Labonte wins when Nadeau runs out of fuel

By Stephen Thomas, CNNSI.com
November 19, 2001
10:11 AM EST (1511 GMT)

HAMPTON, Ga. -- In any ordinary Winston Cup race, there is one winner and 42 losers. But, because this has been a season in which the extraordinary has been almost as common as the ordinary, we probably should have been prepared for Sunday's finish.

Bobby Labonte took his fifth career victory at Atlanta.

The NAPA 500 offered up not one, but two winners and, as far as history is concerned, one primary loser.

Jeff Gordon was the day's unquestioned winner, wrapping up his fourth Winston Cup title in the past seven years by finishing a comfortable sixth.

Gordon takes title  NAPA 500 Results  Winston Cup Standings  Championship 2001  Video: Gordon celebrates  Video: Rudd struggles  Video: Nadeau runs dry  Video: Craven falls out

"This is too good to be true," a jubilant Gordon said. "I just have to thank God every day for all the blessings that me and this entire team have been given."

Bobby Labonte, the 2000 Winston Cup champ, was Sunday's understandably overshadowed race winner, galloping past the seemingly unbeatable Jerry Nadeau in the final few hundred yards by being in the right place at the right time when Nadeau was hit with almost seriously bad luck.

By running out of gas within sight of the finish line and his second consecutive NAPA 500 win, Nadeau, who had a lead of more than two seconds with one lap remaining, provided the ideal definition of one of racing's most time-honored phrases: That's racin'.

"I expected to win," Nadeau said, the irony clearly not lost on him. "We had a fast car and good pit stops. It's too bad, we just ran out of fuel. I'm not sure why. We should've gotten better fuel mileage than that. God darn it, half a lap to go ..."

Jeff and Brooke Gordon pose with the 2001 Winston Cup championship trophy.

It was the surprised Labonte's second win of an otherwise disappointing year, some consolation to the end of a lackluster title defense (he is sixth in points).

"Of course [it's difficult]," Labonte said when he was asked if this win heals some of this season's wounds. "When you come off a year like we had last year and it's not working out for you, it's harder to keep your chin up. But yes, this helps. I feel like we're getting better and better, this gives us confidence for next year."

Sterling Marlin and Kevin Harvick were carried in Labonte's wake and also managed to swoop past the luckless Nadeau to round out the top three finishers. Nadeau held onto fourth.

Sunday's dramatic conclusion was just the final act in an afternoon of exciting racing. There were not only 23 lead changes among 13 drivers, but Nadeau, Labonte and Dale Earnhardt Jr. put on a show for almost a third of the race, dueling each other lap after lap after lap.

For about 100 laps, the three ran together at the front, Earnhardt Jr. firmly in charge, successfully resisting charges from both of his pursuers before he gave up the lead to Nadeau and then, finally, Labonte. On the day, Little E led 171 laps before fading to seventh.

That Nadeau and Labonte went toe-to-toe for the win made perfect sense. Coming into the race, the two had combined to win five of the past 11 races at Atlanta.

Jerry Nadeau ended up fourth after his last-lap problem.

Nadeau's terrible luck notwithstanding, Labonte clearly has Atlanta's number, with wins in four of the past five fall races.

"I don't know," Labonte said when he was asked about what it is about Atlanta. "For whatever reason, I like it, it's a good place for us to go to. It's just one of those deals that it's a great racetrack for us."

Still, when Nadeau surged past Labonte to retake the lead with less than 20 laps remaining, he seemed a lock to win, especially given his dominant performance in this race last year when he led 147 laps.

It certainly appeared that he was going to end his up-and-down season -- he has nine top-10 finishes to go with 15 25th-or-worse finishes -- on an up note. But, that's racin'.

"He looked uncatchable," Labonte said of Nadeau. "There was a comment made on the radio that he was close on gas, but I thought 'he won't run out of gas, that won't be my luck.' I just didn't think he would. I thought he was probably close to crossing the line anyway since he had such a big lead. It was a gift."