Bad Seasons: Bobby Labonte 2005

[@PyroBun_2844]

Labonte finishing second in a FedEx car before Denny made it cool.

[@berryboiblast]

Damn, good joke 😂

[@hamlinfanatic11]

Pain but yes

[@Razz415]

Underrated comment. Well done my dude

[@forrestrobbins8074]

Literally nothing about Denny is cool

[@berryboiblast]

@@forrestrobbins8074 Woah come down there buddy, Denny Hamlin’s pretty cool

[@DennyDeliversYT]

JGR: _Bobby Labonte had a bad season?… ok we need a new driver..._ JJ Yeley: *_allow me to introduce myself_*

[@stephenholloway6893]

Cue the Boris Badebov laugh.

[@chloe-stephlis6281]

JGR didn’t fire him. He quit

[@dnasty312]

"I don't know whether to laugh or vomit."

[@jjjustin17favs]

That's how jgr runs. Kenseth, Eric Jones

[@jefferyrobertson7520]

Bad season for Bobby Labonte Final Chapter 1993 number 22 Maxwell House Coffee Ford Thunderbird the non Junior Johnson car

[@papadragon695]

It was so weird to see Bobby go from being a Championship level contender in the late 90’s and early 2000’s to being a mid pack driver in the mid 2000’s.

[@NickyD]

its wired since i feel like the same will happen with KB

[@victordelgado7408]

it wasnt weird, old school drivers were having bad seasons from 2004 onwards to their retirement, just look at DJ, Rusty Wallace, Ricky Rudd, terry labonte etc they were being outpaced by the "young guns" which ultimately lead to old school fans leaving, which made attendance go downhill, 2005 was the peak of nascar imo

[@papadragon695]

@@victordelgado7408 But Bobby wasn’t really an “old school” driver. He got started in Cup in 1993 at the age of 29, which by today’s standards is considered very late. And he was only 41 years old in 2005. All those other guys you mentioned were 8 years older than Bobby. If his career had gone like theirs he should’ve been somewhat competitive until maybe 2009.

[@calvinstraveldreams]

He had a horrible crash at Chicago in 2003, and while not really injured just wasn't the same afterwards, likely due to the wreck negatively impacting his confidence (ironically kinda like Jimmie Johnson after the Pocono 2017 crash)...

[@outlawtaylor3]

Bobby was at my dirt track’s end of season banquet in 2015. He even gave out the championship trophies for 3 different tracks that were owned by the same person. I got one trophy and then had to get back in line to get my other class championship trophy. Bobby looked shocked by me winning 2 championships in the same year at the same track but in 2 different classes at the age of 16. I even brought a #18 interstate battery 1:16 car for him to sign.

[@TheEmilyFravel]

Cool stuff bro

[@pionelpessi707]

Still better than the man who replaced him the following year. *cough* JJ Yeley *cough*

[@Goodstegosaurus]

JGR? Completed it mate

[@chada75]

Far better!

[@jets_mets]

Most of the time that year he was caught up in a crash that he had nothing to do with. More unlucky than bad.

[@snappy452]

Labonte was a victim of a team finding a new driver one and getting all the left overs after Gibbs spread their operation too thin by going with a third car. Not that Gibbs was wrong to shift priority to Stewart as he was a generational talent, but Labonte could have had a much better second half of his Cup career if he were still the primary driver on a top team like Gibbs.

[@danielwest9955]

The 2005 season was my introduction to NASCAR. You can imagine my amusement many years later to discover how good Bobby Labonte actually was just mere seasons removed from '05.

[@treyman900100]

This makes me happy and sad. I’m happy that people actually remember times when Bobby was good but the fall off was so hard being a fan of his. He let me in his hauler when I was 5 before a race at auto club. I always will be a Bobby labonte fan

[@calebharper1590]

What's so saddening about 2005 is Bobby Labonte was still in contention at times but just so much bad luck for him.

[@brockstar1461]

This is why I think it was too early for him to get the boot in favor of yeley. There was so much bad luck that was out of his control. motor issues and getting caught up in wrecks that weren't his fault. I think Bobby had a good year or two left in him of being competitive.

