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Bobby Labonte has six wins at Atlanta, the most among active drivers.By the Numbers: Atlanta
Labonte returns to his best track ranked top 10 in points
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Bobby Labonte, 2000 Cup Series champion, doesn't know what it's like to drive in the Chase. In fact, since the Chase inception in 2004, Labonte doesn't really know what it's like to be top 10 in points. Aug. 28, 2004, after the Bristol race was the last time Labonte was in the top 10.
But after three races, 10th is where Labonte is heading into Sunday's running of the Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway (1 p.m. ET, FOX).
Things have been tough for Labonte since winning the championship. He has just five wins and 76 top-10s in 291 races and he has seen his average finish go from the teens to the low 20s. Instead of running up front, he's a mid-packer and not really a threat to win.
All that looks be in the past. With his new team, Hall of Fame Racing, Labonte is 10th thanks to solid runs of 22nd and 20th at Daytona and Fontana, respectively, and then a stellar fifth-place performance at Las Vegas.
With six wins at Atlanta, Labonte ranks third all time behind Dale Earnhardt (9) and Cale Yarborough (7) so don't be surprised to see Labonte and his No. 96 Ford up front this weekend.
Inside the Data
Bobby Labonte in the spring race at Atlanta in the Chase era
2004Labonte came into Atlanta 11th in points and was able to jump one spot to 10th after an 18th-place finish. His run wasn't that impressive though, he was two laps off the pace.
2005It was a short day for Labonte because on Lap 266 he was involved in a 10-car crash relegating him to a 37th-place finish and just his third DNF in 25 races at Atlanta. This didn't help his point position at all as he was 37th coming in to AMS and he left 37th.
2006An even shorter race than '05. This time his engine quit 56 laps in giving Labonte his second consecutive spring DNF and his second 43rd-place finish at the track. The last-place finish dropped Labonte from 36th to 38th in the point standings.
2007Labonte came into Atlanta 21st in points and put the nightmares of the previous two seasons behind him. He qualified sixth, led a lap and finished on the lead lap in 16th. He jumped four spots in the standings, up to 17th.
2008The Labonte that used to dominate Atlanta seemed to be coming back. A top-five qualifying position brought back visions of old and he rode that to a 12th-place finish. Labonte was 15th coming in to Atlanta and inched up to 14th heading to Bristol.
Necessitous Numbers
2Since the advent of electronic scoring in May 1993, Atlanta has seen two of NASCAR's six closest finishes in history.
5.2Average starting position of Atlanta winners in the Chase era. In 10 races, only once has the winner started outside the top 10 (Tony Stewart started 11th in 2006) and 50 percent of the races have been won from the first or second row.
7Number of poles for Ryan Newman at Atlanta, tying him with Buddy Baker for the most all-time at the track.
42The have been 42 different winners in the 50-year Atlanta Motor Speedway Cup racing history.
91Number of 500-mile races staged at Atlanta Motor Speedway, the most of any NASCAR-sanctioned track.
100Sunday's race is the 100th Cup race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Of those 100 races, Richard Petty has more starts than anyone at the track with 66.
289Number of laps Greg Biffle has led at Atlanta without a victory, tops among active drivers. In 12 races, Biffle has three top-fives and seven top-10s and just three finishes of 20th or worse.
684Number of points Jimmie Johnson has earned in the last four races at Atlanta, tops among all drivers. In those races Johnson has two wins, a second and a 13th.
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Atlanta Motor Speedway
Drivers with multiple wins at track
| Driver | Starts | Wins | Top-fives | Top-10s |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dale Earnhardt | 46 | 9 | 26 | 30 |
| Cale Yarborough | 47 | 7 | 23 | 29 |
| Bobby Labonte | 32 | 6 | 12 | 13 |
| Richard Petty | 65 | 6 | 22 | 33 |
| Bill Elliott | 59 | 5 | 13 | 19 |
| Bobby Allison | 48 | 5 | 17 | 27 |
| Fred Lorenzen | 19 | 4 | 8 | 10 |
| David Pearson | 39 | 4 | 17 | 18 |
| Jeff Gordon | 33 | 4 | 13 | 21 |
| Carl Edwards | 9 | 3 | 5 | 7 |
| Jimmie Johnson | 15 | 3 | 9 | 10 |
| Morgan Shepherd | 33 | 3 | 8 | 18 |
| Neil Bonnett | 28 | 3 | 6 | 12 |
| Darrell Waltrip | 56 | 3 | 18 | 28 |
| Marvin Panch | 13 | 2 | 4 | 7 |
| Rusty Wallace | 47 | 2 | 8 | 16 |
| Mark Martin | 46 | 2 | 13 | 22 |
| Buddy Baker | 53 | 2 | 17 | 27 |
| Tony Stewart | 20 | 2 | 8 | 12 |
| LeeRoy Yarbrough | 19 | 2 | 7 | 9 |
• Bold: Active Drivers
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