Robert Allen Labonte (born May 8, 1964) is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver and current analyst for NASCAR on Fox.
The next season, he helped prepare a car that his older brother would drive, which resulted in Terry's first ever NASCAR Busch Grand National Series pole position start and a subsequent second-place finish at Road Atlanta.
In 1987, Labonte won twelve races at Caraway Speedway, clinching the track championship, in addition to working for Jay Hedgecock.
The following season, he competed at Concord Motorsports Park, winning six times, and ran six more Busch races, finishing 16th at Darlington Raceway.
Labonte's 1992 season was a successful one, and he ended up winning three races (at Lanier, Hickory, and Martinsville respectively), but lost the championship title to Joe Nemechek by three points.
Also, Labonte continued to operate his main Busch Series team, hiring David Green to drive for him.
The next season, 1994, Labonte achieved his second major success as a car owner when his Busch Series driver, David Green, won the championship.
In 2007, Labonte won the Busch Series race at Talladega Speedway in April 2007, edging Tony Stewart to the line in a thrilling finish.
In 2016, Labonte returned to Joe Gibbs Racing to compete in the Xfinity Series opener at Daytona, driving the No.
[2] At the end of the 1994 season, Labonte departed to replace Dale Jarrett as the driver of the No.18 Interstate Batteries-sponsored Chevrolet for Joe Gibbs Racing.
In 1998, Labonte won at both Atlanta and Talladega, as well as pole positions for both Daytona races, finishing second to Dale Earnhardt in the 500.
Labonte became the second driver in NASCAR history to win the championship and not score a single DNF and first since Cale Yarborough in 1977.
The following week at Rockingham, Labonte was narrowly beaten to the finish line by Steve Park in the rain-delayed Dura Lube 400.
Going into turn 1, Dale Earnhardt Jr. overtook him in the lower groove, bringing Tony Stewart and Jeff Burton with him.
Labonte made contact with Johnny Benson Jr. — sending that driver into the outside wall — and then spun, flipping over, and skidding partway down the track on his roof.
In 2003, Labonte rebounded and finished eighth in the standings after winning two races (Atlanta and Homestead [leading only the final lap]).
He also ran the 24 Hours of Daytona road race, sharing a car with his brother Terry, Jan Magnussen and Bryan Herta.
In November, Labonte formed a full-service marketing agency, Breaking Limits, which is based in Huntersville, North Carolina.
Arguably, some people might say that this season is the worst of his full-time career, as he only had two top 20 finishes in 2010 one at the Daytona 500 and one at the Infineon Raceway road course event.
09 car beginning at Daytona and Labonte split the rest of the 2010 season between Phoenix Racing and TRG Motorsports.
[9] Later in the year Labonte suffered broken ribs in a cycling accident, forcing him to miss three races, starting with the AdvoCare 500 at Atlanta.
[10] His last race with JTG Daughtery was at Phoenix International Raceway in November 2013; released afterwards, in December 2013 he announced that he would be running part-time in the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in a second car for HScott Motorsports.
[11] During practice for the 2014 Daytona 500 Labonte blew an engine, and although he qualified for his 22nd consecutive 500,[12] he was relegated to the back of the starting grid.
[14] A deal to run for James Finch in additional races fell through, thus Labonte did not make another start for the first half of the season.
33 RCR Chevrolet that Brian Scott had driven to the pole at Talladega, running under the Circle Sport banner.
In December 2014, Labonte announced that he would drive for Go FAS Racing on the restrictor-plate tracks in 2015, taking over for his brother Terry who retired after the 2014 GEICO 500.
In June 2017, Labonte competed in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series race weekend at Brands Hatch, driving the No.
Tyler recently graduated from Texas A&M and is now in law school at Campbell University in Buies Creek, North Carolina.
Tyler has worked on political campaigns for Thom Tillis and served in 2014 as an intern for Interstate Batteries, which sponsored Bobby's 2000 championship season.
[22] Labonte founded Breaking Limits,[23] a marketing, public relations, events and sponsorship agency, working out of High Point, North Carolina.