Lone Star salutes await Terry Labonte
By Tom Higgins
Texan Terry Labonte is headed for his last roundup in Nextel Cup Series racing.
The Dickies 500 on Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway is to mark the final start for Labonte, who will be 50 on Nov. 16.
It has been an admirable, remarkable ride for the native of Corpus Christi, who for many years has made his home in North Carolina, where his teams were based.
Twice he became the champion of NASCAR's elite series.
I vividly remember Terry's very first race at stock car racing's top level, the Southern 500 of 1978 at treacherous, demanding old Darlington Raceway in South Carolina.
As the wreck-filled event wound down, two savvy veterans and a promising relative newcomer held the front three spots. They were, respectively, Cale Yarborough, Richard Petty and Darrell Waltrip.
Few fans or members of the motorsports media ever had heard of the driver in fourth place. In fact, they didn't know the proper pronunciation of his last name.
That was Terry Labonte, then 21, driving a Chevrolet for Louisiana's Billy Hagan.
Labonte continued to place fourth, an impressive debut, never mind that he took the checkered flag 11 laps behind winner Yarborough.
For a youngster who never before had seen the deceiving Darlington layout simply to be running at the finish was worthy of acclaim.
Good things were predicted that day — Sept. 4, 1978 — for Labonte. He has more than measured up to the prognostications.
As he rides into the sunset in Texas, his record lists 847 starts, 22 victories, 182 top five finishes, 361 top 10s and purses of $36,379,862. His Winston Cup championships came in 1984 with Hagan's team and in 1996 with Hendrick Motorsports.
Additionally, Terry won The Winston all-star race at Charlotte in 1988 with Junior Johnson's team and again in '99 with Hendrick Motorsports.
He was the 1989 winner of the International Race Of Champions series.
Consistency marks Labonte's career. He made a then-record 655 consecutive starts before missing the Brickyard 400 in 2000 while recovering from injuries. That record now belongs to Ricky Rudd, who retired in 2005 with 788 straight starts.
During the years Labonte ran all the races in pursuit of the points title, he finished in the top 10 in the final standings a whopping 17 times.
"I've never been into keeping much track of records or statistics," Labonte said on the occasion of his 500th straight start in 1995 at Dover, Del. "But reaching this level has been hard to ignore, because 500 seems such a significant number.
"To me, the main thing that it shows is that I've been lucky to be with good teams in the kind of equipment it takes to run well."
Labonte laughed.
"If I had wrecked a car every third weekend I probably would have been looking for new rides pretty often."
Labonte seldom wrecked.
However, there were a few crashes.
In the 1980s he wrecked while running under caution at Darlington in an accident that also involved Joe Ruttman and Buddy Baker.
Said Terry, in an unforgettable quote: "It was like an invisible hand came out from the wall and smacked us together."
The most memorable and horrifying of his crashes came at the now-defunct Riverside Raceway road course in California in November of 1982.
Labonte, traveling almost 190 mph, hit the wall at the end of what was then the longest, fastest straightaway in NASCAR. He barrel-rolled into the infield and his car came to rest on its roof.
A rescue crew had a difficult time getting Labonte, who was unconscious, and suffering from deep facial cuts, out of the ****pit.
Labonte awoke to see one of the emergency team members weeping profusely. The man feared the worst.
Labonte was hospitalized almost a month because of the crash in the season finale.
Some wondered if he would come back.
Labonte courageously was there for the '83 season opener and has been around ever since.
Along the way he was tagged with a nickname, "The Iceman," both because of his coolness on the track and quiet, low-key personal demeanor.
In 1991 Terry was joined on the big-time NASCAR tour by his brother Bobby, who is six years younger.
Bobby gave the family another Winston Cup title in 1996 while driving for Joe Gibbs Racing. Bobby, who now drives for Petty Enterprises, lists 21 career victories.
In 1995 the Labonte Brothers twice won back-to-back races and two other times they finished 1-2.
"We're getting Labontes in doses," joked the late Dale Earnhardt, who counted Terry among his fishing and hunting buddies.
During the '95 season when the Labonte boys ran so often at the front, their dad, Bob, who started both in racing as kids in Corpus Christi, addressed their styles.
"They race each other fair," said Bob. "That's their way. They will give each other room. Terry will protect the inside of the track, but Bobby is gutsy enough that he might try to go by on the outside.
"Terry drives a little bit smarter. He looks ahead and has a pretty good game plan.
"Bobby just might dive into a situation and worry about it when he gets there."
Bob Labonte, reserved like Terry, permitted himself a chuckle.
