NASCAR Cup Series

Veteran crew chief 'Slugger' Labbe ready to slow down

Published Oct. 15, 2014 2:00 p.m. ET

foxsports

When Richard "Slugger" Labbe climbed down from the pit box Saturday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway, it was a bittersweet moment as he did so for the final time as Paul Menard's crew chief.

As announced Oct. 1, Labbe will transition from the role of crew chief to leading the charge in Richard Childress Racing's research and development department, while race engineer Justin Alexander will take over calling the shots for Menard's No. 27 team beginning this weekend at Talladega.

Prior to calling his last race, Labbe spoke with FOXSports.com to look back on his career as a crew chief, his relationship with Menard, and his expectations moving forward in his new role.

Over his 16-year career as a crew chief, Labbe worked with the late Kenny Irwin Jr., Michael Waltrip, Jeremy Mayfield, Dale Jarrett, Sterling Marlin, David Gilliland, Bobby Labonte and longest of all with Menard.

A relationship that started with Menard at Richard Petty Motorsports in 2010 continued for 171 starts, the fourth-longest current pairing in NASCAR behind Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus, Kasey Kahne and Kenny Francis, and Kyle Busch and Dave Rogers.

For Labbe, the working relationship he and Menard built over the years will be missed. Together for nearly five full seasons, the driver-crew chief pairing helped start a team from scratch, moved to a different organization, overcame various issues, and celebrated together on one of the biggest stages in NASCAR.

"We started from the ground up there at RPM with Paul, and had a decent season," Labbe said. "Paul and his dad decided they wanted to move to Richard Childress Racing because he had a decent season and Richard (Childress, team owner) liked what he had seen. So Paul and myself went up there and started another team from scratch.

"Two years in a row of building a team from nothing -- no cars, no transporters, just starting over. Those two seasons, the first two were pretty tough, but it was fun. We've been together 170 races; I didn't realize it was that many, but it shows you how times flies by. Paul's a super guy and it was neat to see his progression as a driver, and him and I in our relationship together. Paul's been a super friend to me. We've always been honest and open with each other. We've had some fun trips to the airport after the race, and some not so fun."

Despite some poor runs and less-than-fun trips to the airport, the relationship between driver and crew chief always allowed Menard and Labbe to put the past behind them and focus on how to get better.

Aside from the racing side of things, Labbe says the best lesson he has learned from Menard is how the handle his demeanor and demands on the crew members. Often seen as one of the more stoic and easy-going guys in the NASCAR garage, Menard has helped bring balance to Labbe, who admittedly can be very demanding on his guys.

"In these five or six years that Paul and I have been together, I've really mellowed out a lot," Labbe told FOXSports.com. "I used to be hard on my people, because I wanted perfection. I wanted everyone to do as best they could. If I made a bad pit call or bad decision, I would let everyone know that I screwed up. I'm pretty vocal in letting my people know if I made a bad decision. I beat up myself pretty hard, too. But I think if you ask anyone that's worked for me in the past, they would say I pushed to excel because that's what we get paid to do -- be the best we can be. Sometimes I come off harsh and unfavorable, but at the end of the day I'm trying to make people better."

Working through the years with Menard has allowed Labbe to learn the best time and place to constructively criticize his crew members while still demanding top performance week-in and week-out.

"It took me a little while to realize that," he said. "But this year I've been a little bit easier on my people, because it's all about perspective. I'm 46 and if I could have done some things different 10 years ago, I would have, but you can't take back what you've done."

Labbe admitted on Friday afternoon at Charlotte Motor Speedway that when he climbed off the pit box for the final time on Saturday, it would "suck a little bit," especially since the many of the crew members on the No. 27 team have been there since the beginning.

"Richard Childress has a spot in his heart for the 3 car. No matter what you do, he lives the 3. That's how I feel about the 27," Labbe said. "We built the team up, worked with all these guys, made it into a winning team, and a team that could compete for top fives and top 10s, which is hard to do in this sport. It's just neat to see that, but walking off that box will be hard, but it is a decision we made and it's time for me to do what I have to do, and it's time for Justin Alexander to grow in his role."

As a way to help mentor Alexander and work toward a solid end to the season, Labbe will continue traveling with the No. 27 team over the last five races, trying to help where he can, but also letting Alexander develop on his own.

Although he has served as the team's lone crew chief for the past five seasons, Labbe says there has been an open line of communication and cooperation among himself, Alexander and the team engineers that will allow this transition to occur much smoother than expected.

"The thing for me is I just have to find my time and place to suggest things," he said. "Obviously my role that I'll be moving to next year with research and development, I can't force things down people's throats. So this is a good opportunity for me to figure out how and when to say things. If I'm messing the deal up the last five races, I'll stay home. I want to prove to Justin and Luke (Lambert, No. 31 RCR crew chief) and Gil (Martin, No. 3 crew chief) that I'm here to assist them in any way. Hopefully these next five races will give them an indication of what my role will be."

By moving to a more R&D-centered role with the team, Labbe's primary goal is to help the crew chiefs and engineers by thinking outside the box. While they are limited to the restraints of the NASCAR rules package, the R&D department is able to work within that grey area to find speed, find more horsepower and produce more competitive race cars.

While the possibility of returning to the pit box to serve as crew chief is still out there, Labbe said the biggest thing to take away from this deal is that his time with Menard is finished.

"I think the thing to be known is that I'll probably never crew chief for Paul Menard again," he said. "There might be some one-off races or something we'll do where I'll be able to sit up on the box, but the thing that's going to be bittersweet Saturday night is getting off the box knowing that I did my last race for the 27 team, a team that we started from the ground up. I'll just have to hang up my headset and walk away from the 27 team."

Unfortunately for Labbe, his last ride with Menard and the No. 27 team did not go as planned. Despite starting in the top 10 and showing speed throughout the weekend, an engine failure ended the team's night early after just 134 laps.

Although he did not end his tenure with Menard in Victory Lane, as he pointed out on Twitter, the longtime crew chief certainly went out with a bang.

By shifting roles within the company, the longtime NASCAR road warrior hopes to spend more time with his family.

"When I was in New Hampshire my daughter sent me a picture from her homecoming, and it just tore me up," he said. "Kids always forget when you're there, but they'll never forget when you're not there. You can't make it up. I wasn't there for that, and it sucked, but I got to take her for her driver license. Things like that are cool and they'll never forget that.

"This racing gig is hard. It's 36 weeks, 17 weeks in a row, man. It'll beat up on you. I've been a crew chief for 16 years and that's seven days a week always in your mind thinking about stuff," he said.

"It's tough. It's time for me to slow down. My hair's falling out. I'm getting older. It's been fun. I've been lucky to work on a championship team with Terry Labonte in 1996, been fortunate to win the Daytona 500 as a crew chief with Michael Waltrip in 2003, won the Brickyard with Paul in 2011, so I feel pretty good about myself and my career. My career is done with Paul, but I'm sure I'll be busy with RCR. I just want to contribute and help our company get better."