Bobby Labonte facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Bobby Labonte
Labonte at Talladega Superspeedway in 2015
Born	Robert Allen Labonte (1964-05-08) May 8, 1964 (age 61) Corpus Christi, Texas, U.S.
Achievements	2000 Winston Cup Series Champion 1991 Busch Series Champion 2001 IROC Champion 1995 Coca-Cola 600 Winner 2000 Brickyard 400 Winner 2000 Southern 500 Winner Oldest winner of a Superstar Racing Experience race (58 years, 2 months, and 1 day old at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway in 2022)
Awards	NASCAR Hall of Fame (2020) Named one of NASCAR's 75 Greatest Drivers (2023)
NASCAR Cup Series career
729 races run over 25 years
2016 position	23rd
Best finish	1st (2000)
First race	1991 Budweiser 500 (Dover)
Last race	2016 Hellmann's 500 (Talladega)
First win	1995 Coca-Cola 600 (Charlotte)
Last win	2003 Ford 400 (Homestead)
Wins Top tens Poles 21 203 26
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
203 races run over 20 years
2016 position	18th
Best finish	1st (1991)
First race	1982 Autumn 150 (Martinsville)
Last race	2016 PowerShares QQQ 300 (Daytona)
First win	1991 Budweiser 250 (Bristol)
Last win	2007 Aaron's 312 (Talladega)
Wins Top tens Poles 10 100 10
NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series career
10 races run over 5 years
Best finish	36th (2005)
First race	1996 GM Goodwrench/AC Delco 300 (Phoenix)
Last race	2007 Michigan 200 (Michigan)
First win	2005 Kroger 250 (Martinsville)
Wins Top tens Poles 1 5 0
Statistics current as of February 3, 2022.

Robert Allen "Bobby" Labonte (born May 8, 1964) is an American race car driver who doesn't race full-time anymore. He is a 2000 NASCAR Winston Cup Series champion. Now, he works as a TV analyst for NASCAR on Fox, where he talks about races.

He and his older brother, Terry Labonte, are one of only two pairs of brothers who have both won the Cup Series championship. This is the highest level of stock car racing. Bobby is also the first driver to win both the Winston Cup championship (in 2000) and the Busch Series championship (in 1991). The Busch Series is now called the Xfinity Series and is like a minor league for the Cup Series.

In 2020, Labonte was added to the NASCAR Hall of Fame for his amazing career.

Early Life and Racing Beginnings

Bobby Labonte was born in Corpus Christi, Texas. He started racing when he was only five years old in small cars called quarter midgets. He won his first big race a year later.

When he was a teenager, his family moved to North Carolina so his older brother Terry could race in the Winston Cup Series. After high school, Bobby worked on his brother's race cars. He also started racing in the Busch Series himself.

In 1987, Labonte won 12 races at Caraway Speedway and became the track champion. This success helped him move up to racing full-time.

Full-Time Racing Career

Success in the Busch Series

In 1990, Labonte started racing full-time in the Busch Series, driving the No. 44 car for his own team. He did very well and was voted the series' "Most Popular Driver."

The next year, in 1991, he won the Busch Series championship. This was a huge achievement and showed everyone how talented he was. In 1992, he almost won the championship again, losing by only three points in one of the closest finishes in NASCAR history.

While racing in the Busch Series, Labonte also started his own team. In 1994, his driver, David Green, won the Busch Series championship. This made Labonte a champion as both a driver and a team owner.

Reaching the Top in the Cup Series

Bobby Labonte's former car from Joe Gibbs Racing is on display at their headquarters.

In 1993, Labonte began racing full-time in the Winston Cup Series. In 1995, he joined Joe Gibbs Racing to drive the No. 18 car. That year, he won his first Cup Series race, the Coca-Cola 600. He later said this was his favorite win of his career.

In 1996, he won the last race of the season at Atlanta. On the same day, his brother Terry won the championship. The two brothers took a victory lap together, which Bobby called one of the most emotional moments of his life.

Bobby Labonte at Richmond in 1998.

Labonte's career kept getting better. In 1999, he won five races, the most he ever won in one season. He finished second in the championship that year.

Becoming a NASCAR Champion

The year 2000 was Labonte's best season. He won four major races, including the famous Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis and the Southern 500 at Darlington. He led the points standings for most of the season and won the Winston Cup championship. He finished every race that year without a single DNF (Did Not Finish), which is very rare.

Later Career and Other Racing

Labonte's No. 43 car on pit road in 2006.

After his championship, Labonte continued to have success. In 2001, he won two races and also won the IROC title, which pits top drivers from different types of racing against each other.

In 2003, he won two more races and finished 8th in the points standings. In 2005, he won a Truck Series race at Martinsville. This made him the first driver to win a race in all three of NASCAR's top series (Cup, Busch, and Truck) at the same track.

From 2006 to 2008, Labonte drove the famous No. 43 car for Petty Enterprises. He had several top-ten finishes with the team. After leaving Petty, he drove for a few different teams. In 2011, he had a great start to the season, finishing 4th in the Daytona 500.

Labonte's car at Daytona in 2016.

Labonte raced part-time in the Cup Series until 2016. He also raced in other series, including the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series in Europe in 2017 and 2018. He became the first Cup Series champion to race in the Euro Series.

Life After Full-Time Racing

Even though he doesn't race in the Cup Series anymore, Labonte is still very involved in racing. In 2014, he began working as a TV analyst for NASCAR America. He now appears on FS1 shows like Race Hub and Race Day, sharing his expert opinions on races.

Labonte also competes in other racing events, like the Superstar Racing Experience (SRX) and the SMART Modified Tour. In 2022, he became the oldest driver to win an SRX race.

He lives in High Point, North Carolina, with his wife, Kristin. He has two children, Robert Tyler and Madison. Labonte also runs the Bobby Labonte Foundation, which helps children and families in North Carolina.

See also

In Spanish: Bobby Labonte para niños