Justin Labonte

Justin Labonte (born February 5, 1981) is an American former NASCAR Busch Series driver. He is the son of two-time Winston Cup Series champion Terry Labonte, and the nephew of 2000 champion Bobby Labonte. He currently races on short tracks in North Carolina.^[1][2][3]

Racing career

Pre-NASCAR

Labonte was born in Trinity, North Carolina. He began racing at the age of fifteen at Ace Speedway and Concord Motorsport Park. He also ran the Legends Summer Shootout Series at Charlotte Motor Speedway, where he won back-to-back championships in 1996 and 1997. During those two years, he split 25 career victories at Ace and Concord. In 1998, he moved to the USAR Hooters Pro Cup Series, where he finished third in points and posted thirteen top-tens. He also won the Consistency award for finishing nearly 97% of all possible laps during the season. The next season, he had three top-tens in seven starts.

NASCAR

In 1999, Labonte began sharing the No. 44 Chevrolet Monte Carlo with his father in the Busch Series. Qualifying nine times, he had a best finish of fourteenth at Myrtle Beach Speedway. He ran more races in 2000, his best finish a 20th at Nashville Speedway USA. He also made three starts in the ARCA series, posting two top-five finishes. In 2001, he ran a limited ARCA schedule, making five starts, including a race at Nashville Superspeedway, where he led 70 laps.

Labonte began running late model stock series in 2002 at Caraway Speedway. In his first season at the track, he won one feature event and had ten top-tens in twelve starts. He followed that up by winning the track championship the next season. Labonte also returned to the Busch Series in 2002, attempting but failing to qualify for three races in the No. 04 Dodge for Cunningham Motorsports. He made his first start in three years in 2003, starting 23rd and finishing 29th at Michigan International Speedway in the No. 06 Dodge Intrepid for Cunningham Motorsports.

In 2004, Labonte announced he would make a limited run in the Busch Series that season in the No. 44 car owned by his father and sponsored by the United States Coast Guard. At the Twister 300, Labonte passed Mike Wallace on the last lap, after Wallace ran out of gas, to win his first career race. Out of seventeen starts that season, it was his only top-ten, but finished 35th in points. For 2005, Labonte's team merged with Haas CNC Racing, and he posted two top-tens and finished seventeenth in points. At the end of the season, he was released from his contract. He ran his only Busch race of 2006 at Memphis Motorsports Park in the No. 5 for Hendrick Motorsports, finishing 22nd. He also made his Craftsman Truck Series debut at Texas Motor Speedway, driving the No. 24 Bill Davis Racing Toyota Tundra to a 22nd finish place finish. He most recently raced in the Craftsman Truck Series in 2007 driving Michael Waltrip's No. 00 Toyota Tundra. He finished 27th at O'Reilly Raceway Park, followed by a twelfth-place finish at Martinsville.

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Busch Series

Craftsman Truck Series

ARCA Re/Max Series

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

References

1. ^ World of Outlaws Late Model Series, Results of World of Outlaws Late Model Series at 311 Motor Speedway Archived 2013-05-30 at the Wayback Machine, April 20, 2013
2. ^ Carolina Clash Super Late Model Series, Results, Fayetteville Motor Speedway Archived 2014-12-30 at the Wayback Machine, undated, 2012
3. ^ Bobby Labonte Racing, Bobby Labonte Racing Starts Off 2013 with a Win Archived 2013-07-08 at archive.today, February 18, 2013
4. ^ "Justin Labonte – 1999 NASCAR Busch Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
5. ^ "Justin Labonte – 2000 NASCAR Busch Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
6. ^ "Justin Labonte – 2002 NASCAR Busch Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
7. ^ "Justin Labonte – 2003 NASCAR Busch Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
8. ^ "Justin Labonte – 2004 NASCAR Busch Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
9. ^ "Justin Labonte – 2005 NASCAR Busch Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
10. ^ "Justin Labonte – 2006 NASCAR Busch Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
11. ^ "Justin Labonte – 2006 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
12. ^ "Justin Labonte – 2007 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
13. ^ "Justin Labonte – 2000 ARCA Re/Max Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
14. ^ "Justin Labonte – 2001 ARCA Re/Max Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
15. ^ "Justin Labonte – 2002 ARCA Re/Max Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 11, 2023.

External links

• Official website
• Justin Labonte at The Crittenden Automotive Library