PELETIER — Even though Bobby Watson died in 2018 after a lengthy battle with cancer, his vision and dream is still alive in the form of Carteret County Speedway, now named in his honor.
And that vision became its brightest Sunday when NASCAR Hall of Famer Bobby Labonte wowed fans before and after his SMART Modified Tour race.
Beforehand, he patiently signed autograph after autograph after autograph, as well as posing for selfies, during a meet-and-greet session with fans along the front stretch. Then after his victory that evening, which was a thrilling battle during the final laps of the 99 scheduled, he repeatedly thanked all the fans during a lengthy standing ovation as he celebrated in victory lane.
“It is very emotional right now when I stop and think about all that Bobby (Watson) did to build this place,” track owner Bob Lowery said during the meet-and-greet session. “And now, I’m looking at what we’ve done to maintain it and keep his dream alive and to see Bobby Labonte and to see some professionals like that before, I know that Bobby (Watson) would be mighty proud.”
Labonte was gracious throughout the evening, whether during the meet-and-greet with fans and drivers in the nine divisions or even on pit row while races were being held prior to his event, which started shortly after 8 p.m. During that time, he was still signing autographs, even coming out of his hauler to do so.
“You wouldn’t see this at a Cup race,” he motioned toward a long line of autograph seekers during the meet-and-greet session. “It’s hard to do. Here, it’s a little bit easier to do and more manageable. But yeah, these are the fans that watch on Sunday and support the drivers in the Cup Series, and that’s the fan base. That’s why I love doing it.”
Labonte not only loves it because of the fan base, but he’s making a habit of winning, now having racked up two straight victories in SMART Modified, the first at Dillon Motor Speedway in South Carolina the weekend before.
He qualified second this weekend at the Carteret County Speedway and quickly moved into the lead for the next 60 or so laps of the 99-lapper. Then the cautions started to fall, and on one of them, the Cook Out No. 25 team of Labonte’s decided to pit for tires and fuel. That’s when the race got a lot more interesting for Labonte and his crew.
“I mean we had a good car to start with, and I was afraid I was using up too much tire,” he said in victory lane. “And then we got behind on the pitstop with a mechanical failure (air gun on lug nuts).”
While replacing the air gun with a battery-powered gun to tighten the lug nuts, over 10 seconds had been lost, and the No. 25 came off pit row in sixth place.
From then, it was just making the right moves and fighting off a determined Jeremy Gerstner, the new leader.
“We got back out there, made a right move, this and that. And I could get a run off turn two,” Labonte explained. “But you know, if you run this race tomorrow, it could be totally different. But tonight, we just had everything going for us. Yeah, good times.”
Gerstner was so thrilled to just be racing with Labonte that after the race, he repeatedly came up to the NASCAR great in victory lane to congratulate him and even request having a photo taken with him as Labonte held the checkered flag.
“Jeremy was so awesome,” praised Labonte. “He was so fast, I tried to get underneath him, and then on that restart, he got by me again. I thought, man, I don’t know. That’s some pretty hard racing right there. I thought that was pretty cool.”
Then Labonte finally made the last pass in the final two laps, and the fans were on their feet, cheering him on to checkers.
Early in his career, winning races and championships quickly became a habit for Labonte, now 57 years old. During his NASCAR Hall of Fame career, he has won championships in the NASCAR Cup Series, the Xfinity Series (then Busch Grand National) and IROC.
And now he’s come full circle to nurture his roots.
When asked if was on sort of mission to give back after returning to short-track racing, he thought for a moment, then said, “I’m just a fan of it. And to come back to short tracks, how I started out and kind of went pretty quickly to the Grand National Series and up. This year for me has been fun going to different short tracks. I mean, yeah, it’s a way to give back. Fans are awesome when you can come be part of a crowd like this, and it’s just as exciting as 180,000 people in Charlotte for me.”
Well, there weren’t 180,000 fans at BWCCS Sunday night, but there was a packed house, both in the stands and sitting in folding chairs or standing all around the track.
Track public relations director Judy Hailey said Monday evening 4,500 to 5,000 spectators were on hand, probably the second or third largest crowd since the track opened in 2015.
“It was a fantastic event,” she emphasized. “We had a lot of out-of-towners who had never been to the track before.”
And one out-to-towner, none other than Labonte himself, took his own sweet time leaving. In fact, he his wife, Kristin, were the last ones to leave.
“The last of the campers left this morning,” Hailey said Monday. “And this afternoon, there was only one camper left, Bobby Labonte’s. He and his wife were still here and rode their bikes out to the (Pine Knoll Shores) Aquarium and back before heading home.”
A Corpus Christi, Texas, native, Labonte, now makes his home in High Point along the Davidson County line.
As for the next step in the growth and success of Carteret County Speedway, Lowery is already looking ahead to next year.
“Well, you know, everybody was expecting excitement, and the SMART Modified delivered,” he said. “That’s it. And people are loving it. They’re already wanting to know when they’re on the schedule for next year, and they are definitely coming back.”
As much as Lowery was ecstatic about having Labonte there, he was passionate about the good old USA and those who stand up to protect it while issuing sorrow for the 13 service members who recently lost their lives in Afghanistan.
“We’re thankful we can celebrate America, especially this past week with the tragedy and stuff we’ve seen,” said Lowery, who operates Second Blessings Outreach and has a concession stand at the track with proceeds going to the charity. “But we’re going to take today and we’re going to support them. Today when I heard these cars out here rolling this morning, I said, ‘You know, that’s the sound of freedom that our brothers and sisters gave us the right to do this. They sacrificed for that.’”
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