FROM THE PIT STAND: Bobby’s Take at Atlanta at Sixth Gear

Here is an email that Bobby Labonte sent to the TRG Motorsports partners this week. I thought you might enjoy reading it as much as I did. - Bruce

#71 TRG Motorsports Car

FROM THE PIT STAND: Bobby’s Take at Atlanta

Hi Everyone,

Well after what has to have been one of the more unpredictable weeks in my career, the folks at TRG have asked if I would write a little summary of my first weekend with the team. After achieving one of my best finishes of the season, how could I say no?

Starting off, this point last week was definitely one of the more memorable for me, but not in a good way. As by now you probably know, my arrangement with Hall of Fame Racing and Ask.com did not guarantee sponsorship for the full season, but like any opportunity in racing, we took what we could with the hope we’d be able to find enough funding for the rest of the season, but sadly it just wasn’t going to work headed in to Atlanta. I don’t need to tell you, at the end of the day this is a business, and everyone at the 96 team had an opportunity to bring in a driver with sponsorship and make sure that all of their bills were paid, you can’t fault anyone for that.

My Video Recap

When the news came in, I was for the first time in a very long time wondering if I’d be racing at Atlanta, and time was running out. As the media kept pointing out, I was up to tie Jeff Gordon for the number of consecutive race starts at 569 (seventh of all-time), so the thought of not running, especially at a track where I’d won six times before, was just something that didn’t sit right.

Luckily, however, I actually have a long history with some of the folks at TRG Motorsports. Normally we hear about Kevin, but in this case I’m actually talking about Slugger (Labbe, crew chief) and Mike (Brown, General Manager). While TRG Motorsports and Kevin are relative newcomers, they’ve made some smart decisions with who they’ve staffed in the team. Slugger and Mike are perfect examples, between the two of them they bring decades of experience, as well as multiple championships and Daytona 500 victories. In fact, Mike and I go all the way back my Nationwide days with Bill Davis Racing in the early ’90’s, and Slugger was actually working on my brother Terry’s car back when he won the championship in ’96.

Although I did receive several calls from different teams about possibly driving in Atlanta, TRG was one of the first, and when thinking about the rest of the season, a good fit to make sure I run at as many races as possible.

From the first practice I knew we were in for a good weekend. Slugger and the guys actually take a different approach than other teams in setting a car up in practice. By this I mean they’re actually less limited by simulated data and computer generated set-up information that in some ways limits you with some of the bigger teams. Slugger’s approach is very much old-school, he listens to his driver, we talk over the details of the car’s handling and tire wear, and based on that make educated decisions given our years of mutual experience. We still pay attention to the data and engineering suggestions or computer information but we just aren’t bound by it.

It’s weird to think, but that approach is becoming less common these days. In an era when shaker rigs, wind tunnels, and CFD technology are pioneering modern set-up, the ability for a driver and crew chief to make their own decisions outside of a “set-up window” designated by engineers is getting harder and harder. This is why I enjoyed the first set of practices with the guys, it’s been a while since I felt like I really got to get in and get involved with the set-up, which is something I really enjoy.

This of course all led to qualifying. Even though I have all of my Champion’s Provisional’s to use, since my entry with TRG was considered a “late entry,” we weren’t allowed to use one. This meant that, for the first time in my career (since the system has been in place at least), I was part of the go-or-go-home crowd.

Words can’t properly express the pressure as a go-or-go-home driver. In our case we had a lot at stake: it was my first run in the 71, it was the home race for our sponsor at taxslayer.com, and of course I wanted to keep my streak alive. We knew we had a car that could solidly make the field, but the level of competition is so tight that you still can’t afford to play it safe….and I didn’t.

Everyone was sideways all weekend

It seems like the COT and the bumps at Atlanta are just meant to lead to a loose-in, tight-at-the-center, loose-out kind of handling, and boy was that the case during my run. Going through turns one and two I knew the car was fast, and we were definitely on a good run, but headed in to four, the car just tightened up, and we had the weight so far shifted over that by time it came to straighten out the car on exit, she was already breaking free. REALLY breaking free. My heart just about jumped in my throat as I felt the car start to spin at the exit of four. Your instinct says to back off and straighten it out, but I knew if I did that it would ruin the run, so I just kept my foot in it, put in full counter-lock, and somehow the car straightened out across the line. We definitely lost time, but we made the show.

The feeling after was really just relief, and a little bit of pride. Relief simply because we were in it, so I didn’t have to answer to the media or sponsors about not making the show, and to be honest I was a bit proud to have saved it while keeping my foot in it.

The race itself was nothing short of exciting. These cars really take a beating over the bumps, and everyone was just fighting their car as they slid over the bumps I felt like I was turning right just as much as I was left, and I wasn’t alone. It’s not too often you see Jimmie Johnson spin!

Despite this, we had a top-10 car the whole night. Slugger and I kept at it all night, adjusting pressures, working on some ways to make the car a little more neutral all around, and it was working. I’ve always heard that pit stops were one of the team’s weaknesses, but I didn’t see it at all. We didn’t lose anything during our stops, and towards the end we were looking to finish a solid top ten.

Great stops all night kept us top-10

Unfortunately, our last stop didn’t work out as well. The stop itself was great, but we were still chasing the set-up, and unfortunately at the end there we just started to move backwards. I was doing everything I could to keep the car at pace, but we ended up getting hit on one of the restarts which knocked things around a bit, and during the last few laps I had no choice but to just start driving defensively and not lose more ground. The car simply wasn’t right and it was my job to at least deliver a top-20.

At the end of it all, we had nothing to be ashamed of with an 18th place finish, but we all know we have what it takes for better results. Slugger and I communicate extremely well, the car is sound, and our stops were right on pace.

Looking to our remaining races together, there’s a lot to look forward to, but a lot still to do. Taxslayer will be on board with us for three more races: Charlotte, Talladega, and Miami, but my other four races are still without a sponsor. That’s very critical, as TRG is not a team funded by a rich owner or with other cars that they can pool money with. If we’re not sponsored, we won’t race, it’s that simple. I don’t want that, the team doesn’t want that, and I know the fans don’t, so we definitely need to all pull together to explore any sponsor opportunities.

It’s a great little team over here and they really have a lot to offer. I see now why they’ve been so successful in sportscars, and hopefully this is the beginning of a great relationship together.

-Bobby