January 30, 2013 at 5:54 p.m.
Labonte's in his comfort zone
Labonte's in his comfort zone
What is surprising is how quickly a move to a new team in the offseason appears to have resurrected a career that briefly looked like it might be over.
After parting ways with Petty Enterprises - a union that never really reached its potential - Labonte made a last-minute decision to join with the No. 96 Fords fielded in a combination effort by Hall of Fame Racing and Yates Racing.
Three races into the 2009 season, and with his favorite track on the horizon, Labonte is 10th in series points and fresh off his first top-five finish (a fifth last weekend at California) in more than two seasons.
"We wanted to get in a solid place in points in the first five races. It's awesome to be up there this quickly and so early," said Labonte, who spent three winless seasons with Petty Enterprises in the famed No. 43 car after leaving Joe Gibbs Racing.
"We talked about getting a good foundation. We'd see where we were at and then start to pick away at it with some good runs. We are off to a good start. So, Atlanta, a good track for me; I feel good about it."
Labonte's last Cup win came in the 2003 season while he was still with JGR. Not surprisingly, one of his two wins that season came in the spring race at Atlanta, his last victory at the 1.54-mile track.
That success soon disappeared, however. In his last 10 races at Atlanta, he hasn't finished better than 12th. He hopes to change that on Sunday.
"The confidence is high right now. I believe in these guys and the potential we have," said Labonte, the 2000 series champion. "We need to keep working on it. This was our third race, but we have great things to look forward to."
Part of Labonte's quick start can be attributed to a familiar face on top of his pit box.
Crew chief Todd Parrott worked with Labonte early in the 2006 season, while both were at Petty Enterprises. Parrott left the organization to return to Yates Racing, where he has spent the greater part of his Cup career working with several drivers, including 1999 champion Dale Jarrett, Ernie Irvan and Elliott Sadler.
"We had some great runs together," Labonte said of Parrott. "Hitting the ground running is going to be awfully important because we're both committed to this thing and I know he's going to get the job done.
"Like he said, 'We've got unfinished business that we started,' so we're going go at it as hard as we can."
Despite a move to a new organization - and a hastily arranged one at that - Labonte adamantly maintained he can qualify for the Chase for the Sprint Cup this season.
"That's one of our goals. I think all the elements are there, it's just putting it all together. We're not going to be happy if we're not in it," Labonte said.
Yates "was struggling two years ago and now they've turned the corner. A lot of people don't and a lot of people will later, and a lot of people have done it before.
"We were in California (earlier this season) shooting a commercial and I asked a friend of mine a question and he said, 'The wave is pretty high. You better ride it.' Right now our wave is pretty high."[[In-content Ad]]
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