The Glen. 2000 was also his first winless season since 1993. His younger brother Bobby won that year's championship. He began 2001 with two Top 6 finishes in the first seven races but finished 23rd in point. He dropped back to 24th in 2002 with one Top 5 finish and four Top 10's. In 2003, Labonte won his first pole since 2000 at Richmond and won the Mountain Dew Southern 500 where 23 years earlier he won his first in 1980 at Darlington Raceway after leading the last 33 laps. This was only his second win in a crown jewel event (the other being in the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway in 1980). That helped lead him to a tenth place spot in points. About 90% of the NASCAR fans have labeled the 2003 Southern 500 win as the most popular win of 2003. The 2004 season was much more of a struggle for Labonte, and Hendrick Motorsports announced Kyle Busch as Labonte's replacement when he retired. Late in the 2004-season, Labonte announced that 2004 would be his final full-time year on the circuit and would run part-time schedules for the next two years. The part-time schedule was nicknamed "Shifting Gears: Lone Star Style". Semi-retirement years Hendrick Motorsports Labonte began his semi-retirement in 2005. He borrowed the number 44, his former number, from Petty Enterprises and ran Hendrick's No. 44 research and development car with some sponsorships from Kellogg's, Pizza Hut, and GMAC. His best finish in 2005 for Hendrick Motorsports came at Pocono Raceway, where he finished twelfth. Labonte also ran ten races with Hendrick Motorsports research and development car No. 44 in 2006. Joe Gibbs Racing Labonte also drove five races in the No. 11 FedEx-sponsored Chevrolet for Joe Gibbs Racing following the release of Jason Leffler, with a top finish of ninth at Richmond. Hall of Fame Racing Labonte began the 2006 season driving the No. 96 Texas Instruments/DLP HDTV-sponsored Chevrolet Monte Carlo car for Hall of Fame Racing, a new team started by former Dallas Cowboys quarterbacks Roger Staubach and Troy Aikman. Labonte's past-champion's provisional guaranteed the team a starting spot in the first five races. Labonte's finishes in those races left the team thirtieth in points, sealing a spot for the team in each race as long as they remained in the top thirty-five. Tony Raines took over the driving duties for the No. 96