Bobby was going to win the war. He laughed. When Bobby won the title, he remembered what I had said. Good times.
Bobby Labonte overall is one of the greatest of all time on 1.5 mile tracks
When I saw Labonte's car I instantly clicked
Bobby Labonte was the 2000 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Champion and the 24th and Final Champion for NASCAR on GMA. GMA Network's 20 Years of covering NASCAR races produced 24 champions, 18 of those were both from the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and the NASCAR Xfinity Series respectively, while 6 of those were from the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series
Good seasons: Mark Martin 2009
My dad was a huuuuge Bobby Labonte fan. Looking back at old races, I can certainly see why. He was a front runner so frequently, and one of the biggest threats at Superspeedways!
I'm going to share this video with him.
Best intro/background music so far 🤙🏾‼️
8:14 "Don't drop it Bobby!"
Back when the championship had credibility.
Fun fact: Bobby Labonte is the only driver born in the 60's to win a championship.
Nascar Busts: Danica Patrick
Championship Seasons: Tony Stewart 2011
Bad Seasons: Tony Stewart 2015
Nascar Busts: David Gilliland
Good Seasons: Bill Elliott 1985
Championship Seasons: Jeff Gordon 1995
Bad Seasons: Dale Earnhardt 1997
Good Seasons: Chase Elliott 2018
Just some ideas.
Sound good
Mak Keene Tony Stewart 2011 would go into Championship Seasons
Champion Season Jeff Gordon 1998
Mak Keene wait until the season ends for Chase.
I’m just going to say this:
Three wins doesn’t equal a good season. Other than that, that comment sounds good.
Besides Bobby Labonte, the only other driver to have no DNF's that season was Dale Earnhardt Sr, who finished second in the standings.
Bad season: jimmie johnson 2018
O yes the chase champion
But we will have to wait until the season ends.
Think he did it already? Or I imagined it
1998-2003 Pontiac had the best body style
IKR, I miss pontiac in nascar, especially those pontiac bodys at the time.
Ricky Craven 2003
Johnny Benson Burnout 2002
Absolute good memories
I used to hate Bobby Labonte's because I blamed him for Dale not winning (I was 5/6 that year) it wasn't till 2003 that I began to like bobby, and it wasn't till 2005 that I began to miss his dominance.
DJ and Bobby had almost the exact same years. Both deserved it and were on the cusp for a while.
Championship Season 1988 Bill Elliott
Man you should do a podcast about this stuff, I could listen to nascar historical stuff for hours
I'm gonna smack you like Bobby Labonte! Awesome video Darian! In case you're wondering, that's one of my famous catchphrases that I love to say to be silly. Keep em coming!
Just realized you were going in order lol 98,99,2000... can't wait until you get to 2004
One of the best people I know and was a great teammate
The editing and music choice is always on point
Labonte being forced out of the #18 after 2005 is the dumbest move in NASCAR history, yes 2005 he had a rough season but in 2006 he out drove Yeley while Labonte was driving in a fucking Petty car.
If he stayed at JGR until 2008 he could of gotten at least 1 or 2 more wins
Long time viewer just subscribed. Also a frequent r/Nascar redditor. Love your content and podcasts keep it up! You Eric, Jaret, and David etc have great takes on Nascar and the racing world.
Championship seasons: Tony Stewart 2011, Jeff Gordon 1995 and 1998, Terry Labonte 1996, Martin Truex Jr, 2017
Missing Rings: Carl Edwards 2011, Sterling Marlin 2002
I miss the Gibs team of Labonte and Stewart. They were my favorite drivers. I loved Stewart as soon as he walked in the door cause I saw him race minis at the dirt track and he was my first autograph so seeing him in the cup was awesome. Ended up winning 3 races his rookie season. Homestead, Richmond night, and Phoenix. Funny enough he would go on to has his best days at those tracks most of his career. I wish they stayed together
A great driver who is often forgotten in history 🏆 Not anymore though...
Welcome to the Hall of Fame, Bobby! #NASCARHOF #classof2020
I never knew you made this video no wonder he was my favorite driver i was born in 99
Championship Seasons: Rusty Wallace 1989
Good Seasons: Carl Edwards 2011
First Wins: Dale Earnhardt Jr. 2000
Bad Seasons: Tony Stewart 2014
NASCAR Busts: Sam Hornish Jr.
