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Thursday, April 27, 2000

Bobby Labonte downplays early Winston Cup standings success

Leaderboard not too revealing at this point of season, driver says

By Matt Young
Caller-Times

Associated Press

NASCAR driver Bobby Labonte reacts after climbing out of his car in Victory Lane of the Talladega Superspeedway on April 15. Labonte came in first that day in the International Race of Champions.

With 25 races left in the Winston Cup season, Bobby Labonte insists he doesn't have his eyes trained too closely on the leaderboard.
   However, Labonte admits he knows where he stands. That would be in second place, 24 points behind Mark Martin.
   Labonte, who has never won a Winston Cup championship, actually had the standings lead before finishing 21st last week at the DieHard 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.
   "Having the lead or being second in the standings doesn't really mean that much at this time of the season," Labonte said in a telephone interview last week. "Being behind by 24 points is pretty big because you don't want to give up any more points, but the main thing is you can't worry about why you fell behind.
   "What's done is done, and you've got to proceed on to the next race," said the Corpus Christi native. "I didn't want to lose the lead at Talladega, but I did, so you have to move on."
   Labonte lost the Winston Cup standings lead at Talladega, which ended an all-around rough week. He blew an engine during qualifying, which forced him to start the race in the 37th position.
   After biding his time in the back of the pack for most of the race, Labonte got caught up in a 17-car wreck. Although he was able to finish the race, the damage from the collision slowed his car considerably.
   "Our mood was great going into that race, (but) unfortunately a lot of things went against us," Labonte said. "We're still OK. As far as accidents go, I was probably overdue for one. I guess the odds are eventually going to be against you, so you just hope you got this one out of the way."
   With a rare NASCAR week off for the Easter holiday, Labonte had plenty of time to think about Talladega three weeks ago, but he's also had time to think about his pursuit of Martin and the Winston Cup championship.
   After recharging their batteries during the off-week, Labonte and the rest of the drivers will focus on renewing their chase of Martin and the Winston Cup lead when racing resumes Sunday at the NAPA Auto Parts 500 at the California Speedway.
   "I'm definitely in the hunt, but there are so many people that can still win," Labonte said. "It's not down to me and Mark. It's not down to two cars or three cars, but more like seven or eight, and maybe even more than that if someone gets hot. But there's no doubt we feel like being in second at this point is not all that bad."
   Dale Jarrett, the defending Winston Cup champion, said he still is waiting for someone to make his move and take control of the standings.
   "The title seems to be there for the taking, but nobody seems to jump up there and be able to take it," said Jarrett, who sits in sixth place in the standings. "Everyone seems to be in an accident every week. Mark Martin's probably the only who hasn't been in one and that's why he's on top. It's tough. You've got to have a lot of skill, but you've got to have some luck too, to get through each week unscathed."
   If someone ever takes control, it's a pretty sure bet that no driver will be able to get on a run and win 13 races like Jeff Gordon did in 1998. Gordon, who ran away with the title that year, finally got his first win of this season two weeks ago.
   "It was pretty amazing to think that we won 13 races in 1998, because the competition is so tough," Gordon said. "I don't see anyone getting double-digit wins again any time soon. It's just too tough. Each year, it gets tougher and tougher. It will be interesting to see how many wins the champion gets this year."
  

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Staff writer Matt Young can be reached at 886-4304 or by e-mail at youngm@caller.com

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