“ The football coach said I could play Friday night, and race Saturday and Sunday. I said,‘ Here’ s what I’ m going to do: I’ m going to race Friday night, Saturday night and Sunday night.’”
PHOTO: NATE VAN WAGNEN
“ We got everything loaded up and I was feeling pretty happy and before we even got on the interstate he said,‘ Hey son, that race is over. Now we’ ve got to go and try to win tomorrow,’” Labbous remembered.“ At the time, you’ re thinking that was the cruelest thing ever. Now I understand where he was coming from. Our job is to win the next one. You got the trophy, you got the check, now let’ s go get another one. It’ s a very valuable lesson he taught me at the beginning of my career.”
Onto the next one is a fitting theme for a guy whose mind is on the next race at the moment. For a guy that makes well over 1,000 runs per year in a variety of sportsman classes, excelling in 2017 in Super Gas and Super Comp, only a handful of memorable moments really stick out.
In the middle of an incredible 2017 NHRA Sportsman season, where he is the national points leader in both Super Gas and Super Comp, the only thing on Labbous’ mind is the next race. It’ s part mindset, part not buying into his own hype. He doesn’ t do social media, he’ s quiet on and off the track, and there isn’ t an ounce of arrogance in discussing his brilliant career. Labbous simply doesn’ t have time to spend extra energy on that type of fanfare, mostly because there’ s another race to think about.
“ When I get done Sunday evening, I’ m already thinking about the next week, where I’ m going and what I have to do to prepare for it,” Labbous added.“ This is a very large portion of my life. It’ s my family and racing. I like going to the beach but after about three days I’ m over it and ready to go back to what I’ m supposed to do, and that’ s race.”
But don’ t mistake the mindset as simply a means to an end. Sure, sportsman racing is Labbous’ profession. It puts food on the table for a family that includes his wife of 17 years, Jennifer, and his two daughters, 14-year-old Morgan and 11-year-old Maci, and he knows he has to be successful to provide for them. It’ s very much a grind at times and it can be grueling, constantly focusing on having to do well each time he’ s in the car. Labbous, though, loves every minute of it – well, almost. The losses still sting, but the racing aspect, making pass after pass, it’ s something he still loves.
That happened early in his life, playing with Hot Wheels in his father’ s pit, and it hasn’ t stopped. He was never forced in the sport, never coerced into continuing in the sport and never had to fight getting burnt out. Labbous simply loves drag racing. He always has and he doesn’ t foresee that stopping.
“ I wouldn’ t have it any other way. This is all I ever wanted to do,” Labbous explained.“ It’ s all I knew, all I talked about. It was always about racing. I can’ t answer for everyone, but for me it was the will to win. As bad as it sounds, it was my needle. I’ ve never done a drug a day in my life, but this was my needle. It was like a natural high to me. This is all I know and I’ ve never regretted it.”
Labbous has plenty of examples to show that nothing else provides the rush drag racing does. He skipped his senior trip in high school to hit up a bracket race and his football career abruptly came to end by the time he was a freshman. The
reason? Friday night games eliminated one extra chance to race during the weekend.
“ The coach asked me why I didn’ t come for tryouts and I said I wasn’ t going to play,” Labbous said.“ He said I could play Friday night, and race Saturday and Sunday. I said,‘ Here’ s what I’ m going to do: I’ m going to race Friday night, Saturday night and Sunday night.’”
Labbous’ mind had been made up and it’ s never wavered. It started with bracket races at Music City Dragway, just outside of Nashville, and Beech Bend Raceway Park, and included annual vacations to Florida. These were working vacations for Labbous’ father, of course, as the first portion was spent at West Palm Beach International Raceway for the Moroso Five-Day Bracket race, an event Labbous himself won for the first time in 2005, an achievement he considers one of his career highlights. From there, the annual vacation would go to Bradenton Motorsports Park for a Thanksgiving weekend race, creating a routine that took place year after year.“ I’ ve been at the racetrack my whole life,” Labbous said.
It’ s not an exaggeration, either. He’ ll start in mid-February, like he did this year, and race every weekend until the end of November. Labbous’ schedule this year includes a mix of NHRA
“ The football coach said I could play Friday night, and race Saturday and Sunday. I said,‘ Here’ s what I’ m going to do: I’ m going to race Friday night, Saturday night and Sunday night.’”
national events, Southeast Divisional races, big-money bracket races and other bracket races, even smaller ones at Beech Bend or Music City.
This year has gone especially well, including an incredible weekend in Charlotte at the Four- Wide Nationals when Labbous became just the 22nd driver in NHRA history to double-up at a national event, winning in both Super Comp and Super Gas. It’ s been that kind of season for Labbous, maintaining the national points lead and putting him in position to have a chance to win a championship in both classes. It would be a tremendous feat, but Labbous isn’ t entertaining that possibility yet.
“ Obviously, it’ s been my best year ever in NHRA racing and for the most part things have kind of fallen my way this year,” Labbous admitted.“ At the end of the year, it will be about chasing points. It’ s been a phenomenal year and I hope I can finish strong. It would be a huge feat to win both of them, but I’ m making myself not go there. Until I get there,
I don’ t want to entertain the idea of it.”
Of course, not everything goes as planned, and when you race as much as Labbous, picking up the pieces and focusing on what’ s next becomes imperative. His weekend at the NHRA national event in Norwalk didn’ t go as he hoped, losing in
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