Terry Labonte facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Terry Labonte |
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Labonte in 2013
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| Born | Terrance Lee Labonte November 16, 1956 Corpus Christi, Texas, U.S. |
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| Achievements | 1984, 1996 Winston Cup Series Champion 1989 IROC Champion 1993 IROC Champion (Assist) 1980, 2003 Southern 500 Winner 1988, 1999 The Winston Winner 1985 Busch Clash Winner Holds all-time Cup Series record for longest drought between Cup Series Championships (12 years) |
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| Awards | NASCAR Hall Of Fame (2016) Named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers (1998) National Quarter Midget Hall of Fame (1989) Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (2017) Named one of NASCAR's 75 Greatest Drivers (2023) |
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| NASCAR Cup Series career | |||||||
| 890 races run over 37 years | |||||||
| 2014 position | 40th | ||||||
| Best finish | 1st (1984, 1996) | ||||||
| First race | 1978 Southern 500 (Darlington) | ||||||
| Last race | 2014 GEICO 500 (Talladega) | ||||||
| First win | 1980 Southern 500 (Darlington) | ||||||
| Last win | 2003 Southern 500 (Darlington) | ||||||
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| NASCAR Xfinity Series career | |||||||
| 124 races run over 11 years | |||||||
| Best finish | 13th (1996) | ||||||
| First race | 1985 Miller 400 (Charlotte) | ||||||
| Last race | 2000 MBNA Platinum 200 (Dover) | ||||||
| First win | 1985 Miller 400 (Charlotte) | ||||||
| Last win | 1999 Touchstone Energy 300 (Talladega) | ||||||
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| NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series career | |||||||
| 3 races run over 1 year | |||||||
| Best finish | 37th (1995) | ||||||
| First race | 1995 Skoal Bandit Copper World Classic (Phoenix) | ||||||
| Last race | 1995 Fas Mart Supertruck Shootout (Richmond) | ||||||
| First win | 1995 Fas Mart Supertruck Shootout (Richmond) | ||||||
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| Statistics current as of October 19, 2014. | |||||||
Terrance Lee Labonte (born November 16, 1956), known as "Texas Terry" or "the Iceman", is a retired American stock car driver. He competed in the top NASCAR series from 1978 to 2014. Terry won the Cup Series championship twice, in 1984 and 1996. He also won the IROC championship in 1989. Terry is the older brother of Bobby Labonte, who won the Cup Series in 2000. He is also the father of former Nationwide Series driver Justin Labonte. Terry co-owns a Chevrolet dealership in Greensboro, North Carolina with Rick Hendrick. He even appeared on the TV show The Dukes of Hazzard in 1984 as a pit crew member.
Contents
Early Life and First Races
Terry Labonte was born in Corpus Christi, Texas, in 1956. He got into racing early because his dad worked on race cars as a hobby. Terry started racing small cars called quarter midgets when he was seven. He won a national championship at age nine. As a teenager, he moved on to racing stock cars on local tracks. He finished high school in 1975. Between 1975 and 1977, he won championships on both dirt and asphalt tracks in his home state of Texas. During this time, he met Louisiana businessman Billy Hagan.
Racing Career Highlights
Starting with Hagan Racing
Terry Labonte's first NASCAR race was in 1978 at Darlington Raceway. He started 19th and finished 4th, which was a great start! He raced four more times that year and had two more top-10 finishes. In 1979, he competed for the NASCAR Winston Cup Rookie of the Year award. He was up against famous drivers like Dale Earnhardt and Harry Gant. Even though he didn't win the rookie award, he finished in the top 10 in points, with 13 top-10 finishes.
The next year, 1980, Terry won his first ever Winston Cup race at Darlington. He finished eighth in the final points standings that year. He didn't win any races in 1981 or 1982, but he always finished in the top 5 in the overall standings. In 1983, he won his second career race.
In 1984, Terry's team got a new sponsor, Piedmont Airlines. He won races at Riverside International Raceway and Bristol Motor Speedway. That year, he also won his first Winston Cup championship! In 1985, he finished 7th in points. That same year, he raced in the Busch Series for the first time at Charlotte and won the 400-mile race.
Moving to Junior Johnson's Team
In 1986, Terry finished 12th in the standings. He then decided to join Junior Johnson's team for the 1987 season. In his first year with the new team, he won the Holly Farms 400 race and earned four pole positions (meaning he started first four times). He jumped up to 3rd place in the final standings. In 1988, he finished 4th in points and won The Winston all-star race. In 1989, the team switched to Ford cars. Terry won two races but finished 10th in the championship.
Precision Products Racing and Return to Hagan
In 1990, Terry joined the Precision Products Racing team. He had four top-5 finishes and nine top-10 finishes, ending the season 15th in points.
In 1991, Terry went back to Hagan Racing. He won his first pole position since 1988. In 1992, he started the season strong with top-8 finishes in the first eight races. He ended the season 8th in points with four top-5s and 16 top-10s. In 1993, the team changed car numbers and sponsors. Terry had ten top-10 finishes but didn't get any top-5s for the first time in his career, dropping to 18th in points.
Success with Hendrick Motorsports
After leaving Hagan Racing, Terry Labonte joined Hendrick Motorsports in 1994. He drove the No. 5 Chevrolet. In 1995, the team switched to Chevrolet Monte Carlos. Terry won three races that year. One of his wins was at Bristol, where his car was damaged on the last lap after another driver bumped him.
