By The Commish

One of the classiest racers to ever take the track hung up his helmet for a final time in 2006. Terry Labonte, after 848 starts, two championships, 22 wins, and a lifetime of thrills, concluded his two-year Shifting Gears tour and retired to his Texas ranch. While Jeff Gordon has been the driving force behind Hendrick Motorsports' success, veterans like Tim Richmond and Darrell Waltrip took their turns in the spotlight, and new stars like Jimmie Johnson have brought passion and competitiveness to the team, for 12 years Terry Labonte was the steady, quiet soul at the heart of this organization. More recent fans of NASCAR don't remember Terry's glory days in the mid-1980s or his stunning resurgence in the mid-90s, and may think of him as a backmarker whose time passed long ago. In terms of where he has finished on the racetrack, maybe so—- in terms of what he has meant to racing, his time will never pass.

In an age where NASCAR racing has become all about self-promotion and individual stardom, Terry Labonte has always demonstrated his mastery of self-effacement. Since his first start at Darlington in 1978 where he finished fourth, behind Cale Yarborough, Richard Petty, and Darrell Waltrip, he's been quiet and unassuming. His humor is apparent only to friends behind the scenes. Almost without fans noticing it, he became NASCAR's Iron Man, passing Richard Petty for that title in 1995. It's likely he would have continued in that role through 2004 had he not suffered serious injuries in the at Daytona in 2000. Continued after-effects from a concussion and inner-ear injury caused Labonte to sit out the Brickyard 400 and the following week's Watkins Glen race. The streak was broken at 655 starts. NASCAR would have let Terry run one lap at Indy and pull in for a replacement driver, but he declined to do so. He said, "I just didn't feel like that would be fair to the team [to] have to stop under green."

When the problems persisted after Watkins Glen, Labonte turned away from NASCAR's physicians to his longtime family doctor, Tom Brewer, who was also a racer. Brewer was able to diagnose what the experts had not-— an inner ear injury that affected Labonte's equilibrium. After treatment at Methodist Hospital in Winston-Salem, Brewer had Labonte test his recovery in a novel way by traveling to the Kings Dominion amusement park to ride rollercoasters and other thrill rides to try to recondition his inner ear. Labonte wryly told reporters, "I guess upside-down therapy works for me," then added, "We'll just have to start a new streak." No self-pity and no bitterness. Just the strength to move on.

In fact, at Daytona in 2001, Labonte had met with Dale Earnhardt to plan events for when Earnhardt would pass Labonte on the Iron Man list. That's when Earnhardt said, "if I make it that far." The next day lost his life. Most fans don’t know, however, that Terry Labonte was one of the thousands who signed their condolences on Earnhardt's souvenir hauler at Rockingham the following week. In his understated fashion he wrote, "Talladega will never be the same - #5." Several longtime RCR employees have told visitors to the team's museum that it was one of the most meaningful tributes they saw to the fallen legend.

There are so many other Terry Labonte stories to remember, such as the great win at Bristol in 1995 after Earnhardt tried to wreck him on the last lap with the crumpled Kelloggs Chevrolet steaming and leaking its way into Victory Lane. Or the controversial Earnhardt win in 1999, where Earnhardt miscalculated a bump-and-run move on the backstretch in the last lap, wrecking Labonte to win the race. Earnhardt uncharacteristically was booed resoundingly after the race, where he defensively explained, "I didn't mean to wreck him, I just meant to rattle his cage a little bit. I didn't mean to do it intentionally. I meant to get in there and race with him, but that happened and I know he's not going to see it that way. I know he's upset. He has a right to be."