[@jesseemullen]

IIRC, he asked to be released from his contract. (I was a big fan and that was the official word at the time)

[@shanereitz7600]

Could have been media spin, but i also remember hearing Labonte had requested to be let go. He went to Petty to try to make them relevant again.

[@NickyD]

right

[@matiasguisado4496]

yeah, he made decent and good starts with the 43 in 2006

[@wrongcheese]

It's an example of how deep the field was in 2005 that two JGR cars, one evernham car, one DEI car and the Wood Brothers 21 were on the fringes of the top 35

[@Racinrasslinfan36]

After only 3 races

[@forrestrobbins8074]

The sport as a whole was ten times more healthy back then..... something Brian Z France couldn't take apparently

[@bully3628]

I was heartbroken when Jimmie Johnson beat Labonte by just a few feet in the Coke 600. Would’ve been a great last hurrah for Labonte, but just wasn’t to be.

[@MrBurney12]

Yeah I still wonder how he got that run. I was screaming for Bobby to run his butt in the wall or something. He was respected for being a clean racer though so that wasn't in him.

[@devinbrown1775]

@@MrBurney12 learn that from Carl Edwards at Atlanta

[@dnasty312]

Would have tied with his brother in career wins

[@bartholomew_41]

Pain, Pain and More Pain

[@pirate772009]

Drivers of the 18 car for Gibbs: Dale Jarrett, Bobby Labonte, J.J. Yeley, Kyle Busch One of these things doesn’t belong here…

[@DupontandLowesWarrior]

Michael McDowell and David Ragan also drove The #18

[@harrisgage]

Ty Gibbs soon

[@TheFredster32]

JJ Yeley for sure!

[@Fabiamxx1998]

Mart Crafton too

[@DupontandLowesWarrior]

Bobby Deciding NOT To Wreck Jimmie is The Most Unselfish Thing Any NASCAR Driver Has ever done

[@nrgmobile48]

You hate to see that almost all of these incidents weren't his fault... they were all unfortunate issues. Hate to see his career (being competitive) had to end like this

[@WestcoastWallyDriver]

Not his fault but he was running midpack in most of those wrecks. If he was upfront he wouldn't have been in those wrecks.

[@M1lesJames]

I was at that 2005 Coca Cola 600. That race was bat shit crazy. Dale Jr actually got booed after wrecking Michael Waltrip on the front stretch, and there was a ton of caution flags because of the tire failures. An absolute great finish, though I wanted Bobby to win.

[@mlsj98]

Glad you returned the bad seasons for a good driver

[@johndaniels4623]

Thanks for using that footage from the 05 season review DVD, I absolutely love it

[@FenixDown87]

For some reason I always remembered Bobby driving the 43 car when he finished 2nd in the coke 600.

[@DavidJameson89]

Bobby did get a Top 5 at Charlotte in the #43, in the 2006 Fall race. That may be why.

[@calebharper1590]

As a Bobby Labonte fan, 2005 was such a hard season to watch.

[@malack7886]

Thank you so much again for your autograph at the brickyard you made my day

[@jsavil02]

Pain. This season was heartbreaking to watch. Downhill after Fatback was let go.

[@ItsSloppy_Joe]

Definitley a driver that deserved more. Wish he had better years after 2000.

[@SiVlog1989]

It's a shame that some drivers have their careers fall off a cliff after they were generally very good. He was generally very good even after his championship win in 2000, but 2005 was when he hit the cliff

[@AutoRockinRacing94]

Guess finding that LeBron clip from my tapes helped lol

[@sportsdudethree-three-fo334]

Dang, trouble just found this dude at every turn. My wildest memory of him though is still his fiery wreck at Chicagoland back in 03.

[@Jtplaysgames21]

Funny how Stewart was the only joe Gibbs driver in 2005 to have a good season

[@DupontandLowesWarrior]

Champion

[@DavidJameson89]

@@DupontandLowesWarrior Tony made it count for JGR in 2005.