"A few days ago I walked into the kitchen at home in Trinity (N.C.) and my wife Martha had a box of Kellogg's Corn Flakes and a tin of Maxwell House Coffee sitting on the table. Terry's picture was on the cereal box and Bobby's on the coffee can, because those were their sponsors.
"I said to their mom, `This is why it's OK for us to be so proud. Not many parents will ever get to see anything like that.'"
Knowing Terry, humility will temper his own pride this week as fans and racing officials in the Lone Star State honor a native son who has accomplished so much in auto racing.
Here's what's planned by Eddie Gossage, president of Texas Motor Speedway:
1) All Star Tribute on Thursday night, benefitting the Texas chapter of Speedway Children's Charities. Five-hundred tickets to the event at the Speedway Club have long been sold out. A variety of drivers will pay tribute to Terry - live and on video.
2) Pre-Race Honor - Rick Hendrick, Kellogg's, Chevrolet, NASCAR and Texas Motor Speedway will present Labonte with gifts in honor of his career, followed by a special music video tribute on the Nextel Vision screens around the speedway.
3) Driver Introductions - Terry, regardless of starting position, will be the last driver introduced prior to the Dickies 500. While all other drivers will ride around the speedway in the back of pickup trucks, Terry and his wife, Kim, will take his lap in the back of a white 2007 Corvette convertible for the fans to give him one final salute.
4) Stratagraph Chevy - Following the command "Gentlemen Start Your Engines," Terry will lead the Dickies 500 starting field during the pace laps. The car Terry drove to win the 1980 Southern 500 at Darlington for his first victory in just his 59th start will ride alongside - with son Justin Labonte at the wheel, illustrating the four-decade spectrum of Labonte's career.
With one lap to go, Terry will drop back to his starting position and Justin will head down pit road.
Labonte's car will carry a special paint scheme, illustrating each of his wins at Hendrick Motorsports, featuring his 1999 win in Texas on the hood.
5) Souvenir Program - A special eight-page section will highlight Labonte's career. Labonte will also be featured on the cover.
This is a Texas-sized tribute, to be sure.
Kim Labonte, also a Texas native, revealed a few years ago that she had an unusual practice in scheduling their commercial cross-country flights.
"Given the choice of flying direct to, say, California, or making a stop in Dallas, I picked the latter every time," said Kim. "It was inconvenient, but we just wanted to step onto Texas soil."
This week, Texans will return the love.
Kat has ALWAYS loved Texas Terry, a real class act to say the very least!
By Tom Higgins
Texan Terry Labonte is headed for his last roundup in Nextel Cup Series racing.
The Dickies 500 on Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway is to mark the final start for Labonte, who will be 50 on Nov. 16.
It has been an admirable, remarkable ride for the native of Corpus Christi, who for many years has made his home in North Carolina, where his teams were based.
Twice he became the champion of NASCAR's elite series.
I vividly remember Terry's very first race at stock car racing's top level, the Southern 500 of 1978 at treacherous, demanding old Darlington Raceway in South Carolina.
As the wreck-filled event wound down, two savvy veterans and a promising relative newcomer held the front three spots. They were, respectively, Cale Yarborough, Richard Petty and Darrell Waltrip.
Few fans or members of the motorsports media ever had heard of the driver in fourth place. In fact, they didn't know the proper pronunciation of his last name.
That was Terry Labonte, then 21, driving a Chevrolet for Louisiana's Billy Hagan.
Labonte continued to place fourth, an impressive debut, never mind that he took the checkered flag 11 laps behind winner Yarborough.
For a youngster who never before had seen the deceiving Darlington layout simply to be running at the finish was worthy of acclaim.
Good things were predicted that day — Sept. 4, 1978 — for Labonte. He has more than measured up to the prognostications.
As he rides into the sunset in Texas, his record lists 847 starts, 22 victories, 182 top five finishes, 361 top 10s and purses of $36,379,862. His Winston Cup championships came in 1984 with Hagan's team and in 1996 with Hendrick Motorsports.
Additionally, Terry won The Winston all-star race at Charlotte in 1988 with Junior Johnson's team and again in '99 with Hendrick Motorsports.
He was the 1989 winner of the International Race Of Champions series.
Consistency marks Labonte's career. He made a then-record 655 consecutive starts before missing the Brickyard 400 in 2000 while recovering from injuries. That record now belongs to Ricky Rudd, who retired in 2005 with 788 straight starts.
During the years Labonte ran all the races in pursuit of the points title, he finished in the top 10 in the final standings a whopping 17 times.
"I've never been into keeping much track of records or statistics," Labonte said on the occasion of his 500th straight start in 1995 at Dover, Del. "But reaching this level has been hard to ignore, because 500 seems such a significant number.
"To me, the main thing that it shows is that I've been lucky to be with good teams in the kind of equipment it takes to run well."