In 1996, Terry broke a record for consecutive races. He won the championship that year, 12 years after his first one! This was the longest time between championships for any driver. He even drove the last two races with a broken hand. In the final race of the season at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Terry and his younger brother Bobby had a special moment. Bobby won the race, and Terry won the championship, so they did a victory lap together.
In 1997, Terry had 20 top-10 finishes and won one race at Talladega Superspeedway. In 1998, he won the Pontiac Excitement 400 and finished 9th in points. In 1999, he won at his home track, Texas Motor Speedway, and also won the Sprint All-Star Race XV. He finished 12th in points that year.
The 2000 season was tough for Terry. He missed some races due to an inner ear injury, which ended his long streak of consecutive starts. He didn't win any races that year, but his younger brother Bobby won the championship. Terry continued to struggle in 2001 and 2002. However, things started to improve in 2002 when Jim Long became his crew chief.
In 2003, Terry won his first pole position since 2000 at Richmond. He then won the Mountain Dew Southern 500 at Darlington, the same track where he won his first race 23 years earlier. This win was very popular with NASCAR fans. He finished 10th in points that season.
In 2004, Terry announced that it would be his last full-time year of racing. He planned to race part-time for the next two years, calling it "Shifting Gears: Lone Star Style."
Part-Time Racing Years
Terry started his part-time racing in 2005. He drove the No. 44 car for Hendrick Motorsports, which was a research and development car. He had some sponsors like Kellogg's and Pizza Hut. His best finish that year was 12th at Pocono Raceway. He also drove for Hendrick Motorsports in 2006.
Terry also raced for other teams during his semi-retirement. He drove five races for Joe Gibbs Racing in 2005, finishing 9th at Richmond. In 2006, he drove for Hall of Fame Racing, a new team started by former football players Roger Staubach and Troy Aikman. His best finish with them was 3rd at Infineon Raceway.
In 2007, Terry drove three races for Michael Waltrip Racing. In 2008, he drove for Petty Enterprises, reuniting with his brother Bobby. He had two top-20 finishes with Petty. He also drove one race for Gillett Evernham Motorsports.
In 2009, Terry tried to race in the Daytona 500 for Prism Motorsports and finished 24th. He also drove for Carter/Simo Racing for a few races. He even tried to start his own team, Stavola Labonte Racing, but it didn't last long. In 2010, he raced for Whitney Motorsports.
Final Races with FAS Lane Racing
In 2011, Terry joined FAS Lane Racing and drove the No. 32 car in the Daytona 500, finishing 15th. He raced in seven more events that year. In 2012, he raced in all four "restrictor plate" races (races where cars have a special plate to limit speed) with C&J Energy Services as his sponsor. He had three top-20 finishes.
In 2013, Terry raced five times for FAS Lane Racing, with a best finish of 19th. In 2014, FAS Lane Racing joined with Go Green Racing to form Go Fas Racing. Terry returned to drive the No. 32 car in the four superspeedway races. He finished 20th in the Daytona 500, which he said would be his last. In the 2014 Coke Zero 400, his final race at Daytona, he finished 11th.
On October 17, 2014, Terry announced that the 2014 GEICO 500 would be his 890th and final race. For this special occasion, Go Fas Racing designed his car with three different paint schemes from his career. However, NASCAR rules required the car to have the same colors on both sides for safety. So, they used a modified design. Terry qualified 9th but had to start at the back of the field because of the paint scheme issue. He finished 33rd in his last race.
Other Racing Achievements
Besides his 22 wins in the top NASCAR series, Terry Labonte also won 11 races in the Nationwide Series (now Xfinity Series) and 1 race in the Craftsman Truck Series. He also won three all-star races: the Busch Clash in 1985 and The Winston (now the Sprint All-Star Challenge) in 1988 and 1999.
He won the IROC championship in 1989. In 1993, he helped another driver, Davey Allison, win the IROC championship by driving his car to a 6th-place finish in the final race.
Terry finished in the top 10 in the year-end standings 17 times during his career. He holds the record for the longest time between championships, with 12 years between his 1984 and 1996 wins.
Terry also won two big endurance races in the United States: the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring. He drove a Chevrolet Camaro in these races in 1984.
Honors and Awards
NASCAR Hall of Fame
On February 21, 2014, Terry Labonte was nominated for the NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2015. This was possible because NASCAR changed its rules to allow drivers who are at least 55 years old or have 30+ years of experience to be nominated.
Terry was inducted into the NASCAR Hall Of Fame as part of the Class of 2016 on May 20, 2015. Other racing legends were inducted with him that year.
On January 26, 2017, Terry Labonte was also named to the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America.
Other Recognitions
In 1998, Terry Labonte was named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers. In 2001, a park in his hometown of Corpus Christi was renamed for him and his brother Bobby. In 2002, both brothers were chosen for the Texas Sports Hall of Fame. Terry also supports many charities, including the Ronald McDonald House and the Victory Junction Gang Camp.
TV and Movie Appearances
Terry Labonte appeared as himself in the 1983 movie Stroker Ace. Many other famous drivers were also in the film.
Images for kids
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Labonte in 2013
See also
In Spanish: Terry Labonte para niños
- Iron man
- Labonte Motorsports
- List of all-time NASCAR Cup Series winners
- List of NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race drivers
- List of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champions
- List of people from Texas
- NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers
