Not withstanding the terrible tragedy that claimed nine members of the Hendrick Motorsports team in October, Terry Labonte's final year as a full-time driver🍌 wasn't one of his more memorable, although he is predicting good things f✨or the future of his now former #5 Kellogg's team.

The season-ending Ford 400 at the Homestead-Miami Speedway marked Labonte's final race as a full-time Nextel Cup driver after the 26-year veteran announced in October that h🌠e will run partial 10-race schedules in 2005 and 2006, bypassing Speed Weeks 2005 in Daytona Beach, to begin his "Shifting Gears" tour at California Speedway on February 27🌺th.

With Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson chasing Kurt Busch for the NEXTEL Cup championship at Homestead, Labonte agreed to scuff tyres for his title-contending teammates as the race neared its halfway point. Repeated trips to pit road cost him a number of lap๊s in his final race as a full-time driver, but reinforced his status as the consummate team player.

Labonte wound up 26th in points, slipping behind 25th-placed Hendrick teammate Brian Vickers by a mere tw꧙o markers in the final standings.

"We thought we'd pick up from the momentum we had at the end of 2003, but we just didn't have the c♔onsistency we needed during the first half of this year," said the double NASCAR Champion, who will use the #44 plate for the next two years as Rookie Kyle Busch takes his place in the Kellogg's sponsored ride. "That put us behind and we never really got in a position to catch back up♍. But there's a lot of talent on the (No.) 5 team and I think Alan (Gustafson) will do a great job as crew chief."

Bright spots for Labonte this season included his 600th start for Chevrolet, which came in June at Pocono, wher🍌e he finished seventh. Six weeks later at New Hampshire, Labonte made his 800th career start, becoming only the fifth driver in NASCAR history to reach the 800-race plateau. He finished 16th in that event.

Despite finishing 26th in points, there was a nine-race stretch near midseason during which Labonte seemed poised for a run toward t🉐he top 10. He po⭕sted five top-10 finishes, including a sixth-place effort at the Chicagoland Speedway. But an accident at Indianapolis and engine failure at Watkins Glen slowed his progress.