The 43 Days of Daytona - 24th Place in 2005
Over the 43 days leading up to the Daytona 500, I'll be doing a short review/preview of the Top 43 Drivers of 2005.
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Bobby Labonte
#43 - General Mills-Cheerios / Betty Crocker
Bobby ran a full season in the #18-Joe Gibbs Racing-Interstate Batteries Chevy. He had 4 Top 5's, 7 Top 10's, and no poles. His average start was 22.1. His average finish was 22.7. He finished 24th and posted winnings of $4,627,400.
He lost the ride in the #18 because the bar is set so high. He had a decent season, not the greatest by any stretch. But the fact that he and Tony Stewart were in similar equipment and had such disparate results signed the end of his time with Joe Gibbs Racing, where he had the best run of his career.
He landed with the Pettys in the legendary #43 car. I have high hopes for this team this season.
Pairing Bobby Labonte with Todd Parrott is a good thing, a very good thing. Add Robbie Loomis to the Petty Racing Family as Executive Vice President of Racing Operations and this could be a very, very good thing.
The ingredients are there. Let's see if the cooking comes out well.
Will sponsorship be big enough to allow the team to field a car every week? Yes.
Do I think he could go win a championship? No. There is a lot of talent involved...but no.
Do I think he could win a race or two and have a good season? Yes. Absolutely.
----------------
Bobby Labonte
#43 - General Mills-Cheerios / Betty Crocker
Bobby ran a full season in the #18-Joe Gibbs Racing-Interstate Batteries Chevy. He had 4 Top 5's, 7 Top 10's, and no poles. His average start was 22.1. His average finish was 22.7. He finished 24th and posted winnings of $4,627,400.
He lost the ride in the #18 because the bar is set so high. He had a decent season, not the greatest by any stretch. But the fact that he and Tony Stewart were in similar equipment and had such disparate results signed the end of his time with Joe Gibbs Racing, where he had the best run of his career.
He landed with the Pettys in the legendary #43 car. I have high hopes for this team this season.
Pairing Bobby Labonte with Todd Parrott is a good thing, a very good thing. Add Robbie Loomis to the Petty Racing Family as Executive Vice President of Racing Operations and this could be a very, very good thing.
The ingredients are there. Let's see if the cooking comes out well.
Will sponsorship be big enough to allow the team to field a car every week? Yes.
Do I think he could go win a championship? No. There is a lot of talent involved...but no.
Do I think he could win a race or two and have a good season? Yes. Absolutely.
posted by Mark "Puff" Anderson | 1:06 PM
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