[@R8wdy]

The 18 car was a complete wreck till 2008 till KFB revived it

[@evanwilliams6406]

Yes, that was a great hire. Even though I sometimes think Dale Jr. could have revived the 18 too if they didn't switch to Toyota. But I don't think he would have done as good as Kyle did in that car.

[@Alex_Mac_]

2005 was just the most unlucky season I think I've seen a driver have. Wasn't like anything was him either. Also, the car with the 18 on the hood has always been SUPER cursed.

[@DavidRagan3134]

Also, besides his 2nd at Lowe's to Johnson, he was junk on the mile-and-a-halves that year. He and Steve Addington did not seem to click well. I always thought it was a mistake when they sacked Jimmy Makar.

[@TheEmilyFravel]

At least it was batter than Dale's 07' season.

[@MegaMr46]

05 Dale Jr didn’t had a good season neither

[@TheEmilyFravel]

@@MegaMr46 at least he won tho to be fair

[@williamfernetducharme]

Yeah. Dale Jr had a better 2005 season than 2007.

[@pajamajordan2991]

His worst season ever stats are still better than a lot of drivers ever achieve.

[@NASCARFAN93100]

2005 - The Year of Bad Seasons

[@cctitansfan]

The beginning of Bobby's decent into mid pack mediocrity.

[@Dummyahhselfmustdie]

Yep the next year in 2006 he joined Petty Enterprises, and while he had mediocrity he managed to be a top 20 contender instead of a field filler.

[@Randomepic1979]

Nah Id argue his 2002 season was his begining to decline

[@DavidJameson89]

Yep, 2005 was the final season that Bobby drove equipment capable of winning. But I suspect that he was already looking to a career beyond the racecar, since he went to Petty and kept taking lower tier teams after that.

[@nascarisawesome5018]

I really think when Joe Gibbs fired Fatback McSwain (Bobby Labonte's 2004 crew chief) was what killed anything good left in that team.

[@larrysnellings7992]

Exactly. He was 4th in points almost halfway through the season in 2004, and 6th when they fired Fatback. He pretty much never had a competitive car again. If one thinks he lost something as a driver, they should see his performance in the SRX series. He finished 3rd in points and was competitive throughout. It's kind of similar to how the 20 car has basically become the 4th Gibbs car after Stewart left (though Kenseth did well in it for a time). It's definitely not always the driver when a car doesn't perform.

[@DavidJameson89]

I agree, his season wasn't TOO different from how he did in 2003 until Fatback was fired (his good results were more spread out and he probably had a couple less Top 5's).

[@bkbaughn]

DW summed that season up perfectly... "You could close your eyes and know Bobby Labonte was gonna be involved in the wreck." I was a huge Labonte fan and I just remember as soon as Stewart got to JGR Labonte started struggling mightily. Add to it the fact he was in every accident known to man (never his fault) and engines always blowing up what was he supposed to do? As a fan, like DW said, anytime the announcers started to talk about an accident that is in progress I already knew Bobby was going to be involved through no fault of his own... Just no luck whatsoever.

[@AllRacing14]

Stewart got to JGR in 99, Bobby won the chip in 2000

[@isaiahmarker407]

​@@AllRacing14 and Bobby didn't start falling off until the last half of 2004

[@g_men2121]

I remember a few of these races. I was only 4 but I remember seeing that green 18 wreck i think at talladega, martinsville or something. I wasnt into nascar til i saw jimmie johnson get his 3rd championship

[@SLMR89]

Bobby will always be my favorite nascar driver.

[@nathananderson3922]

Labonte also had engine problems at Watkins Glen, finishing 36th, completing 86 laps of 92. He ran mid pack most of the race though.

[@tylerrehkopf]

Me and my brother would cheer for the Labonte bros growing up.

[@theultimatekfbfan2721]

We needed this for a long time

[@stay.frosty.11]

Finally i asked for this bad seasons vid and you did it

[@johnboy4025]

Bobby’s 2005 makes Jeff Gordon’s look good

[@DrAkuIa1]

I mean Gordon did have 4 wins.

