Terry Labonte was born in Corpus Christi, Texas in 1956. He was introduced to racing through his father, who had worked on race cars as a hobby for his friends. He started racing quarter-midgets when he was seven and won a national championship at nine before moving onto the local short tracks in a stock car as a teenager. Driving on both dirt and asphalt, he won track championships in his hometown, in Houston, and in San Antonio from 1975 to 1977. During this time he also met Louisiana businessman Billy Hagan.
Racing career
Hagan Racing
Labonte’s first NASCAR start came in 1978 at Darlington Raceway. He qualified 19th in the No. 92 Duck Industries-sponsored Chevrolet and finished fourth that weekend. He ran four more races that season and had an additional two Top 10 finishes. In 1979, he competed for NASCAR Winston Cup Rookie of the Year honors along with Dale Earnhardt, Harry Gant, and Joe Millikan while driving the No. 44 Stratagraph-sponsored Chevrolet for Hagan. Although Labonte failed to win the top rookie award, he was one of three rookies to finish in the Top 10 in points. He ended the season with 13 Top 10 finishes. The following year, he won his first career Winston Cup race on Labor Day weekend at Darlington. He won $222,501 in prize money for the year and finished eighth in the final points standings.
"We live in a great country, and one reason is because of the armed forces. It is nice for us to be able to come here and in a very small way say thank you."
"It's embarrassing for me being from Texas. I just want everyone to know that everything in Texas isn't as screwed up as it is at this place."
"Being from Texas, it would certainly be hard to tell Roger and Troy no, ... It's just kind of a neat deal for me."
"Rick thinks it will be great for our sport to have Roger and Troy involved, ... And I get to run 17 races, instead of 10. I think it's great."
"To have the opportunity to help these guys kick off their team, being from Texas, it was just an opportunity I couldn't turn down, ... It would certainly be hard to tell Roger and Troy no. It's exciting for me."
"I'm excited about the opportunity to be a small part of this team. I think it's great that these guys have gotten into our sport. I think it's going to be good for the sport. They've entered in a big way with Texas Instruments on board. Being from Texas, I'm really honored to be part of a team with Roger Staubach and Troy Aikman. I'm looking forward to the opportunity. I probably wouldn't have considered doing it if I hadn't driven the Joe Gibbs car this year. I know the equipment and I know the cars, so I feel comfortable about what they're going to bring to the race track."
"Ten years down the road when they're successful, I'll be able to look back and say I ran the first race for those guys. I'm just confident in the team they're putting together and the equipment they're going to have. I'm just a small part of this deal and honored they asked me to help them get started."
"This is an opportunity for me to have a little more fun. I've been fortunate to do this for nearly three decades, and I'm excited to go back to some of the places that have meant so much to me, my team and my family over the years."
"It's a hard deal to get into, and it takes a lot of money and sponsorship and things like that. It's a lot different from what it used to be, probably a lot tougher today to get into the sport than it was 10 or 15 years ago. He's got to work hard at it and try to be successful at what he's doing before he moves up to the next step. Take it one step at a time."
Texans ... Kulwicki ran six Cup Series races for owner BillTerry, who would sell his team to Kulwicki early in the 1986 season ... NASCAR legend and team owner Junior Johnson approached Kulwicki after 1989 and offered him a seat replacing Terry Labonte.
Two spins for Terry Labonte ... But he worked his way up and on Lap 380 (of 500), he took his first lead and held it for 32 laps, then swapped the lead back and forth with Terry Labonte the rest of the way ... Terry Labonte's plan for a t-bone misfired.
RankDriverChangeComment. 1Kyle Larson ... 2Tyler Reddick ... 3Christopher Bell ... If he wins the title this year, it'll mark the longest gap from one title to the next since Terry Labonte won the championship in 1996 a full 12 years after first doing it in 1984.
Once the NASCAR playoff field was set Sunday night at Darlington, the oddsmakers went to work constructing their big board ... Courtesy of Hard Rock ... Ryan’s buddy Chase has somehow morphed into Terry Labonte and gone into points-gathering mode this year.
Chicago Tribune
16 Nov 2024
Chicago Tribune
16 Nov 2024