NASCAR – Bobby Labonte Scrapes Further Down The Barrel

Oh dear.  The news that Bobby Labonte had been given the partial boot at the irrelevant Hall of Fame Racing wasn’t particularly a surprise seeing as how the team was struggling to find somebody to adorn their sidepods for many race days and that even with Labonte at the wheel, the team was still a shaky rung up from the start and parkers of the world.  Labonte’s replacement for seven races isn’t particularly offensive either.  Erik Darnell has certainly paid his dues on the lower rungs of NASCAR’s theoretical ladder system, although not being able to beat out David Ragan on a reality show isn’t exactly a glowing endorsement of driving talent.  But honestly, Darnell hasn’t embarrassed himself in Nationwide races for Roush this season.

Labonte on the other hand is really grasping for straws, agreeing to a seven race deal with start and park marvels, TRG, who have been fielding cars for David Gilliland throughout 2009.  Could TRG be interested in Labonte’s championship provisionals which guarantee them a spot in the field?  One thing’s for sure, it’s a sad fall for a man who was lifting the championship trophy less than a decade ago.

 

Recapping Everything Else: US Cellular 250 @ Iowa

Some quick notes:

-Hey, a fun finish at a pseudoshort track! Well, at least it works for NASCAR. Not so much the open wheel guys.

-Keselowski still, in my mind, lacks the “it” factor top drivers have. Maybe I’m wrong and he’s the next Kenseth? He’s smooth, shows solid car control, can hold onto tires and is good at the fuel mileage game. All of those are important in 500 mile runs.

-John Wes Townley: Belongs in ARCA. Sorry, dude. At least you have a rich dad, amirite?

-Erik Darnell: Belongs in Trucks. Sorry, dude. If you’re getting split at Iowa, you need to back out of it. You could have still gotten the momentum on Rusty’s kid.

-Rusty’s kid: Why is he racing still?

-Busch Series Regulars: Not too bad. With the Cup dudes off at the best open wheel oval track in America that doesn’t run open wheel, you guys had a good weekend. Leffler 3rd, Bires 5th, Keller 6th.

-Morgan Shepherd finished 19th, well ahead of Aric Almirola and Casey Atwood. Astounding.

-Robert Pressley never stooped to being a start and parker. His son? Different story.