A lot of the reason why Bobby gets forgotten about is largely due to how much of a transition and emotional year 2000 was.. everything changed then in just a few months and he got crowned during all of that. The network deals changed in a drop of a hat and we lot the networks who truly cared for the sport in ESPN, CBS, TNN, and TBS. Fox and NBC came on and they did care but it's never really been the same since then. DW retired and the sport lost one of it's main personalities; Earnhardt was on his way out and didn't know it, Jr and Kenseth were the hot rookies and Kurt Busch started later in the year which brought the future in play. Jarrett and Martin had a down year as did Ford while Pontiac picked it up. The most subtle change was just the spirit of the circuit.. for me it never really felt the same spiritually after 2000 once the Napa 500 hit it's been 100% different. That race itself is one of the saddest and most dreary non death races Nascar has had.
No one really cared to be there that day they just went through the motions in a lot of ways. Bobby won the title but he wasn't that solid and took it easy to a top 5 but never even really competed which was unusual for him at Atlanta. Gordon had a meh day.. crowd wasn't much there even if it was a Monday. Poor Nadeau had to win such a dreary race. Same happened at Indy.. that race is so sad to watch especially at the end during ABC's tribute. Bobby had awful luck that year in terms of big moments but he deserved that title he was so damn dominant and consistent. He didn't win a ton but he didn't need too he was always at the top almost every race.
Makes his 2001 even more WTF due to how inconsistent he really was.
Championship Seasons: Jeff Gordon 1998
You deserve way more subs buddy!
Nascar Busts: Reed Sorenson
Nascar Busts: Danica Patrick
Good Seasons: Mark Martin 2009
Good Seasons: Carl Edwards 2008
Good Seasons: Denny Hamlin 2010
Championship Seasons: Jimmie Johnson 2007
Championship Seasons: Martin Truex Jr 2017
Championship Seasons: Tony Stewart 2005
Super hype using Sad! as a background song
YES. I have been waiting for this
Video idea.
Bad Career Choices: Bobby Labonte. One of my favorite drivers, still not sure what his game plan was to drive for petty but man.
There was no game plan. He shown over the previous 5 seasons that he peaked in 2000 and fell off significantly after that. Maybe 10 years prior he would have been fine, but as the sport was getting younger in the early 2000's, his age began to show. Petty was probably the only team that showed interest in him.
My question is after Joe Gibbs let him go, why did he get pushed to worse and worse race teams? He was so good back in the day and I think he deserved better imo.
Because nobody wants older drivers even if they have talent
because Joe Gibbs thought Yeley was the next Tony Stewart and we all know how that turned out
My thing is, why didn't a Hendrick Motorsports or a Roush pick him up after Gibbs? Why did he end up with Petty Enterprises?
@@Highline_29_Designs Hendrick in 2006 had Gordon, Johnson, Busch and Vickers, there was no spot available
Labonte replacing Kurt Busch at Roush in 2006 would of been interesting
@@downnice95 or even Mark Martin, instead of rushing David Ragan (cause we see what that did to his career).
The Gibbs God.
I honestly thought he was a bust before knowing he drove at JGR.
When Gibbs was likeable when Tony was with him as teammates unlike now
Nascar: throws checkered flag at darlington
Fans: rush out of the stands
If JGR hadn’t split the driver and crew chief up, they would have been fighting for championships after 2000. Never understood why you split a championship team.
They didn't though. Jimmy Makar stayed the crew chief until the end of 2002, then Michael "Fatback" McSwain took over. I heard recently (don't remember from where, so take it for what you will) that Interstate Batteries were putting a substantially smaller amount of money toward the 18, then Home Depot was, when their contract renewed in 2004, which led to lesser cars than Tony had. Whether there is any truth to that, I don't know, but 2004-2007 before M&M's the 18 was filled in with different sponsors. Boniva, Wellbutrin and Advair are a couple. I got waaayyy off topic there, sorry....
There was a *ton* of talent in NASCAR from the late 90s to the mid 00s. The key was JGR being a two-car team and Stewart being younger but beating Labonte in 2001 in the standings. Less and less resources were put into Labonte's crew and more into Stewart (and eventually the new #11 addition). Once Labonte left JGR it was all over. Petty Enterprises wasn't even close to having the talent of any of the other crews in NASCAR.
@BlackFlagsMatter I missed the live stream of this week's podcast. My "NASCAR Busts " suggestions are Todd Kluever, David Stremme, or Reed Sorenson.
Loved that you used a SAD! instrumental X was my shit! 😣❤
This dude needed a map to figure out how he wanted to hold that trophy up
You should do a championship seasons on Tony Stewart. Obviously his 2011 championship would make a good video but im really interested in either his 2002 or 2005 championships.
