Born on May 8, 1964, in Corpus Christi, Texas, Labonte began his racing career in 1969 competing in quarter midgets. He won his first feature race in 1970 and continued in the category across the United States until 1977. In 1978, he moved into go-karts, but his family relocated to North Carolina following the advancement of his older brother, Terry Labonte, into the Winston Cup Series.
After graduating from Trinity High School in 1982, Labonte worked as a fabricator on his brother’s cars at Hagan Racing. He also spent time working for Jay Hedgecock while pursuing his own driving career in late-model stock cars, winning the 1987 track championship at Caraway Speedway with twelve victories.
Labonte made his NASCAR International Sedan Series debut in 1980, finishing third at Atlanta. His first appearance in the Busch Series came at Martinsville Speedway in 1982. By 1990, he had secured enough funding to form his own team, Bobby Labonte Racing, to compete full-time in the Busch Series. Driving the No. 44 Oldsmobile, he earned two poles and finished fourth in the standings.
In 1991, Labonte achieved his first major title, winning the Busch Series championship with victories at Bristol and O'Reilly Raceway Park. He nearly defended the title in 1992, winning three races but losing the championship to Joe Nemechek by three points, which remains the second-closest margin in NASCAR national series history.
Labonte moved to the Winston Cup Series full-time in 1993 with Bill Davis Racing, driving the No. 22 Ford. He finished second to Jeff Gordon for Rookie of the Year honors. In 1995, he replaced Dale Jarrett at Joe Gibbs Racing to drive the No. 18 Interstate Batteries Chevrolet. He secured his first career Cup win at the Coca-Cola 600 and swept both races at Michigan that season.
The 1996 season concluded with an emotional victory at Atlanta, where Labonte won the race while his brother Terry secured the series championship; the siblings performed a joint victory lap. Labonte’s performance peaked between 1999 and 2000. In 1999, he won a career-high five races and finished second in the standings to Dale Jarrett. During that season, he competed in a Cup race at Darlington just two days after breaking his shoulder in a Busch Series qualifying accident.
In 2000, Labonte won the Winston Cup championship. He led the standings for 25 consecutive weeks, recording four wins at Rockingham, Indianapolis, Darlington, and Charlotte. He completed all but nine of the 10,167 laps scheduled that season and became the first driver since 1977 to win the title without a single DNF (Did Not Finish).
At the 2001 Daytona 500, Labonte was involved in a 18-car accident where his car's hood became attached to teammate Tony Stewart’s flipping vehicle. Later that year at Talladega, Labonte was leading on the final lap when contact from Bobby Hamilton sent him into a flip, causing a multi-car accident on the backstretch.
In 2003, Labonte won at Homestead-Miami Speedway by leading only the final lap. By 2005, following a decline in results, he requested a release from Joe Gibbs Racing after an eleven-year tenure. He subsequently joined Petty Enterprises to drive the No. 43, where he remained until 2008.
Labonte transitioned to a part-time schedule after 2010, driving for various teams including TRG Motorsports, Phoenix Racing, and JTG Daugherty Racing. His streak of 704 consecutive starts ended in 2013 when he was replaced by A.J. Allmendinger for selected events. Between 2014 and 2016, he primarily competed in restrictor-plate races for Go FAS Racing. As of 2025, he has not competed in a NASCAR Cup Series race since 2016.
Labonte and his brother Terry are one of only two pairs of brothers to both hold Cup championships. His statistical record includes 21 Cup Series wins and 10 Busch Series wins. He was the 13th consecutive NASCAR driver to win the IROC title, achieving the feat in 2001. His 2000 championship remains notable for his 7.4 average finish and perfect finishing record across every race.
Labonte has diversified his racing portfolio beyond stock cars. In 2005, he competed in the 24 Hours of Daytona alongside his brother Terry, Jan Magnussen, and Bryan Herta. In 2017, he became the first Cup champion to compete in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series, later joining RDV Competition for a full-time Euro Series campaign in 2018. Since 2021, he has competed in the SMART Modified Tour and the Superstar Racing Experience (SRX).
Following his primary driving career, Labonte became a television analyst, debuting on NBCSN’s NASCAR America in 2014 before moving to FS1 in 2017 for Race Hub and Race Day. Outside of competition, he founded the marketing agency Breaking Limits and the Bobby Labonte Foundation, which provides grants to non-profit organizations in the North Carolina Triad. He also co-founded Longhorn Chassis with his brother in 2010 to build dirt late-model race cars.
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