Weekend That Was: Bristol

There are lots of excitable drivers in Nextel Cup racing, and then there are some even-keel guys who seem to rarely let themselves get worked up.

Bobby Labonte always has appeared to be president of the latter club. The former Cup champion just doesn't seem to permit his emotions to run amok.

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Outward appearances suggested as much again Saturday night, shortly after Labonte had guided the No. 43 Dodge of Petty Enterprises to an eighth-place finish in the Sharpie 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Although Labonte had just double-downed on his number of top-10 finishes for the season, he was pretty calm about it.

He doled the lion's share of the credit for it to new crew chief Doug Randolph, and with good reason. After having only one top-10 in the season's first 22 races, Labonte has a pair in the past two -- coinciding with when Randolph replaced Paul Andrews as crew chief for the 43.

"I'm going to give Doug a whole lot of credit. He is just really good on the radio, and made some good calls," Labonte said. "We fought some of the things we've fought all year, but we worked on them a little bit differently. It really was a good night.

"At first our car was really good. We got a little tight toward the end and couldn't go forward with it, but kept hanging in there. All in all it was a great night."

Asked to describe the style on the radio that Labonte obviously enjoys, Rudolph's answer was a little surprising.

"I just try to keep real calm, whether it's been an exciting few minutes on the track and he's been bounced around by other people, or whether he's mowing through the field, doing great," Randolph said. "I try to keep the same demeanor. I try to keep him from getting too excited and too out of the box, and keep him focused on what we're really trying to do at the end of the day. I think that's what we've done the last couple of weeks.

"There are a gazillion decisions that are made during the weekend, and we've really worked on our communication to try to make the best with the information we have, and to make the right decisions."

The key to Randolph helping the No. 43 to strong finishes over the last two weeks has been keeping Labonte calm. As absurd as that may seem, both driver and new crew chief insist that has been a big part of it.

"He doesn't get excited a whole lot," Randolph conceded. "But anybody that's out there running side-by-side and trying to pass somebody, and the lap-down cars are beating down your door, it aggravates you and makes you mad. Those few moments are sometimes when bad decisions are made or things happen that might take you out of the race.

"I just think that that's one thing Bobby responds well to; he knows what he's going to hear on the other side of the radio. And if he's mad, he knows that he can yell and that I'm going to understand, but try to keep him calm."

Labonte grimaced when asked if he was attempting to build momentum for next year. He reminded everyone that the same question was asked of him last year when he finished strong down the stretch to claim 21st in the point standings. (Continued)