NASCAR Hall of Famer Bobby Labonte scored his first SMART Modified Tour victory of the season on Saturday night at Tri-County Speedway in Hudson, North Carolina.
The 2000 NASCAR Cup Series champion dominated the race, leading 81 of 99 laps, but it wasn’t until lap 85 that Labonte took the lead for good, outdueling Brian Loftin for the win.
“This feels good because it’s been a tough week. Last week knocked the crap out of me,” said Labonte, who hit the wall hard the week prior at Pulaski County Motorsports Park in Virginia. “We didn’t plan for this (a win) to take this long. We thought we’d be here sooner, but I have to thank these guys because they never gave up.”
“We threw some stuff at it. It qualified pretty good and it was on rails during the race. This is Ryan’s car (Newman) because I wiped mine out last weekend. He will not be getting this back,” said Labonte with a laugh. “Brian Loftin is so good. I turned down under him and it stuck for a lap. That was a great battle and I wasn’t sure I could do it, but this car was just so hooked up.”
Bobby Measmer, Jr. finished in second, with Loftin in third, Jake Crum in fourth, and Burt Myers in fifth.
Carson Loftin, Tom Buzze, Jr., Jason Myers, Jonathan Cash, and Tim Brown rounded out the top 10.
The SMART Modified Tour returns to action on Saturday night at Virginia’s South Boston Speedway. For more information, visit SMARTModTour.com.
SMART Modified Tour
Tri-County Motor Speedway – Granite Falls, NC
Cardinal 99 – October 7, 2023
1. Bobby Labonte
2. Bobby Measmer, Jr.
3. Brian Loftin
4. Jake Crum
5. Burt Myers
6. Carson Loftin
7. Tom Buzze Jr.
8. Jason Myers
9. Jonathan Cash
10. Tim Brown
11. Caleb Heady
12. Brandon Ward
13. Gary Putnam
14. Danny Bohn
15. Jimmy Wallace
16. Daniel Yates
17.Jonny Kay
18. Spencer Martin
19. Jeremy Gerstner
20. Eric Zeh
21. Dennis Holdren
22. Joey Coulter
23. Brian Weber
24. Gary Young, Jr.
