Jason Leffler and Bobby Labonte, currently 34th and 37th in points, respectively. Credit: Autostock

Last Lap: Whither goest Joe Gibbs Racing?

Turn 3 at Martinsville Speedway told the story. Screamed it, even: loud, clear and in graphic detail.

Turn 3 is where the non-competitive -- and often under-funded -- teams are stationed in the Martinsville garage area. On transporter row, Turn 3 is the other side of the tracks, where the ragtag operations set up shop just hoping to make the show.

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And there, down near the end, sat the diamond in the rough, the pristine 18-wheeler among the vagabonds that carried top-tier Chevrolets for a former champion.

Surely Peter Rabbit parked 'er in the wrong spot. There's no way Bobby Labonte belongs down there. But he is there, nonetheless.

That's how bad 2005 has been for Labonte.

But not for lack of effort. Yes he's 37th in the points -- the lowest rank among teams that have qualified for all seven races -- but that's not indicative of the team's performance level. Not even.

Labonte has fallen victim to others' miscues on several occasions. If there's a wreck, he finds it. You'd think the guy had a GPS tracking device locked on the Big One. Everywhere.

He was caught up in the Dale Jr./Brian Vickers mess at Vegas. The following week at Atlanta -- his best track -- he never even got started after being collected in Casey Mears' first lap spinout. He was involved in the 14-car pileup at Bristol, triggered when Bobby Hamilton Jr. got into Ken Schrader, and he wrecked Sunday at Texas, too.

And then there are the engine woes. And the obvious struggle with the new aerodynamic package. Labonte blew up 14 laps into the Daytona 500, and was running third at Martinsville when the motor let go. California is the only race in which Labonte completed every lap.

It has been exasperating, certainly. I'd venture to say it's the most frustrating experience of Labonte's career. But I don't foresee Joe Gibbs Racing giving up on the current formula. It's not their style.

	Inside the Numbers Joe Gibbs Racing in 2005 Driver Rank Wins Top-5 Top-10 Stewart 11 0 1 3 Leffler 34 0 0 0 Labonte 37 0 0 0 More at Joe Gibbs Racing team page

Labonte has run well, just hasn't been able to finish the deal. Same goes for Tony Stewart.

Stewart had the best car at Martinsville, but a broken wheel eliminated him from contention. His luck worsened at Texas, where a motor failure left him with burns on his right arm and leg.

And Gibbs' third team, the No. 11 FedEx bunch, is currently busy discounting speculation that Jason Leffler is on his way out. At no time in 13 years of operation has Joe Gibbs Racing been in such dire shape.

Or so it appears on the surface. Is a change in order, personnel or otherwise?

No. If it were that bad Stewart wouldn't tolerate it. If he were running in the back, he'd be raising more cane than Dixie Crystal. He certainly wouldn't be rallying the troops, as he did at Martinsville and Texas.

If it were that bad, do you think Labonte, who woke up Sunday morning with a nasty flu bug, would have gotten back in the seat of a wrecked racecar, to ride around for a few measly points that he'd have gotten even if Kenny Wallace had replaced him behind the wheel?

Come on. The results are less than stellar thus far, sure, but morale is high. Word is, compared to last year you'd think they were 1-2 in the standings.

With the struggles that Joe Gibbs Racing is enduring, would you overhaul the teams with personnel changes like other owners have done in recent years?

DepotDevil: Yes, personnel changes need to happen. First get rid of JD. Joe Gibbs needs to realize that since he left control of auto racing to pursue his football dynasty, his auto area has gone to hell.

Last I checked, the football area wasn't so good either. Coach needs to be brought back. His son is no replacement. Second, they need to look into the engine department. Two engines in two weeks. Something is wrong.

I'm with you on the engine failures, Arthur Blank. A 15-percent failure rate (three blown motors in 21 starts) is unacceptable. But saying J.D. Gibbs isn't qualified to run the company is just plain foolish.

J.D. has been top dog at JGR since 1999, meaning he was the key decision-maker during the 2000 and 2002 championship seasons. During that same time, team owner Joe Gibbs' role was hardly more prominent than it currently is.

Coach Joe's presence at the shop or racetrack isn't a factor in this equation, because it's really not much different -- especially from a competition standpoint.

