Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, September 5, 1993 TAG: 9309050067
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER
DATELINE: DARLINGTON, S. C. LENGTH: Medium
There he was, battling with the leaders at Talladega, mixing it up near the front at Watkins Glen and doggedly hanging on to the lead lap at Bristol until exhaust fumes got the best of him.
On Friday, Labonte held the Southern 500 pole for almost an hour until Ken Schrader stole it from him late in the session. Labonte will start third - his best position of the year - when the race begins at 1 p.m. today.
"Oh, I'm having a blast," said the soft-spoken, 29-year-old. "We're just awfully excited because we're doing as well as we are."
Since the midseason Pepsi 400 at Daytona, Labonte has jumped from 29th to 19th in points and is one spot ahead of his brother, Terry. Only six other drivers have earned more points in the second half of the season than the younger Labonte.
The recent success is particularly satisfying for car owner Bill Davis, also a rookie in Winston Cup racing.
In 1992, Davis thought his future in Winston Cup rested with Jeff Gordon, his Grand National driver.
But in May 1992, Gordon announced he was bolting to Hendrick Motorsports. And to add injury to insult, Gordon had a phenomenal start on the Winston Cup circuit in 1993, winning a Twin 125 qualifying race at Daytona and finishing fifth in the Daytona 500.
Labonte, meanwhile, couldn't crack the top 15 until Martinsville in April. He had his first top 10 finish, an eighth, in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte in May. He has since added a 10th at New Hampshire, a seventh at Watkins Glen and an eighth at the second Michigan race.
Gordon, unquestionably, has been flashier throughout the season - with a pair of seconds among his nine top 10 finishes. But Labonte has been more consistent in the second half of the season and has been the top rookie finisher in four of the past five races.
Neither driver has won yet, but these days Labonte is just as much of a threat as Gordon to reach victory lane.
"Back in the spring, Jeff Gordon said, `We're going to run for the championship; we're going to win races,' " Davis said. "We're not going to do it that way. We think we'll have a lot more success going for consistency.
"We'll be much more satisfied to take little, small steps."
The difference between Labonte and Gordon early in the season "was just one thing," crew chief Tim Brewer said. "They had a jump on us. Bill Davis didn't get started until late November or early December. And we wrecked a lot early on. I guess we got wrecked about eight or 10 times during the first half in someone else's wrecks."
\ SHORTER RACES?: Now that Darlington Raceway - a NASCAR-controlled track - has taken the lead and reduced its spring race from 500 to 400 miles, look for NASCAR to put the pressure on Dover, Rockingham and other tracks to shorten their races.
Darlington is owned by International Speedway Corp., which is controlled by NASCAR President Bill France Jr.
NASCAR floated the idea of shorter races a while back and was met with stiff opposition. This time, there appears to be a more orchestrated approach.
Pit notes distributed by Darlington Raceway officials Saturday included two pages of quotes from 11 drivers extolling the virtues of shorter races. There was nary a word of criticism.
"It's the greatest thing I've heard of in a long, long time," Bill Elliott was quoted as saying.
"It's the smartest thing they ever did in their life," Rusty Wallace said.
by CNB