Top-30 NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers: Bobby Labonte, 21st

Bobby Labonte will not drive for Petty Enterprises in 2009. In what turned out to be Bobby Labonte's final season at Petty Enterprises, the veteran driver had one of his most disappointing years of his career.

[Shut up n drive]

I feel bad for Bobby, he is one of the classiest guys out there. It just shows how important the money and sponsors are to NASCAR. With the money it takes to compete now it gives the sponsors too much say in choosing the driver. This past year you had a full-time driver who did win the rookie of the year, Regan Smith driving. Granted he was in mediocre equipment but he is also a mediocre driver as well. Johnny Sauter is another driver who doesn't need to be on the track in Sprint Cup. And now a former champion is without a ride. There will be drivers like the above mentioned driving and one of the best is on the sidelines, it really stinks.

[iceman01]

Shut up n drive wrote:

I feel bad for Bobby, he is one of the classiest guys out there. It just shows how important the money and sponsors are to NASCAR. With the money it takes to compete now it gives the sponsors too much say in choosing the driver. This past year you had a full-time driver who did win the rookie of the year, Regan Smith driving. Granted he was in mediocre equipment but he is also a mediocre driver as well. Johnny Sauter is another driver who doesn't need to be on the track in Sprint Cup. And now a former champion is without a ride. There will be drivers like the above mentioned driving and one of the best is on the sidelines, it really stinks.

agreed, put Bobby in a big dollar rig and watch him put up big dollar numbers...wonder why Tony didn't pick him up?

[Shut up n drive]

iceman01 wrote:

<quoted text> agreed, put Bobby in a big dollar rig and watch him put up big dollar numbers...wonder why Tony didn't pick him up?

Maybe Ryan Newman was cheaper?

[Whoyakidding]

We all agree, Bobby Lebonte is a great guy and represents his sport very well. However, the man is 44 years old and hasn't been competitive since 2003. His last win was a gimme because Elliott blew a tire on the last lap of the race and Bobby got the win. With the economy like it is he doesn't stand a snowball in hell's chance of getting a ride for 09 anymore competitive than he had with the Pettys. Their will be a full field of cars at Daytona but after that I expect to see a lot of races this year with less than forty cars. Most of the races in the mid-south region will have a full field but few of the long haul races with have 43 cars.

[Voice of Reality]

Whoyakidding wrote:

We all agree, Bobby Lebonte is a great guy and represents his sport very well. However, the man is 44 years old and hasn't been competitive since 2003. His last win was a gimme because Elliott blew a tire on the last lap of the race and Bobby got the win. With the economy like it is he doesn't stand a snowball in hell's chance of getting a ride for 09 anymore competitive than he had with the Pettys. Their will be a full field of cars at Daytona but after that I expect to see a lot of races this year with less than forty cars. Most of the races in the mid-south region will have a full field but few of the long haul races with have 43 cars.

I have already heard that NASCAR has contacted Morgan Shepherd, Carl Long, Kirk Shelberdean and others about getting them cars and paying them to attempt to qualify and if they do to run about 15 laps and park them. This will not be the first time that NASCAR sponsored cars have frequented the back of fields for the first 15 laps, however, there might be more than before after about the third race of next season. I have heard that only about 32 to 36 cars have full time sponsors at this time.