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NASCAR Community Including Kevin Harvick’s Crew Chief is Floored By Bobby Labonte’s Touching Story

Published 08/12/2022, 2:55 PM EDT

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Recently, former NASCAR Cup champion and analyst for Fox Bobby Labonte was the center of a touching video. In the clip, Labonte spoke about his life and his struggles with illness over the past few years.

The 58-year-old often prided himself in maintaining his health and being at the peak of his fitness. Among other things, he was an avid fan of cycling, something that his wife also encouraged.

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Since she was a professional cyclist, the two of them found common ground to bond with each other. Even though both of them were really busy with their respective career paths, one thing did not change: their focus on health.

Bobby Labonte Reveals Big Role Played by Dale Earnhardt Sr. in His Joe Gibbs Racing NASCAR Deal

Labonte confessed that he had rarely missed a medical checkup in his long career as a race car driver.

What changed for the 2000 NASCAR Cup Series champion?

Unfortunately, life threw him a curveball in 2019, when doctors discovered a small spot in his kidney. Of course, Labonte chose not to panic and elected to live life normally, especially since he did not know what the spot was.

According to his doctors, he just went for some advice, when the usual first instinct is to operate right away.

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Two years later, there was a cause for alarm, because the spot tripled in size. So the 2000 NASCAR Cup Series champion decided to finally address the issue.

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Apparently, Labonte opted for a revolutionary procedure to take the tumor out without damaging the kidney. They were fortunate that the tumor was caught in time so that everything went off without a hitch.

Naturally, many people in the NASCAR community reacted to the incredible story. Some, like Kevin Harvick’s crew chief Rodney Childers, acknowledged that he was ‘one of the best’ persons. The general consensus was that Labonte was incredibly brave to come out with such an inspiring story.

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Written by:

Dhruv George

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Dhruv George is a senior Motorsports author for EssentiallySports, having authored nearly 12000 articles spanning different sports like F1, NASCAR, Tennis, NFL, and eSports. He graduated with a PG Diploma in Journalism from the Xavier Institute of Communications. Dhruv has also conducted interviews with F1 driver Pierre Gasly and Moto2 rider Tony Arbolino.
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Edited by:

Ranvijay Singh