Labonte left disappointed with Atlanta results.

For a driver and a team that did not have a single DNF in 2000 and completed all but nine laps in competition out of 10,167 laps run last season, Bobby Labonte and the Interstate Batteries Racing Team's 2001 season so far has left a lot to be desired.

Heading into this past weekend's event in Atlanta, Labonte was hoping that by returning to a track he has had tremendous success at lately, would be the tonic the team needed.

Instead, the team had a poor qualifying effort by their standards and then, for the second weekend in a row, had an engine problem. This time though, the engine did not make it to the finish line as it let go with less than 15 laps to go. For Labonte, this was his first DNF due to an engine failure since the final race of the 1998 season in Atlanta.

"While we didn't start up front, we were making our way up there," said Labonte. "We just ran out of time and luck I guess. I'm not sure what let go in the engine, but with about 90 laps to go, I felt the engine lose a cylinder and to be honest, it felt like I was back in the same exact car from last week in Vegas. Then it finally let go just before the finish. We were just trying to hold position, but it didn't make it. It was just awful feeling. To say we are disappointed is way off base. We have a problem and we have to figure it out. This is not what we envisioned for 2001."

With 32 races remaining on the NASCAR Winston Cup schedule, Labonte knows the 'fat lady' isn't singing yet, but if things do not turn around soon, she might start warming up.

Now sitting in 26th position and 245 points behind points leader Jeff Gordon, Labonte knows the next couple of weeks are going to be crucial, but feels as though he and the team can rise to the occasion.

"We have been down before and been able to come back," explained Labonte. "We know we are better than this, but this is part of racing. We have just not had bad racing luck like this in a long time. We have to stay focused and not let this pull the team apart. When we win, we do it as a team and if we lose, or have a problem, we do that as a team also. I felt like we could have had a good finish here in Atlanta, but it just wasn't meant to be so we will have to regroup and go to Darlington."

Labonte will have his work cut out at NASCAR's oldest speedway in the Carolina Dodge Dealers 400, at the Darlington Raceway, on March 18.