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HAMPTON, Ga. -- Bobby Labonte's confidence is increasing along with his victory total.
The younger brother of two-time Winston Cup champion Terry Labonte closed the NASCAR season Sunday by capturing the NAPA 500 and reasserting his mastery of Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Labonte finished with five victories this season and a runner-up finish to new champion Dale Jarrett.
|  | | Bobby Labonte is showered in confetti after winning Sunday's NAPA 500 -- his fifth victory of the season.
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"To end the year with five wins is just unbelievable," he said.
Now he just might be ready to make a serious run for a title of his own.
"(Jarrett) was the best car every weekend this year. That's why
he won," Labonte said. "We had our share of mistakes that we had
to fix, but we'll work on that next year."
Labonte wound up 201 points behind Jarrett, who wrapped up the
title last week in Homestead, Fla.
"Bobby's going to win his championship," Jarrett said. "He
was the man here today, but he's the man at a lot of places."
Labonte, with 12 career victories, won for the fourth time in
his last seven starts at this track. This was his third victory
since the 1.54-mile oval was redesigned midway through the 1997
season.
His No. 18 Pontiac pulled away at the end of the 325-lap race,
finishing about half a straightaway ahead of Jarrett, who passed
Jeremy Mayfield for second place on the last lap.
It was the third straight victory for Joe Gibbs Racing, with
Labonte adding this win to the two straight by rookie teammate Tony
Stewart in Phoenix and Homestead.
Labonte, who started 37th in the 43-car field, took his first
lead at lap 91. From that point, Labonte was out front for a
race-high 147 laps.
He took the lead for the final time during a restart on lap 290,
roaring past Jeff Burton, who had beaten Labonte out of the pits on
the last stop by the leaders. Then Labonte pulled steadily ahead,
winning by 2.428 seconds.
Nobody had ever won at this track from farther back than 30th, a
feat accomplished in 1983 by Dale Earnhardt, who started 36th and
finished ninth Sunday.
"We did everything wrong this weekend, but the guys never gave
up," Labonte said. "I didn't think we were that good. The last
practice was not that good, but we made some changes this
morning."
Not all the celebrating was done by Labonte and the Gibbs team.
After the race, Jarrett was driven, along with his Robert Yates
Racing crew and his family, around the track on a float to the
cheers of a crowd estimated at 145,000.
Asked what it feels like to be the champion, he said: "You sit
and wonder what this is going to be like and it's even better than
what we thought it was going to be."
Jarrett ended the season with four wins, 24 top-fives and 29
top-10s in 34 races.
There were eight caution flags in Sunday's race, slowing
Labonte's winning speed to 137.932 mph.
The worst crash of the day, and the only injury, came on lap 198
when Michael Waltrip, Terry Labonte, Rick Mast and Kenny Wallace
tangled in the fourth turn. Waltrip, the younger brother of
three-time series champion Darrell Waltrip, was airlifted to an
Atlanta hospital. He was kept overnight for observation after being
knocked momentarily unconscious.
"I believe Michael had a left rear tire flat," Terry Labonte
said. "It broke loose with him. He saved it and it went back the
other way and shot straight up the track. I hit him a ton when he
came back across the track."
The top was peeled off Waltrip's Ford so he could be removed
with a backboard. Track officials said the driver was awake and
alert when taken from the car.
Mark Martin, who twice fell far back in the field after pitting
with tire problems, came back to finish fourth, followed by Burton,
Chad Little and Ricky Rudd, whose string of seasons with at least
one victory ended at 16.
Stewart, who set a rookie record with three wins this season,
was among the leaders until an air gun jammed during a green flag
pit stop on lap 271. The long pit stop cost him a lap and Stewart
wound up 15th.
Jeff Gordon, who had won the last two races at Atlanta, had
engine failure and finished 38th. That dropped the three-time
series champion -- including 1997 and 1998 -- to sixth in the points
race.
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AUDIO/VIDEO
 Bobby Labonte wins the season-ending NAPA 500 on Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
avi: 1004 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Micheal Waltrip crashes in turn four on lap 198.
avi: 1125 k
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Ward Burton's "crew cam" changes tires.
avi: 1103 k
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 Bobby Labonte discusses winning NAPA 500.
wav: 157 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Dale Jarrett says Bobby Labonte was the man to beat.
wav: 133 k
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Dale Jarrett talks about his season finale.
wav: 279 k
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