[@DavidJameson89]

Jeff Gordon made it an art form his whole career of taking unfavorable circumstances and still managing to have some form of success.

[@iagofreitas910]

Gone too Soon: Rodney Orr Bad Seasons: Kyle Busch (2014) Nascar Busts: Danny O'Quinn Jr Not a Bust: Rob Moroso

[@Pwrsongs]

Moroso is a bust 'cause his own stupidity.

[@iagofreitas910]

@@Pwrsongs yeah he had a bad own of his personal life but as a driver he was very talented cause he was a Xfinity Series Champion as a owner-driver in a time that the independents drivers were losing space

[@Pwrsongs]

@@iagofreitas910 But here comes Alan Kulwicki aaaaaaand... We all know the history.

[@iagofreitas910]

@@Pwrsongs Kulwicki was the last one (Smoke doesn't count cause he works with Gene Haas).

[@Pwrsongs]

And Moroso worked with his father's money.

[@otoot8198]

Great vid!

[@TankSlappr]

Pain

[@davidpeters2625]

Nascar Busts: Cole Whitt Gone Too Soon: Justin Wilson Nascar Busts: Stephen Leicht Good Seasons: Carl Edwards 2008 (Nationwide) Revisiting Chris Buescher

[@HuffsHoops]

I remember throwing a tantrum as a kid when I heard he was going to the 43. Loved that green machine.

[@DavidRagan3134]

I've always wondered why he dropped off so quickly after 2000. I feel like he should have been a top guy for another decade. I don't think a season can get much worse than how his 2005 season started. :(

[@Thedearster]

Stewart. If it were any other driver that became his teammate, Bobby would’ve been fine at Gibbs. He showed he still could wheel at Petty at times

[@larrysnellings7992]

It was primarily sponsorship. Interstate Batteries has a several year contract where they paid the same amount which led to the 18 being financially behind late 2004-2007. Other teams, such as Stewart’s 20 car, had Home Depot paying more each year. The 18 was underfunded in 2005. In 2008 M&Ms came on board and the 18 got speed again.

[@lilanthony21O_]

I would want to see you do Bad Seasons Dale Jarrett 2003, Ricky Rudd 2003, 2004, 2005, 1998, 1999.

[@furioussherman7265]

Funnily enough, what I'll always remember regarding Bobby Labonte in the 2005 season is his narrow loss to Jimmie Johnson in that year's Coke 600. I dare say it was his best run in an otherwise awful season.

[@Pwrsongs]

I didn't knew '05 was THAT bad for Bobby Labonte. The first NASCAR race I ever saw on TV was at Michigan in '95 and Bobby won. Since that I've became an 18 fan.

[@devinbrown1775]

Not only that he sweep at Michigan.

[@mattcoleman7886]

I remember the hype in 2006 that Bobby Labonte was going to resurrect the 43 with Todd Parrott.

[@devinbrown1775]

Lot a big names have a bad season in 2005. 1. Jeff Gordon 2. Dale Earnhardt Jr 3. Elliott Sadler 4. Kevin Harvick 5. Bobby Labonte 6. Dale Jarrett 7. Kasey Kahne 8. Michael Wartrip 9. Ricky Rudd 10. Joe Nemechek

[@DupontandLowesWarrior]

11. Sterling Marlin 12. Dave Blaney 13. Kyle Busch 14. Jeff Burton

[@devinbrown1775]

@@DupontandLowesWarrior them as well!

[@KR_Diecasts]

Been waiting for this one!

[@mesousagaby740]

Me seeing Bobby Labonte stuck in the grass on Daytona (as in, I was actually there) sure was quite a sign on this season.

[@Nfulks96]

Still curious 17 years later about the change in the decal on the hood of his Interstate Batteries scheme.

[@e93sports80]

Championship Seasons: Jimmie Johnson 2007 Gone Too Soon: Ayrton Senna Gone Too Soon: John Nemechek Bad Seasons: Andy Houston 2001

[@calebharper1590]

Finally!! Been waiting for this.

