In 1993 Labonte ran his first full Cup season for owner Bill Davis, who chose Labonte to drive his car after Jeff Gordon had left his Busch team the previous year. Labonte finished second to Gordon for rookie of the year honors. It wasn’t until 1995, when Labonte moved to Joe Gibbs Racing, that his career began to flourish. From 1995-2003 Labonte finished in the top 10 in points seven times, winning 21 races during that time span and the 2000 championship. Labonte’s first victory came in May 1995 at Charlotte, the first of three wins that season. In ‘99 Labonte reached career highs in victories (five), top-fives (23), top-10s (26) and poles (five) in 34 races to finish second in points. The following year Labonte became one of only two drivers that season not to have a DNF en route to winning the Championship for Joe Gibbs Racing. He had four wins, 19 top-fives and 24 top-10s in 2000. After back-to-back winless campaigns, Labonte and Gibbs parted ways following the 2005 season, and Labonte moved to Petty Enterprises in ‘06 to drive the No. 43.