Jeff Gordon seemed nearly untouchable from 1995 through 1999.
In five seasons Gordon won an unfathomable 47 races, and took three championships during that time. Right smack in the middle of Gordon's run of three championships in four seasons is a bit of an oddity, as in 1996 Gordon won 10 races, had 21 top-5's, and 24 top-10's, but failed to win the championship.
Now what bitter rival could've prevented Wonderboy from taking four championships in a row?
A teammate.
Terry Labonte won the 1996 championship from Gordon by a mere 37 points, behind two wins, 21 top-5's, and 24 top-10's.
But before we get into the 1996 season, we have to look back a Terry's career leading up to 1996.
"Texas" Terry made his debut all the way back in the 1978 Southern 500, and two years later in 1980 Labonte would score an out of nowhere win for owner Billy Hagan after Dale Earnhardt, Benny Parsons, and David Pearson crashed in turn one, with Labonte just edging Pearson for the win.
Labonte would be a consistent points scorer from 1981 through 1983, having three consecutive top-5 points finishes, but only scoring one win, coming at Rockingham in 1983.
Labonte's 1984 season wasn't totally out of nowhere. But it wasn't really expected either. Pairing up with Hagan, Labonte was able to out-gun the NASCAR giants of the 1980's and win the series championship behind two wins, 17 top-5's, and 24 top-10's.
Terry would score just two more win's before departing Hagan after 1986 to replace Darrell Waltrip in Junior Johnson's Budweiser #11 for the 1987 season.
This seemed like a move that was set to launch Labonte into the NASCAR stratosphere. And while Terry did win four races and have two top-5 points finishes in three years, Terry would depart after 1989, after what would ultimately be described as a disappointing tenure.
In 1990 Terry would drive Richard Jackson's #1 Skoal Oldsmobile car after mulling his options about being an owner-driver, before returning to Billy Hagan for another tenure, this time lasting from 1991 through 1993.
Labonte and Hagan's partnership would fail to yield the same results in the second partnership with Terry failing to win a race since his departure from Junior Johnson in 1989.
For 1994 Terry was given a chance to return to his former glory, as he took his Kellogg's sponsorship to Hendrick Motorsports, to replace Ricky Rudd in the #5 car.
Labonte's first two seasons at Hendrick would see Terry have his two most sucessful seasons i
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Bill Davis Racing will be restructuring in 2008. Jeremy Mayfield will return to the #22, except the #22 will be renumbered to the #36. Longtime sponsor Caterpillar will be replaced by 360 OTC, with the new sponsor requesting a number change. 360 OTC will also sponsor the BDR truck program as well. For the rest of 2007, BDR will field a third truck, the #36 360 OTC Tundra with Ryan Matthews and Tyler Walker splitting the ride. The truck will return in 2008, with no word on who will drive then. This new sponsor might be the boost Bill Davis Racing needs to become competitive again in the Cup series.
Penske Racing will field a third full time Cup car in 2008 after all, after rumors that the #10 team would shut down. Scott Riggs will depart the #10 Valvoline/Superchips Dodge, but the team itself will remain in the Cup series with a bit of a new identity. The team will renumber to the #22, and will feature Mike Bliss moving over from Joe Gibbs Racing's #11 car to drive 33 events. Sam Hornish Jr will drive #22 the Daytona 500 and the two road course events. Valvoline and Superchips will depart the #10 as well, with new sponsor Marathon Oil coming aboard in 2008. Bliss's deal is a one year contract, it's likely that Hornish will take over the ride full time in 2009. Hornish will also pilot the #10 for the final four races of 2008, replacing Riggs in those events.
As for Scott Riggs? He will be the newest driver of the iconic #43, replacing Casey Mears. Mears had a promising 2006 with the team but regressed hard in 2007, sitting 30th in points with 1 top 5 and 2 top 10's. Riggs, meanwhile, has had an up and down 2007. He's scored a solid 1 top 5 and 6 top 10's, but also has DNF'd 7 times and sits 25th in points, far behind teammates Jamie McMurray (5th in points) and Ryan Newman (11th in points). With Petty Enterprises recently announced merge with Chip Ganassi Racing, Riggs will be the first driver to pilot the 43 under the new Richard Petty Motorsports banner.
Reed Sorenson picks up a new sponsor for 2008, after the departure of Target. Charter Communications will adorn the 41 next season with Berlin Auto also sponsoring at New Hampshire.
Finally, Terry Labonte's surprise 2007 has earned him another full time ride. It seems Texas Terry isn't done with racing just yet, as he has signed a deal to pilot the #46 Morgan Dollar Motorsports Chevy full time in 2008. Labonte's PCP's and unexpected speed proved valuable in getting the Michael Waltrip Racing #00 Toyot
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After 10 races, a few driver shakeups are taking place. First, Chad Chaffin is departing the Morgan-McClure Motorsports #4 Chevy. Chaffin was reportedly not fired despite only qualifying for 3 of 10 races, instead departing on his own terms to focus on the Busch Series. Chaffin has been unexpectedly consistent this year, sitting 10th in points with 2 top 5's after 10 races. He's ahead of drivers like Marcos Ambrose and Tony Raines in points despite driving vastly inferior equipment, and it might be a smart move to spend more time trying to make a name for himself in the Busch series. His replacement will be Jeff Green, who moves over from the BAM #49 Dodge. Green has had an even more lackluster start to the series than Chaffin, he's only qualified for two events this year and has DNQ'd the last 6 in a row. Jeff Green's replacement in the #49 is Chase Montgomery, who last drove in the Cup series in 2006 for MB2 Motorsports. He qualified 13 of 19 events in the 02 car before being released just past halfway throught the season. Finally, the Front Row Motorsports #35 team has shut down, with Ward Burton just qualifying for one race in 10 attempts. FRM will focus on fielding the #34 with Blaney and Burton splitting reps.
Terry Labonte will be competing full time in the #00 MWR Toyota this season. Labonte has unexpectedly been the best Toyota driver this season, finishing 7th at Bristol and starting every race. While he's DNF'd the last three events in a row and fallen outside the top 30 in owners points, he does still have three past champion's provisionals left. If Labonte can snap this cold streak and rely on the PCP's to get into events, he could get back in the top 30. Labonte was originally supposed to split the 00 ride with David Reutimann. Instead, Reutimann will pilot a third MWR car, the #44 UPS Toyota, at the Coca-Cola 600 and 6 other events. "I haven't felt this competitive in a long time, I really want to build this team up as a thank you to Michael [Waltrip] for giving me one more ride in the Cup series", said Labonte.
Rumors are swirling that several teams are feeling the heat financially as teams prepare for the 2008 season. With the new car of tomorrow, expenses have hiked due to teams' inability to reuse past equipment. Many are in the garage are worried that several teams may shut down or merge due to the increased costs of competition.
After starting their debut season with 2 DNQs, Hall of Fame Racing has decided to put Tony Raines on the bench and bring in veteran Terry Labonte, who drove for them in the Bud Shootout, to run the next 3 events at Las Vegas, Atlanta, and Bristol. Labonte's past champion's provisional will guarantee the 96 team a spot in these races and hopefully help them get on their feet. Tony Raines is scheduled to be back at Martinsville, in time for the qualifying exemptions to switch from the 2005 top 30 in owner points to the current top 30, though it seems doubtful Labonte can get them into the top 30 from scratch in just 3 races.