Labonte laughed.
"If I had wrecked a car every third weekend I probably would have been looking for new rides pretty often."
Labonte seldom wrecked.
However, there were a few crashes.
In the 1980s he wrecked while running under caution at Darlington in an accident that also involved Joe Ruttman and Buddy Baker.
Said Terry, in an unforgettable quote: "It was like an invisible hand came out from the wall and smacked us together."
The most memorable and horrifying of his crashes came at the now-defunct Riverside Raceway road course in California in November of 1982.
Labonte, traveling almost 190 mph, hit the wall at the end of what was then the longest, fastest straightaway in NASCAR. He barrel-rolled into the infield and his car came to rest on its roof.
A rescue crew had a difficult time getting Labonte, who was unconscious, and suffering from deep facial cuts, out of the ****pit.
Labonte awoke to see one of the emergency team members weeping profusely. The man feared the worst.
Labonte was hospitalized almost a month because of the crash in the season finale.
Some wondered if he would come back.
Labonte courageously was there for the '83 season opener and has been around ever since.
Along the way he was tagged with a nickname, "The Iceman," both because of his coolness on the track and quiet, low-key personal demeanor.
In 1991 Terry was joined on the big-time NASCAR tour by his brother Bobby, who is six years younger.
Bobby gave the family another Winston Cup title in 1996 while driving for Joe Gibbs Racing. Bobby, who now drives for Petty Enterprises, lists 21 career victories.
In 1995 the Labonte Brothers twice won back-to-back races and two other times they finished 1-2.
"We're getting Labontes in doses," joked the late Dale Earnhardt, who counted Terry among his fishing and hunting buddies.
During the '95 season when the Labonte boys ran so often at the front, their dad, Bob, who started both in racing as kids in Corpus Christi, addressed their styles.
"They race each other fair," said Bob. "That's their way. They will give each other room. Terry will protect the inside of the track, but Bobby is gutsy enough that he might try to go by on the outside.
"Terry drives a little bit smarter. He looks ahead and has a pretty good game plan.
"Bobby just might dive into a situation and worry about it when he gets there."
Bob Labonte, reserved like Terry, permitted himself a chuckle.
"A few days ago I walked into the kitchen at home in Trinity (N.C.) and my wife Martha had a box of Kellogg's Corn Flakes and a tin of Maxwell House Coffee sitting on the table. Terry's picture was on the cereal box and Bobby's on the coffee can, because those were their sponsors.
"I said to their mom, `This is why it's OK for us to be so proud. Not many parents will ever get to see anything like that.'"
Knowing Terry, humility will temper his own pride this week as fans and racing officials in the Lone Star State honor a native son who has accomplished so much in auto racing.
Here's what's planned by Eddie Gossage, president of Texas Motor Speedway:
1) All Star Tribute on Thursday night, benefitting the Texas chapter of Speedway Children's Charities. Five-hundred tickets to the event at the Speedway Club have long been sold out. A variety of drivers will pay tribute to Terry - live and on video.
2) Pre-Race Honor - Rick Hendrick, Kellogg's, Chevrolet, NASCAR and Texas Motor Speedway will present Labonte with gifts in honor of his career, followed by a special music video tribute on the Nextel Vision screens around the speedway.
3) Driver Introductions - Terry, regardless of starting position, will be the last driver introduced prior to the Dickies 500. While all other drivers will ride around the speedway in the back of pickup trucks, Terry and his wife, Kim, will take his lap in the back of a white 2007 Corvette convertible for the fans to give him one final salute.
4) Stratagraph Chevy - Following the command "Gentlemen Start Your Engines," Terry will lead the Dickies 500 starting field during the pace laps. The car Terry drove to win the 1980 Southern 500 at Darlington for his first victory in just his 59th start will ride alongside - with son Justin Labonte at the wheel, illustrating the four-decade spectrum of Labonte's career.
With one lap to go, Terry will drop back to his starting position and Justin will head down pit road.
Labonte's car will carry a special paint scheme, illustrating each of his wins at Hendrick Motorsports, featuring his 1999 win in Texas on the hood.
5) Souvenir Program - A special eight-page section will highlight Labonte's career. Labonte will also be featured on the cover.
This is a Texas-sized tribute, to be sure.
Kim Labonte, also a Texas native, revealed a few years ago that she had an unusual practice in scheduling their commercial cross-country flights.
"Given the choice of flying direct to, say, California, or making a stop in Dallas, I picked the latter every time," said Kim. "It was inconvenient, but we just wanted to step onto Texas soil."
This week, Texans will return the love.
Kat has ALWAYS loved Texas Terry, a real class act to say the very least!