From a competition standpoint, neither Gibbs has much say. They defer on-track performance issues to competition director Jimmy Makar and the crew chiefs.

FBGRacing: Definitely not. Stewart and Zipadelli are a proven formula. Labonte needs some stability in his team roster so he can get some chemistry going and Leffler just needs a chance to settle in.

While teams only have 26 races to get into the Chase, the season is only seven races in, and new teams like Leffler and Labonte may need this year to get a good rhythm going. Better to have a great team next year than a perpetually green team every year.

Per usual, the Janitor is dialed-in. Remember how off Roush Racing was in 2001? They were way behind the curve, so they took a step back, bit the bullet and used '01 as an R&D-type springboard for the future.

Tony Stewart blows an engine at Texas Tony Stewart loses a tire and a chance to win at Martinsville J.Gordon and Bobby Labonte crash on the first lap at Atlanta Labonte makes an early exit in Daytona 500 Sign up for TrackPass now BUY YOUR NEXTEL DRIVER PHONE

Now look at them now. Two-straight titles and counting...

ovalrunner: Who cares if JGR is foolish enough to make unneeded personnel changes? Just look at DEI. Both cars in the top ten. Grats to DEI. Let JGR take a lesson from them and see that changes in personnel are not always the answer.

Time might be the answer -- time to adjust to the team member ways of doing things and mannerisms. At the same time, recall that DEI did make changes last year and are now getting it together with out further changes.

Maybe I've completely lost my mind, but I'd swear I heard somewhere that DEI completely swapped pit crews for Junior and Michael Waltrip this season. Maybe I dreamed it.

HD20SmokeFan: Maybe Gibbs needs to look into working with another group on their engine program. Maybe if they got together with, say, RCR or even DEI, and combined forces, it would improve both camps' problems. It sure hasn't hurt Yates and Roush. Like they say, 2 heads are better than one!

The decision by Jack Roush and Robert Yates to pool resources in their engines program was pertinent. Doing so means the financial support supplied by Ford Motor Company all goes into one pot, used by all, rather than Ford having to cut the proverbial pie and dole it out to teams individually.

Both programs have benefited -- Roush from Yates' supreme horsepower and Yates from Roush's focus on reliability. Should Chevy do the same thing? Currently, Hendrick Motorsports, Gibbs, Childress and Earnhardt, Inc., all make Chevy power.

Could you imagine if they joined forces? It'd be like the first Dream Team, man. They'd mow everybody down.

MsLeslie: Well, I think that Joe Gibbs needs to come back. I don't think the problem lies in personnel, as it does with just hard luck two of the teams have suffered. I do, however, question the decision to bring Jason Leffler on board in the number 11 car. Who's bright idea was that?

Bobby and Tony have been bitten by the bad luck bug so far this season. Leffler, on the other hand, has been stung, bitten, and sucked dry by the bad luck bug his whole career. Gibbs racing would see better results if they put Stevie Wonder in that car.

Speaking of blind, you may want to have your glasses checked, Priscilla Presley. While Leffler wasn't Gibbs' first choice for the FedEx Chevy -- See: Jamie McMurray -- the fact is, he can wheel it, just needs some time to get acclimated.

And for the record, he'll get that time. Speculation that Leffler is on the way out at Gibbs, in favor of Ward Burton, is totally baseless. I spoke with JGR officials again Monday, and they reconfirmed that Leffler isn't going anywhere; therefore, I anticipate he will remain in the seat at least for the remainder of this season.

That said, considering the amount of money FedEx is pouring into the program, mediocrity won't cut it for long.

djt62: I think it's time to get rid of Bobby Labonte. He's had three crew chiefs in three years. Fatback is doing just fine with the Woods and prior to JGR with Yates. I've heard that Bobby was the reason he got fired.

How do you fire your crew chief when you're sixth in points and then not make the race for the Chase? I'm a big Joe Gibbs fan, but he's famous for staying with people too long.

I know JD runs the show, but JD is there because of Joe, and don't think for one minute Joe doesn't still have some authority. It's not called Joe Gibbs Racing for the hell of it!

The talk has been about Ward Burton replacing Jason Leffler. I say leave Leffler alone and let him prove himself. Replace Bobby with Ward. I know, I know, Bobby won a championship. So did Richard Petty. Let's face it all good things must come to an end.

