Kurt Busch has monumental meltdowns on and off the racetrack.
By Marvin Gentry, US Presswire
Bobby Labonte is 26th in the points standings this year for JTG Daugherty Racing.
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Bobby Labonte rarely raises and eyebrow with fellow competitors or team owners.
Labonte, the 48-year-old Texan, goes about business with his head screwed on tight, and his goal is to continue driving for many years to come.
Labonte isn't going to rip someone or give you the juiciest quote. He has been around the big leagues ofNASCAR for 21 years and has seen it all during a robust career in which he has raced for owners like Bill Davis,Joe Gibbs and Richard Petty. He captured a Sprint Cupchampionship in 2000.
"My opinion doesn't matter anyway," Labonte said in advance of Sunday's Quicken Loans 400 Cup race atMichigan International Speedway. "It doesn't matter what I think."
Some might suggest that Labonte, a three-time Cup race winner at MIS, is vanilla, that he needs to be more controversial or colorful.
But the man they named a park after (along with his older brother Terry) in Corpus Christi, Texas, won't be trapped into blurting something out because the opportunity is there.
Labonte, who is driving for JTG Daugherty Racing, was asked to comment on Joey Logano's bump-and-run move on fellow veteran Mark Martin at the end of Sunday's Cup race at Pocono Raceway.
Might he discipline the youngster?
"Doesn't matter what I think," Labonte said. "If (Mark) says it was racing, it's racing. The decision by Joey was made in a split second. Who knows what you might do."
It's not that Labonte, who was inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 2001, doesn't care about doing the right thing. He has been one of the best and fairest stockcar drivers since joining Cup fulltime in 1993, winning 21 races and snatching 26 poles along the way.
"I've made some great friends," Labonte said. "I've tried to keep it clean."
Labonte, whose victories came at MIS in 1995, when he swept the two Cup events, and in 1999, is 26th in points. He also won poles in Cup races at MIS in 1995, 2000 and both races in 2003.
On Sunday, he'd be happy enough with a top-15 result in his No. 47 Charter Toyota.
"We don't have a dump truck full of money," said Labonte, who finished 22nd at Pocono. "We're a small team, and you can't afford to crash cars. You have to be reserved to an extent, and that's no fun. But we are making strides, and we have a great bunch of people on the team. We have our feet firmly on the ground and are planting roots."
Labonte has Todd Berrier as his crew chief this season. As he has approached his racing over the years, Labonte admires Berrier's no-nonsense style.
"Todd is hard worker," Labonte said. "He knows what he's doing. Todd works harder than any individual I know; that's one thing you can quote me on."
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