[@loganc.6420]

12:18-12:22 And he traded his Batteries in for Cheerios 😂

[@DavidJameson89]

His performance was one of the most respected from 2006-2008, even though he didn't get a win. He probably had the highest number of fans rooting for him to win in that time frame (well, Junior Nation more than likely had him beat, but other than that...), due to him being a nice guy and driving the Petty #43.

[@TheCyborgXD]

In all those crash highlights, it was either mechanical, or he was just an innocent bystander. Shame such an unlucky season ended his competitive career

[@williambaker787]

Its crazy that bobby labonte last career win was homestead in 2003

[@devinbrown1775]

I feel bad for Bill Elliott

[@devinbrown1775]

Which is also his last win for Winston Cup.

[@williambaker787]

For Bill Elliott the week before at Rockingham

[@devinbrown1775]

@@williambaker787 exactly!

[@anncase8673]

Between Labonte and the 11 team JGR really wasn't in a good place in the mid 2000's. Though once Hamlin arrived in 2006, and then Busch in '08 it really did get better than it ever had

[@paullilko41]

Someone told me that Labonte asked to be let go from Gibbs after 05 because he didn’t feel he was worthy of that ride, and that Gibbs wasn’t quite ready to move up Yeley to Nextel Cup which hurt his development and career

[@DavidJameson89]

It would explain why Bobby only seemed to go for lower tier rides after leaving JGR.

[@andrewbeaudoin7363]

I do still think my old favorite would have 2-3 Final Wins with his Team.

[@anthonydeloreto3881]

Would love to see you do a Bad Seasons: Robby Gordon (2005), Kasey Kahne (2007), or Bad Seasons: Terry Labonte (2001 or 2004)

[@r_moore20]

Do Jeff Gordon 2000. Bad for his standards

[@kurtperleberg8669]

Bad Seasons:Jason Leffler 2005 His season in the #11 FedEx Chevy was so bad that he was out of the ride before the season was over and was replaced by.....Denny Hamlin

[@isaiahmarker407]

And J.J. Yeley. Terry Labonte also made a couple starts in the 11 after Leffler's release

[@Jeff.3]

3:22 kasey kahne??

[@materthetater]

Labonte got a higher position in the points driving for JTG in 2012 then he did this year

[@jaxonjaxoff3291]

Gone too soon Justin Wilson why have you not done this yet?!???!?

[@corvetteracing48]

0:54 Bobby Labonte beats MICKEY MOUSE on nr2003 (i had too lol)

[@NASCARFAN93100]

Bad Seasons: Austin Dillon 2019 Bad Seasons: Kyle Busch 2012 Bad Seasons: Greg Biffle 2006-2007 Bad Seasons: Dale Jarrett 2003 Bad Seasons: Harry Gant 1987-1988

[@RosaFan161]

Why is Kasey Kahne driving the 41 in that wreck at 2:42? I though he drove the 9 back then.

[@jemseyambroise3438]

It was Casey Mears that drove the 41

[@RosaFan161]

@@jemseyambroise3438 I must have heard it wrong. Okay.

[@jemseyambroise3438]

You didn't heard it wrong, DW just got mixed up between Casey Mears and Kasey Kahne on their cars numbers. I blame that on DW

[@RosaFan161]

@@jemseyambroise3438 Ok.

[@johnvandeventer8668]

How do you go from a championship in 2000 to to 10 DNF's in 2005?

[@theultimatekfbfan2721]

I got nothing have no idea

[@joelrichardson8674]

Shit luck

[@devinbrown1775]

Engines, crashes, etc.

[@DavidJameson89]

A lot can happen even from one season to the next. Brad Keselowski won 5 races and the championship in 2012, then only won once and missed the chase in 2013. Obviously in seasons beyond then, he got back on track. But for other drivers, it's gone the other way and it was unfortunately true for Bobby.

[@stanbrouillard2292]

Johnson beating Labonte at the Coke 600 started my hatred for JJ that’s lasted to this very day.

