Stark difference in outcomes for Gibbs cars

Could've been worse for Labonte, better for Stewart

BRISTOL, Tenn. -- Both Bobby Labonte and Tony Stewart emerged from their respective Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolets Sunday afternoon visibly frustrated, but for entirely different reasons.

Labonte had successfully negotiated a frenzied Food City 500 field for four hours and garnered his third top-five finish in the past four races.

VIDEO CLIPS Labonte fades, but still finishes third Play video Terry Labonte, Tony Stewart crash Play video

Stewart, meanwhile, fell victim to the fury and limped home 26th, subsequently dropping from second to third in the championship standings.

"I've never been hit so much in one day," said Stewart upon exit from a battled-scarred Home Depot Chevrolet.

Stewart entered the event 57 points behind leader Matt Kenseth, and ran consistently in the top 10 for the first half of the event. But after his involvement in an accident with Jamie McMurray and Ricky Rudd in the backstretch on lap 257, his day grew considerably, and consistently, worse.

Finally, with 27 laps remaining, John Andretti effectively ended the misery by slamming on his brakes in front of the defending champion. Stewart rammed him, mangling the front of his car.

"At the end, (Andretti) just stopped, for whatever reason," Stewart said. "We tore up the whole front end and cooked the motor trying to finish the race. It was a bad day. I can't wait to get out of here."

Labonte's dismay was equally as obvious, though far more positive. This is a good thing.

	A 26th-place finish dropped Tony Stewart from second to third in points. Credit: Autostock

After a 2002 campaign that proved his worst-to-date with Gibbs, the simple fact that Labonte expects more than a hard-earned third-place finish -- one in which he rebounded from a pair of spin-outs -- is refreshing.

"I was on Kurt (race winner Busch) really good there. Then the caution came out, and after the restart we weren't as good and Matt (Kenseth, runner-up) got by us," Labonte said.

"I think there was fluid on the track, I think Tony was dropping it. I got a little bit better the last couple laps. We were getting pretty good until the caution came out with 30-some laps to go. We couldn't get going again."

Were it not for that caution -- Stewart's on lap 473 -- Labonte may well have given Busch all he could handle. Labonte's No. 18 ADVAIR Chevy was far better than Busch's Ford in the corners, but Busch had a bit of an advantage down the straightaways.

ALSO  •  Tony Stewart's Driver Page  •  Bobby Labonte's Driver Page

And in lapped traffic, it always helps to be the leader.

"We had some lapped traffic there, and we were both being pretty careful getting through it," Labonte said. "I think I was getting better at that point in time.

"I saw his car going up the track more a little bit more than it was the first few laps of that run. My car was better on the bottom. At that point in time, my car was a little better and his car might have been giving up just a little bit.

"I can't be mad at that. Heck, it could have been a lot worse. Couldn't complain about it, just wish we hadn't had the caution."

If so, Labonte may be a two-time race winner already. As it is, his win at Atlanta has already equaled last year's victory tally, and his three top-fives in the first six events nearly equal that of his entire 2002 output -- five.

"It was great, better than great," said Labonte, who surged from 14th to eighth in the championship standings. "I spun out twice and finished third. That's a pretty great day."