Tony Stewart Credit: Autostock

First, let me say this: Bobby Labonte will retire at Joe Gibbs Racing.

Second, that may be the worst response I've ever gotten. Hopefully, it's a feeble attempt at humor. This guy (he's not deserving of a Last Lap nickname) claims Labonte has held on too long. Obviously, he's one of these folks who studies the final rundown in the Monday morning newspaper, and nothing more.

To reiterate, Labonte may be 37th in the points, but he's not driving for a 37th place team. They're struggling terribly with the shorter spoiler, but so is Dale Earnhardt Jr. Are you going to fire him, too?

Here's another La-Z-Boy lead foot:

Ticonderoga: Gibbs should absolutely make changes. They need Joe Gibbs back, first and foremost. As soon as he left, I smelled trouble for the team. Second, whoever is responsible for Fatback McSwain's firing should himself be fired. I don't care if it was JD or Bobby Labonte -- what an asinine decision that was!

Third, I think Gibbs needs to look at how competitive a driver Bobby Labonte is. He's had some rotten luck this year , but let's face it: if he were up running near the front, he would avoid half the messes he's found himself in.

I disagree. Blown engines and Junior's decision to run over Vickers at Vegas aren't products of track position. The Mears deal at Atlanta? Maybe. A better qualifying run would have helped, sure. But it would have helped Jeff Gordon in that instance, too. Are you going to fire him for getting caught up in someone else's mess?

18racebabe: I've been a No. 18 fan since 1995, and seems Bobby hasn't been at his peak since Jimmy Makar moved out of the crew chief spot. I don't know squat about Steve Addington, but Bobby seems to like him and that's what matters.

It also seems the No. 18 team (and the No. 20 to some extent) has been behind the 8-ball a little as new technology and rules packages have been implemented. Bobby is still the most underrated driver in NASCAR, and is one of the best and smartest ever behind the wheel.

He has shown repeatedly that when it's up to him, he can race up front all day. He used to be a great qualifier, and somehow his team isn't getting good horsepower under him or something. Mark Cronquist engines used to be the class of the field -- almost never blew up.

Maybe they need to raid someone from a Roush or Hendrick shop that is a whiz-kid at engines or chassis or both. Gibbs has deep pockets -- make someone an offer they can't refuse. They need help in the shop -- the guys behind the wheel are not the problem. Although I would LOVE to see Ward B. in a Gibbs car!

One point in Shannon Wiseman's response I'd like to touch on is the reliability of JGR's engines. She's right: not a single Cronquist-built engine failed in 2004.

But one JGR official said it best when that very subject arose earlier this week: Gibbs engines didn't fail last year, but no one cared because the teams weren't very good.

This year Stewart and Labonte are more competitive, so part failures garner far more attention.

DrumGodGuy: Wow, I think people are missing a big point about Gibbs Racing -- "Faith." Gibbs racing is just facing rotten luck and an uphill battle right now. Would you throw away your marriage just because you ran into tough times? I think not!

These trials and tribulations will only galvanize the strength and faith that all employees at Joe Gibbs racing have. These are professional people here that need no motivation.

It's easy to see that they will rebound because of a philosophy that was put into place along time ago By Mr. Gibbs. I personally am impressed with Tony Stewart for taking a lead role in showing the righteous path of unity. It would not surprise me to see Tony Stewart win Phoenix.

Bobby Labonte is a great driver and person. He will get his team going, you watch. He will just do it in his calm and quiet fashion, without all the flashbulbs going off in his face. Have faith ye brothers and sisters.

The employees at Gibbs certainly have faith, Bob Holtz. Matter of fact, one JGR official I spoke with remains convinced that 2005 is Smoke's year.

NASCAR is the consummate performance-based business. The popular thing for struggling teams to do is shuffle the personnel deck in search of a quick fix. Happens all the time.

But it won't happen at Gibbs. Not right now, and certainly not involving Labonte or J.D. Gibbs. Let's wait and see where the No. 18 transporter is parked at Martinsville in October, first.

Last Lap appears on NASCAR.COM every Tuesday. The opinions listed here are solely those of the writer.