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No Longer Leaders Of The Pack

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By JILL ERWIN, Media General News Service

Published: November 7, 2007

Dale Jarrett had no idea what life was like in the back of the Nextel Cup garage.

The 1999 Winston Cup champion finished in the top 10 in points for seven consecutive years, from 1996 to 2002. His hauler was parked near the front of the garage, with the elite teams. Those middle-of-the-pack teams in the back? They weren't his concern.

Now, they're his brethren as he closes out his career as a full-time driver, fighting just to make the field each week.

"I've said it a few times. I have a lot more respect for the people who I didn't look back here a lot and see what they were going through on a weekly basis," Jarrett said recently at Atlanta Motor Speedway. "I wouldn't wish this on anyone because it is very difficult. It takes years off your life in a hurry."

Jarrett is 41st in points with fledgling Michael Waltrip Racing. His move to Toyota to help start and build a team was a big change for Jarrett, who had finished 15th, 15th and 23rd in the three previous seasons for Robert Yates Racing.

Bobby Labonte made a similar move, only his was made to rebuild instead of build. Labonte, the 2000 Cup champion, left Joe Gibbs Racing and moved into the No. 43 made famous by Richard Petty with Petty Enterprises.

He was 24th in his final year with JGR, and 21st in 2006 in his first season with Petty. This year, he's 19th in the points with three top-10 finishes.

"It is tough getting back into victory lane," Labonte said. "As a competitor, you always want to run better. You can easily say you're not happy with the results, but obviously knowing this going into it that we're building as we go, that's pretty tough. It beats a lot of things, but it's still frustrating when you don't get to finish like you want to."

It's that mind-set that has become a necessity for not only Labonte and Jarrett, but also former championship crew chief Robbie Loomis. Loomis won a title as Jeff Gordon's crew chief in 2001 but returned to Petty last season as the vice president of racing operations.

Now, victories aren't measured in checkered flags, but instead in moving toward a larger goal.

"I remember walking out of Darlington with Gordon, running second, and actually being upset with the deal that we ran that way," Loomis said. "It does take a different mindset, but that only takes a little while."

Those who have moved from championship-level teams to starting or rebuilding something new say the chance to leave something better behind them is an inspiration.

"You go about it the same way in looking at a championship," said Jarrett, who will run only fives points races and two special events next year. "When you're looking at that, that's what your focus is on. Here, it was building these race teams and getting them competitive as fast as we can.

Loomis gives credit to veterans like Labonte and Jarrett, who are willing to step out and put their reputations on the line to help form something new somewhere else.

For him, it's a matter of directing Petty Enterprises back to where it has been before.

"I think at the end of the day, you have to look at the bigger picture to be able to keep feeding on the positives to get to victory lane," he said.

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