[@JJA1987]

Gibbs Pushed Him Out Door when this went on

[@DavidJameson89]

I suppose you could say because of his lackluster seasons in 2002 and 2004 prior to 2005. But he did put up great results in the first half of 2003, and in 2004 as well before the team fired Fatback as crew chief and his performance crashed.

[@zachramey]

Whatever happened to Austin Terreio? Just a thought

[@ToopyAndBinooRulesEst2004]

Bobby Labonte: Bad Season. JJ Yeley: Bad Driver Choice. Kyle Busch: I’m About To Ruin This Man’s Whole Career.

[@frenchfry5881]

If you wanna see every crash in 2005 watch dale jrs bad 2005 season and Jeff Gordon’s bad 2005 season+ Bobby lobontes 2005 season = all the crashes in one season

[@LuxLuke]

If I see you at Daytona, may I please say hi?

[@BlueJimmie48Fan]

7:19 yeah sorry about that 😅

[@BadOpticon]

I don’t know where else to ask this but this is the most specific reference to my question so maybe someone here knows: Does anyone know why halfway through the season they started running the 18 on the hood with the checkered flag background? There has to be some deliberate reasoning behind that

[@mikevaz9944]

I always wanted to know the reason behind that. I feared that Interstate Batteries didn't want to be on the hood anymore but I doubt that was the case as they're still a JGR sponsor today.

[@brandensimmons653]

It just weird that in 2000 he was the champion 🏆5 years later just shockingly bad

[@SailorBayleyMoon]

Is it possible that you can do good seasons for Richard Petty's 1967 on 1979 seasons? Or a Good seasons for Tony Stewart in 2011?

[@williamfernetducharme]

Championship seasons

[@Goldnfoxx]

_"The reason Bobby Labonte is in the Hall of Fame is because of his tenure with Joe Gibbs Racing."_ Oh, God. Please tell me that current fans weren't scratching their heads trying to figure out how one of NASCAR's greatest drivers (and my personal favorite) during NASCAR's most prolific period is in the HoF. I might lose all faith in humanity if that had to be explained to people.

[@ToopyAndBinooRulesEst2004]

This should’ve been a Bad Seasons video about Bobby Labonte AND J.J. Yeley.

[@isaiahmarker407]

Bad Seasons: JGR #18 (2005-2007)

[@JamesCuevasJr]

Bad Seasons: Paul Tracy 2006 (it was bad not only in NASCAR, but Champ Car and he DNF'ed at the Rolex 24 that year)

[@coldhardart]

It's ironic how bobby only good race was defeated by the 48 car then in 2020 jimimie would also only have his best race at the 600 but be defeated by losing 2nd to be DQed

[@DavidJameson89]

Weird how in the 2005 race I hated that Jimmie won, then in 2020 I felt bad for him when NASCAR relegated him to last.

[@bigrooster6893]

That’s tough because he wasn’t the cause of any of those wrecks. It seemed like he was getting picked on in 2005.

[@jc1424]

This guy went from being a winner and championship contender to essentially nothing so quick. Never made any sense to me. As a kid I knew he was something at one point because of all the diecasts and toys I had of his.

[@우구-k2b]

Similar to Stacy Compton Crashes in 2001 and Very Similar to Sterling Marlin In 2002

[@ZaneBlaney]

Man idk why which driver replace Labonte *coughs* jj yeley

[@vg452]

0:56 Bobby LeBronte

[@LarsDVDTimeYT]

Also JGR switching from Pontiac to Chevy 2 years prior didnt help, because the year after they switched manufacturers, Tony Stewart missed the chase, and Labonte went winless

[@jinglebell61]

Future uploads: Bad Seasons: Brandon Whitt 2005, Good Seasons: Dennis Setzer 2005 and Championship Seasons: Ted Musgrave 2005.

[@LaGiaCruZ7]

Bad Seasons: KH 2021 :(

[@devinbrown1775]

One word for Bobby Labonte season in 2005. Ugh!

[@evanabernathy9677]

11:15 Season