BRICKYARD 400: Bobby Labonte Interview: Returning to old form
Posted By Terry CallahanMotorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
August 4, 2001
BOBBY LABONTE, NO. 18 INTERSTATE BATTERIES PONTIAC GRAND PRIX: (WITH YOUR WIN LAST WEEKEND, DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU'VE RETURNED TO YOUR "OLD FORM?")
"I don't know that we're there, yet. It's not like we've pulled off 10 wins in a row. But I do know that we have been getting better throughout the season and that gives us a lot of confidence coming back into this race. Maybe we've touched upon it and can see that we've got some light at the end of the tunnel.
"I guess you can look at it this way, too: there are only like two or three teams that look like they've got it together week in and week out, consistent-wise. And even them this year, they've had their share of problems. I'm talking about Ricky [Rudd] and Dale [Jarrett] and Jeff [Gordon]. I feel like if we get our confidence going it will be better, so hopefully after last weekend we've got a little more confidence and can get a little bit better run at making the right decisions week in and week out."
(DID THE FIRST PART OF THE SEASON SHAKE YOUR CONFIDENCE AT ALL?) "I don't know that it shook my confidence. You just feel like you're only as good as the last week that you ran. For instance, last year we won the championship. But when you're not running as good you're like, 'Well, we're not as good today and that is more important than what happened last year.' It doesn't necessarily shake your confidence. It just doesn't get it like everybody else's. You just don't feel quite as up on top of your game like everybody else is, so you want to try to get it better. And there is only one way to get it better and that is to start running better."
(IS THE KEY TO KEEP AN EASY-GOING PERSONALITY?) "It probably does help out some and you try to stay that way as much as you can. But there is more pressure here than maybe doing some other things - maybe not sports, but just a job for instance or whatever - so it is kind of tough sometimes to keep yourself lined up with doing the right thing.
"You do think about it all the time. Even though you're home doing something else, you still think about it a lot. You've got to really be careful not to let it interfere with anything else you do. You try to stay as 'even keel' as possible, but still again, it's not the easiest thing to do sometimes."
Text provided by Al Larsen
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