Alex Labbé ranked 4th in Charlotte

Alex Labbé rallied the fourth place finish on Saturday at the Charlotte, NC Road Circuit for his career-best NASCAR Xfinity Series result.

This mad race – the term is not strong – was won by American AJ Allmendinger who survived inclement weather and a veritable demolition derby to secure his fifth victory in the NASCAR Cup antechamber and his second in the season.

After setting off from the 16^e place on the starting grid, Labbé undertook a brilliant comeback that allowed him to reach third place at the end of 12^e of the 67 laps of the race.

It was in this position that he concluded the first segment before making a stop at the draft supply pit, the fault of a recalcitrant nut, at the end of which he would not resume the track until 22^e square.

Red flag

As he tried to move up the field, as only he can, the St. Albert driver had to put his successful run to a halt when NASCAR officials had no choice but to put the test on hiatus in due to the heavy rains that fell in the region.

Some 30 minutes after the red flag was deployed, hostilities resumed and Labbé, still as brilliant, finished third until the end of the second segment.

Then, at 47^e round, Labbé was in second place when he was trapped.

“There were puddles of water everywhere on the circuit, he explained in a telephone interview to the Newspaper, and my car started to skid. I hit the wall without damaging my car too much, but enough that the front end was destabilized. Fortunately, I was able to retake the trail without too much problem. “

A moral victory

With 12 laps to go, Labbé was able to move up the peloton to occupy the fourth echelon which he will keep until the finish.

“I’m very happy,” he continued. My satisfaction is to have beaten competitors such as Austin Cindric and Ross Chastain, who are recruited by top teams of the series and whose financial resources are much less limited than ours.

“It’s a moral victory for our small organization and it motivates us for the future. “

Thanks to Labbé, the DGM team, led by Beauceron Mario Gosselin, achieves its best performance ever in the Xfinity series.

“It’s a team effort,” added Labbé. And I would like to thank all the Quebec sponsors, including BRP, without whom our participation would be impossible. “

Charlotte’s complex smiles at Labbé. It was at the same place, in 2019, that he had achieved his best performance ever, reaching the finish in sixth place. But that’s before it rains and shines a year later.