CONCORD, N.C.: In one of the most chaotic NASCAR Xfinity Series races of the season, Alex Labbe flew under the radar in Saturday afternoon’s Drive for the Cure 250 at the Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway ROVAL to earn a career-best sixth-place finish.
For the former NASCAR Pinty’s Series champion, Saturday’s result was his second career NASCAR Xfinity Series top-10 finish after finishing ninth last August at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
For Labbe, his finish on Saturday was sweet redemption at the ROVAL after qualifying strong last year but suffered a mechanical failure two laps into the race.
This year, Labbe survived and also earned his DGM Racing team their career-best finish in Xfinity Series competition. Previously, DGM Racing finished seventh at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course with Sports Car star Andy Lally in 2016.
“I thought a top-five was possible, just couldn’t make the move,” said Labbe after the race. “Bringing it back in one piece was important and running top-10 all day felt good.”
While varying pit strategies pushed Labbe outside the top-10 during Stage 1, he was able to rebound with some stage points during Stage 2 when he finished seventh.
Restarting Stage 3 outside the top-10, Labbe was able to maneuver a well-balanced No. 90 Larue | Hotel Le Concord Chevrolet Camaro back into the top-10 and survived a wild 20 laps of the race to be the second of three non-Playoff drivers to earn a top-10 finish in the Drive for the Cure 250 presented by Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina.
Labbe was scheduled to compete in the NASCAR Pinty’s Series season-finale at Jukasa Motor Speedway on Saturday night, but out of championship reach, Labbe said his decision to focus on the ROVAL paid off.
“I skipped the final Pinty’s Series race to come to the ROVAL and it worked out,” added Labbe. “We scored stage points, hovered inside the top-10 and had a good presence, we did what we came to do. By far this was our best finish as a whole at DGM Racing.
“This was my second time finishing inside the top-10 but it was a teamwork effort. It was a really good effort. The pit crew was good, especially during Stage 3. Track position was key on Saturday, but in the end it was overall good execution, no mistakes and we’re a happy bunch.”
Labbe said he plenty of support on Saturday afternoon and was thankful to the partners that made his return to the ROVAL happen.
“Larue Snowblowers, Hotel Le Concorde Quebec and Silverwax, I can’t thank them all enough,” he sounded. “My sponsors mean a lot to me and I know they weren’t here, but they were watching on television and I know they were happy.”
As for the rest of the Xfinity Series race season, Labbe says things are still in limbo, but talked to team owner Mario Gosselin about potentially running two more races this season.
“I’d like to do Kansas and Homestead, but we’ll see. We’re working on it.”
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
