(Photo by Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Every sport is susceptible to see its greatest stars come and go for various reasons. Some athletes call their career due to age, the perfect ending (such as scoring the game-winning touchdown or winning a World Series), as well as the inability to perform competitively in the ever-changing climate of their game.
In the case of Bobby Labonte, the once-formidable race and title contender has seen his stock deteriorate in the world of NASCAR Sprint Cup racing.
While he is certainly no slouch or field filler, the fact is that Labonte's days of consistently dueling with the likes of Tony Stewart, the Busch brothers, Jeff Gordon, and Jimmie Johnson are long over.
Some have noticed the 2000 Cup champ's lackluster performances as far back as mid-2004, when his No. 18 Interstate Batteries team relegated themselves from title contenders to a collective simply lost at the track.
Once the potent force at any given track, problems not only befell the Joe Gibbs Racing group, but it was also apparent with the driver.
Labonte has shown some flashes of brilliance although he is currently mired in a six-year winless streak, when he (as well as a flat tire by the race leader) virtually stole the season finale away from Bill Elliott at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
He nearly won the 2005 Coca-Cola 600, only to be defeated at the stripe by Jimmie Johnson by a matter of inches in a memorable photo finish.
If you thought Labonte, the younger brother of two-time titlist Terry, took the defeat with grace and dignity, chew on this:
As memorable as his helmet-tossing highlight at Bristol in 1996, Bobby kicked the door panel of his FedEx/Interstate Batteries Chevy on pit road, disgusted and angered that his car did not have the power to stave off NASCAR's "golden boy."
The competitive fire was still there for the Texan, whose aggressive yet calculating driving style urged him to success from 1995-2003. In between that time, he won 21 races, placed in the top-10 in points in all but two seasons (1996 and '02), as well as capturing (so far) his only Cup title of his illustrious career.
Sure, his wins total is not exactly in the neighborhood of a Gordon, Johnson, or Stewart, but considering the ladder of success that Labonte had to endure to eventually earn his ride, his numbers appear more impressive.
Unfortunately, Labonte's stock and his career have been irrelevant at best, taking on the role of the respectable, dependable driver who urges his C+ equipment home to a top-20 finish.
Race weekends for the 45-year-old simply mean just making the race, driving a safe, clean race, and packing up his equipment while the young guns and multi-car conglomerates bask in the glory of victory or prestige.
After Labonte decided to bolt out of the No. 43 team by the conclusion of the 2008 season, fans speculated that he would land a ride with the Richard Childress Racing stable.
However, sponsorship did not materialize with the prominent multi-car organization, relegating him to find the last bits of any respectable ride in the Cup circuit.
Weeks before Speedweeks 2009 at Daytona, the 2000 champ signed-on with the No. 96 Ask.com/Texas Instruments Hall of Fame Racing team aligned with Yates Racing.
On paper, it looked like it would Labonte's best shot at his return as a driver known more than just a respectable ran-in.
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