That was one of the two occasions I've ever heard Terry Labonte make an angry remark after a race. He said, "He hit me in the corner down there. He never has any intention of taking anybody out. It just happens that way. I wouldn't even waste my time to go down to the trailer and talk to them about it. I've been there before. He better tighten his belts up." Jeff Gordon was more indignant for his teammate, telling reporters, "Earnhardt just took Terry right out. That's all I saw. It's a shame. Terry had the car to beat there, and he should have won the race. It's a shame for those guys because they needed that more than anybody." Sterling Marlin probably had the best line of the night, saying, "They get together again, I'd say Earnhardt's got him a neck stretching coming." But Labonte had too much class to wreck Earnhardt back. The other angry remark was about Kurt Busch who wrecked Labonte at Indy in 2003, earning the sharp response that "He [Busch] drives off the end of the hood. He can't see past his ears."

Labonte's last appearance in Victory Lane fittingly took place at Darlington where it all began. He won the final Southern 500 on Labor Day 2003, almost 23 years to the day after his first win and ending a losing streak of 156 races dating back to Texas in 1999. It meant a great deal to the quiet man from Texas who reminisced that "Bill Elliott and I were running together in fourth or fifth, and I thought to myself, 'I hope one of us wins it. It would mean a lot more to us if one of us won it than maybe some of the guys that haven't run here as long and didn't kind of know the history and tradition of Darlington Raceway.' It's a thrill for me to be able to win the last Southern 500 on Labor Day." His daughter Kristy, who wasn't even born when her father won that first race, said she'd never seen her father happier than on that day.

Labonte earned the nickname The Iceman for his quiet style. His Hendrick Motorsports teammates have always realized, though, that he had a lot to teach them. "He's a man of few words, but his actions on the race track have always spoken volumes about the type of person he is," Gordon said. "I've always admired his ability and the commitment he's shown in his many years of racing. You can't help but be amazed by someone who has the talent to win two championships more than a decade apart, especially when so much has changed in our sport." Johnson agreed, adding "His style is like what you see on TV. He doesn't have a lot to say, but when he says it, there's something there. He just doesn't talk to fill time. When he says something, he's got a point and it's usually pretty funny."

Labonte's successor in the Kelloggs car was Kyle Busch. "Terry's been a great mentor and offered a lot of support to me," Busch said. "When I first came to Hendrick Motorsports, he was there for me and helped with the transition by telling me about the team, the guys and getting started in Cup. He told me about his championship and how he and Jeff battled it out as teammates. He's given me great feedback on a lot of things, especially when it comes to bonding with the team. It's just good advice only a veteran can give a new kid like me."

In the last two seasons, Labonte has driven a limited schedule, and now says he regrets that choice. "Running a limited schedule when you have a team that doesn't have any points, you're one of the last cars on the track, last cars through inspection," he said. "Sometimes you don't have the full practice sessions. You don't learn things from week to week. You're always trying to play catch up, seems like you're behind a little bit. It's a little bit tougher than I thought." Still, he hasn't complained or tried to change the arrangement he made with Rick Hendrick and his sponsors.

That loyalty and uncomplaining nature have always been his hallmarks, and people have noticed. Whether it was scuffing tires or running interference, he has been the consummate model of teamwork. Hendrick notes that "Terry could've accomplished even more in his career had he been a little more selfish, but there's not a selfish bone in his body. If he had left Billy Hagan when they were really struggling financially, that deal would have folded up. But he had won a championship there, and it was Billy who got him started, so he was trying to keep it together, thinking of others rather than himself. If Terry had walked, he would have killed the team, so he just stuck with it. He's never been one of those guys with his hand up for anything. He's a great talent, but he's just a great human being. When you talk about the total package, that's what you get with Terry Labonte."

When the drivers took the track for the parade lap in Texas, two cars led the field. One was Labonte, in a specially-decaled #44 car celebrating his career accomplishments. The other was the 1980 Chevrolet, in the colors of Billy Hagan Racing, in which he won his first race at Darlington. It was driven by Labonte’s son Justin, who was 3 years old when his father won his first championship and 15 years old when he won his second, and who now carries the Labonte name into a new generation of racers. The name moves on but the legacy remains. As Rick Hendrick said, "You just wish there were more Terry Labonte's in the world." Good ride cowboy, good ride.

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