For Labonte, consistency continues to count

CONCORD, N.C. -- An old racing adage states that second place is first loser. But in the Winston Cup Series second place plus second place plus second place often means victory come time to hoist the hardware at season's end.

That's Bobby Labonte's mindset at this juncture.

	Bobby Labonte

Labonte entered Memorial Day weekend having finished second in three straight Winston Cup Series points races, and was hell-bent on ending the streak with a trip to Victory Lane at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

For a time, it appeared as if those intentions would come to fruition. But the runner-up streak ended with a third-place finish after minimal rain showers cut the race 124 laps short.

"It would have been a chance if we could have got back to green. We may have slipped up and finished worse, but who knows, we may have been better," said Labonte, a two-time LMS winner.

"Really, though, just leading halfway through the race and running in the top-five feels good. We broke our jinx from finishing second, finished third."

Obviously, Labonte & Co. would have enjoyed seeing the race resume. Even if it had, Team Lowe's crew chief Chad Knaus isn't convinced it would have mattered.

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"Tomorrow, one of you guys is going to write a story that says, 'What if it went green?' That's going to happen," Knaus said. "Somebody will say 'If they would have went green, Matt Kenseth would have won. If they would have went green, Bobby Labonte would have won.'

"That very well may have been the case, but in order for that happen they would have had to beat us. And, honestly, without something going wrong with that race car or us having a bad pit stop, I don't think they would have beat us."

Regardless, the third-place run marks Labonte's seventh top-five in 12 starts this season -- and fourth in as many races. During that four-race span, the 2000 champion has surged from 11th to sixth in the point standings.

	Credit: Autostock

Ironically, he actually lost a position Sunday as he and race-winner Jimmie Johnson flip-flopped the fifth and sixth positions, respectively. But heck, after two years of barely sniffing the top five at all, he'll take it.

"These past four races, where we finished second, second, second and third -- that's pretty darn consistent and you can't beat that except by a couple more spots," Labonte said.

"I'm really happy for all the guys, and it's a lot of fun to come to the racetrack knowing you have a competitive race car and you can run up from front and have a chance to win."

If only the rain had held off ...

"(Labonte, Kenseth) and our car were so equal it all boiled down to track position," Johnson said. "But that's how it is. We got the trophy."