Pontiac would only have one more champion, Tony Stewart, before pulling out at end of 2003
Man 1st the pontiac grand prix then bobbi stepped away I'm never letting my pontiac go 💪🏾
I really liked Bobby Labonte a lot when he raced and I was little when he won this championship, but I didn't find out he had a championship until years after that. I didn't watch NASCAR at that time in 2000 as I started watching it years later. Also, here's plenty of ideas.
Good Seasons
Mark Martin 2002
Kasey Kahne 2004
Kurt Busch 2002
Kevin Harvick 2001
Carl Edwards 2005
Denny Hamlin 2006
Jeff Burton 2008
Clint Bowyer 2012
Ryan Newman 2014
Dale Earnhardt Jr 2014
Martin Truex Jr 2015
Kyle Larson 2016
Chase Elliott 2017
Ryan Blaney 2017
Aric Almirola 2018
Bad Seasons
Matt Kenseth 2008
Jeff Gordon 2005
Dale Jarrett 2003
Kurt Busch 2006
Ryan Newman 2006
Kevin Harvick 2009
Kurt Busch 2012
Tony Stewart 2013
Greg Biffle 2016
Jeremy Mayfield 2009
Brad Keselowski 2010
Carl Edwards 2012
Tony Stewart 2015
Carl Edwards 2009
Ricky Rudd 1999
NASCAR Busts
Dario Franchitti
Kevin Conway
Ricky Carmichael
Steve Kinser
Christian Fittipaldi
Kyle Krisiloff
Loy Allen Jr
Steve Wallace
Eric McClure
Jason Jarrett
Tyler Walker
A.J. Foyt IV
Brian Scott
Bill Lester
Justin Labonte
Patrick Carpentier
Shane Hmiel
David Stremme
Todd Kluever
The only NASCAR driver I’ve met
You love to see it!
Matt Kenseth '03 would be amazing.
Calling it now
Championship Seasons: Kyle Busch 2018
You gotta wait for Homestead first dude
Under the old format, he would have been the champion.
I will be a die hard Bobby Labonte fan until the day comes I kick the bucket. I wasn't much of a fan anymore of the #18 after Kyle Busch took over and when M&M's took over as the main sponsor.
Ole bobby was on rails that season.
How did I not see this literally ages ago? I think I may have even requested this after the fact. Shows how much attention I pay lol
Bobby Labonte is my 2nd favorite driver after Tony Stewart
2000 was the final year NASCAR ran Atlanta as the final race.
That beautiful Pontiac!
Championship Seasons: Terry Labonte 1996
My fav since 2003
Bad Seasons: Chevy 2018 Big 3 Dominance (Pre Watkins Glen)
Good Seasons: Chase Elliot 2018
Black Flags Matter can you do one of Jimmie Johnson's Championship seasons please. Thank you.
I think Bobby finished all but 1 or 2 laps that year. Such a consistent season.
9
I liked how u included sad by xxxtentacion
I never rooted so hard for him when he pushed Trevor Bayne around the track.
I never hated Jimmie Johnson until he beat Bobby at the Coca Cola 600 on the last lap. I had hoped he race him rough and hard
Back when JGR was a likable team
0 DNFs...
You should make Good Seasons: Kasey Kahne 2012
Its a damn shame he slowly faded after this season.
I can't wait
The bear looking Pontiac Ever.
2000 was about Bobby Labonte's peak of his career and the after 2001 then things took a downturn and by 2004 Interstate Batteries couldn't sponsor as many races and then performance suffered as Interstate put a lot of money into the team.
Rip X
Bad Seasons: Jeff Gordon 2012
Championship Seasons: Martin Truex, Jr. 2017
Good Seasons: Jimmie Johnson 2002
Bad Seasons: Dale Earnhardt, Sr. 1992
NASCAR Busts: Brian Vickers
First Starts: Kevin Harvick 2001 ( Winston Cup Series )
Gone Too Soon: Tim Richmond
Brian wouldn't have been a bust if it wasn't for his Blood Clot and health issues
But he was a bust at Hendrick.
Bobby actually had a great 2004, he just didn’t win. He was top 10 in points until right before the Chase cutoff and nearly won twice.
NASCAR BUSTS Danica Patrick
Bad Seasons Tony Steward 2014-2015
His 2013 stats didn't look good before the injury too.
Good seasons Carl Edwards,Greg biffle , Kyle Busch 2008 ?
Do brad k good season 2014
Do dale jr bad season 2017
Do matt kensth good season 2013
Do kevin harvick championchip season 2014
Jeff Gordon Vs Bobby Labonte :)