A fresh generation of talented, young racers emerged as the stars of the NASCAR Cup Series during the 2000s, setting the stage for newcomers such as Bobby Labonte, Tony Stewart, Matt Kenseth, Kurt Busch and Jimmie Johnson to headline America’s most popular motorsports series.
Driving the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Pontiac, Labonte logged four victories, including the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, en route to the 2000 Cup Series title. He earned 19 top-five finishes and 24 top-10 results to claim his only Cup Series crown, joining his brother, two-time champion Terry Labonte, among NASCAR’s elite drivers.
“We felt good all year,” Labonte said. “In 1999, I made one mistake at Sonoma that cost me the chance to be a contender, but we were so fast all year we knew something good would happen. Then in 2000, I cleaned up all of my mistakes. I took the point lead at Rockingham (N.C.) in the second or third race of the year. We were finishing laps and finishing races.
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