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MISTER CONSISTENCY BOWS OUT; Terry Labonte wraps up a sure-fire Hall of Fame career.(Terry Labonte )
Byline: AL PEARCE
Terry Labonte was a fuzzy-cheeked 21-year-old when he made his NASCAR debut. He was so green, in fact, he worried his fledgling career might end at any moment. Twenty-eight years and two championships later, that moment finally came.
Labonte made his final Nextel Cup start in the Dickies 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. Ten days shy of his 50th birthday, he used a past champion's provisional to make the field. He ran in the back all afternoon and night and finished 36th, a painful 23 laps behind winner Tony Stewart.
"It was a tough day,'' he said afterward. "I knew the car was too loose [in Saturday practice], and we didn't go far enough in our adjustments. It was so bad we went to the garage and worked on it, but I was determined to finish the race. It's too bad we were off more than I thought. Anyway... it's been a great ride. On one hand, it's sad; on the other, I'm excited to be moving on. It's been a good ride and I've had the opportunity to live my dream.''
Encouraged by his father, himself a former bullring racer, Labonte learned racing on south-Texas short tracks in the early-'70s. His skill and unflappable demeanor impressed fellow driver Billy Hagan, a Louisiana oil scout. When Hagan moved to North Carolina in the mid-'70s to go racing, he urged Labonte to follow. In September 1978, with absolutely no superspeedway experience, Labonte drove a Hagan-owned No. 44 Chevrolet in the Southern 500 at treacherous Darlington Raceway.
"I didn't have any idea what I was getting into,'' Labonte said of that day. "It was a dream for me to just be racing against guys I'd always looked up to. I never thought it would get this far, that there would be championships and poles and wins. I was fortunate because I got in the sport at a good time and competed for a long time.''
Labonte finished an astonishing fourth in that race, 11 laps behind Cale Yarborough and Darrell Waltrip. (Future champions Bobby Allison and Bill Elliott finished fifth and sixth.) His ...
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CHARLOTTE, N.C. _ Terry Labonte should get a new nickname next...said. Not many racing fans knew Terry Labonte at the time, either. Brought...s Coca-Cola 600 last May. Terry Labonte has led the second most miles...
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...emphasis on youth. But Sunday, Terry Labonte and Darlington Raceway each made...finish. "I thought, if I pass Terry Labonte, these people are going to hate...I'm extremely happy to see Terry Labonte win. He's a legend in our sport...
- Finally, back home: Terry Labonte ends his 29-year career today in Texas, and...
- News wire article from: Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Fort Worth, TX) November 5, 2006 700+ words
...ended. Never a self-promoter, Terry Labonte accepted those handles as hype...Carolina. Doesn't that qualify Terry Labonte as a foreigner? "You born in...Chevrolet bearing a special "Terry Labonte Tribute" paint scheme designed...
- NASCAR Driver Terry Labonte Recruited by Pizza Hut to Be Newest 'Delivery...
- Press release article from: Business Wire May 4, 2005 700+ words
...CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- NASCAR driver Terry Labonte surprised hundreds of children...sponsor of Chevrolets driven by Terry Labonte and Brian Vickers in the NASCAR...stay behind the wheel," said Terry Labonte. "I really appreciate Pizza...
- Terry Labonte deserves credit as a NASCAR ambassador.
- Newspaper article from: Orlando Sentinel (Orlando, FL) October 13, 2004 700+ words
...Oklahoma. When I saw `No. 44, Terry Labonte' on the side of that rig there...attract a national following. Terry Labonte is from "Baja Oklahoma," or...was the big hauler: "No. 44, Terry Labonte." What amazed me was the drawing...
- Terry Labonte deserves credit as a NASCAR ambassador.(The Orlando Sentinel)
- Newspaper article from: Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service Hinton, Ed October 14, 2004 700+ words
...Oklahoma. When I saw `No. 44, Terry Labonte' on the side of that rig there...attract a national following. Terry Labonte is from "Baja Oklahoma," or...was the big hauler: "No. 44, Terry Labonte." What amazed me was the drawing...
- Terry Labonte plans to make Texas race his last.
- News wire article from: Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, NC ) November 2, 2006 700+ words
...two-time Cup series champion Terry Labonte. If he had his way, nobody would...re behind a little bit." If Labonte makes this week's race his last...package, that's what you get with Terry Labonte." ___ (c) 2006, The Charlotte...
- A Texas farewell: Two-time series champion Terry Labonte, 49, plans to run his...
- News wire article from: Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, NC ) November 3, 2006 700+ words
...two-time Cup series champion Terry Labonte. If he had his way, nobody would...re behind a little bit." If Labonte makes this week's race his last...package, that's what you get with Terry Labonte." Copyright (c) 2006, The...
- Terry Labonte takes an exit.
- Newspaper article from: Dallas Morning News (Dallas, TX) October 30, 2006 700+ words
...Pro Shops in Charlotte, N.C., Terry Labonte discovered last April there was...Nextel Cup schedule this season, Labonte was surrounded by fishing rods...the lines were long, and only Labonte seemed worried that he wouldn...
- Terry Labonte leaving with drivers' respect: NASCAR veteran will call it quits...
- News wire article from: Kansas City Star (Kansas City, MO) November 4, 2006 700+ words
...victories and 27 pole victories. Terry Labonte's place in Nextel Cup racing history...of many in racing this weekend as Labonte runs his last race. He will retire...Dickies 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. Labonte was leading late in that race at...
Source: HighBeam Research, MISTER CONSISTENCY BOWS OUT; Terry Labonte wraps up a sure-fire Hall...