Labonte comes close to breaking top-10 drought

POCONO, Pa. -- It's been one thing after another this season for Bobby Labonte, the former Winston Cup champion who's endured the kind of luck and parts failures that drive many racers nuts.

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Even on Sunday, a day that he nearly cracked the top-10 at Pocono Raceway, his 11th-place finish in the Pennsylvania 500 didn't come without pain. After the race, in the garage, Labonte emerged from his No. 18 Pontiac in distinct discomfort.

He told crew chief Jimmy Makar that the car had been unbearably hot, even with a functioning cooling system. Many cold towels and drinks later, he reported another problem: handling.

"The car was tight all day," Labonte said. "But it was better than last time here."

He finished 25th in the Winston Cup series' first stop at Pocono, a result that mirrors his season. For most of the year, Labonte has hovered around 20th in the Cup points standings, twice rising as high as 12th place. He entered Sunday's rain-and-red-flag-marred event solidly in 20th place, a spot he's occupied for four of the past six weeks.

And he had reason not to be optimistic. Labonte qualified 37th on Friday.

	Labonte was 11th at Pocono after running in the top 10 late in the event. Credit: Autostock

Then, an engine change meant starting at the rear of the field. But he worked his way upward slowly, breaking into the 20s around lap 30. He was 28th on lap 50. By lap 120, he'd climbed to 12th. Labonte got as high as 10th in the closing laps before finally falling back to 11th, two spots behind older brother Terry.

"That was pretty awesome, I guess, wasn't it?" the younger Labonte said of coming all the way from the back of the field. "The car was good enough to get me up there, but we got to a certain point and that was about all we could do."

What it may have done is give the No. 18 team some optimism heading into Indianapolis. Labonte won the 2000 Brickyard 400, and he liked what he saw Sunday -- despite the heat. He also moved up a notch in the point standings to 19th.

"I think it was better," Labonte said of Sunday's performance. "We definitely beat cars that we haven't been able to beat. We've still got work to do, but I'd say that's about 25 percent better."