Terry Labonte to Make Final Darlington Start

- Press Opportunities - News & Notes - Quotable - Contact Information * * * * * * * * * * TERRY LABONTE AVAILABLE FRIDAY: Terry Labonte, who will make his final Darlington Raceway start on Saturday evening, will be available to the media on Friday immediately following the first NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series practice session (scheduled to conclude at 1:35 p.m. local time) outside the No. 44 transporter. * * * * * * * * * * LABONTE TO MAKE FINAL DARLINGTON START: Terry Labonte, driver of the No. 44 Kellogg's Chevrolet, will make his 54th and final Darlington (S.C.) Raceway start Saturday evening. Racing a limited schedule in his last NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series season, Labonte will enter eight more events for Hendrick Motorsports in 2006, including the last of his career in November at Texas Motor Speedway. FIRST START CAME AT DARLINGTON: Labonte, 49, made his first career Cup Series start on Sept. 4, 1978 at Darlington Raceway. The Corpus Christi, Texas, native qualified 19th in a No. 92 Chevrolet and came in fourth to earn his first of 181 career top-five results. Each of the top-six finishers that day -- Cale Yarborough, Darrell Waltrip, Richard Petty, Labonte, Bobby Allison and Bill Elliott -- ended their respective careers with at least one Cup-level championship. BOOKEND WINS: Driving a No. 44 Chevrolet, Labonte bested runner-up David Pearson to win at Darlington on Sept. 1, 1980, marking the first of his 22 career Cup victories. Ironically, Labonte's most recent win -- No. 22 -- also came at Darlington, when he led 33 laps in a No. 5 Chevy and beat second-place Kevin Harvick to the finish line on Aug. 31, 2003. The race marked the final Labor Day weekend Southern 500 at the track. DARLINGTON TO HONOR LABONTE: Darlington Raceway president Chris Browning will present Labonte with a one-of-a-kind memento during pre-race driver introductions Saturday evening. The piece includes souvenir program covers from significant Darlington races throughout Labonte's career, including his first start, first win, most recent win and final start. FIRST NIGHT RACE: Although Labonte has 53 career starts at Darlington, Saturday night's race will mark his first under the lights at the South Carolina track. Labonte, whose career now spans 29 seasons, did not compete there in 2005 while running a part-time schedule for Hendrick Motorsports. NEXT UP: Following Darlington, Labonte will next race for Hendrick Motorsports at Lowe's Motor Speedway on May 28. The two-time NEXTEL Cup champion and his No. 44 Chevrolet team tested the 1.5-mile oval during last week's open testing session. * * * * * * * * * * TERRY LABONTE, DRIVER OF THE NO. 44 KELLOGG'S CHEVROLET: (ON GOING BACK TO DARLINGTON FOR THE LAST TIME.) "Naturally, Darlington has always been one of my favorite tracks. It was where I ran my first race and where I was able to get my first win. Ironically, it's also the last place I won. I'm just looking forward to going back and running down there one more time.." LABONTE: (WHAT MEMORIES DO YOU HAVE OF YOUR FIRST CUP START?) "The longest race I'd ever run in my life before that was probably a 200-lap race on a half-mile track. It was a big adjustment to run a 500-mile event. It was definitely a long race and a typical Darlington deal, tearing up a bunch of cars. It was a tough place back then and still is. The coolest thing was after the race, I'd finished fourth, and Bobby and Donnie Allison came over and congratulated me. To have two guys, both stars in the sport, do that, I thought it was pretty neat. It was definitely different back then. Of course the crowds weren't as big and people weren't in such a hurry to get to the airplane after the race. The competition was still tough, but everything was a little more laid back." LABONTE: (WHAT MEMORIES DO YOU HAVE OF YOUR FIRST CUP WIN?) "The year prior (1979), I finished third in the Southern 500 and I finished fourth the year before that. I was running third or fourth as we were coming to the white flag and somebody dumped oil on the track right in front of us. Some wrecked in front of me and some wrecked behind me, but I didn't wreck. David Pearson, who was leading the race, bounced off the wall. Back then you raced back to the caution, so I caught him coming off Turn 4, made the pass and beat him to the line. There was no green-white-checkered, so the race was over. I only led those two laps." LABONTE: (WHAT DID YOUR LAST WIN AT DARLINGTON IN 2003 MEAN TO YOU?) "That was the last Southern 500 over Labor Day weekend. To me, that was always one of the biggest races we ran every year. It was a real tradition that I hated to see go away. Bill Elliott and I were running really good during that event and I thought to myself, 'Well, if we can't win I hope Bill can.' The two of us had run at Darlington so many times and understood the history of the track, so I thought that would be neat. It was really cool to win that race." LABONTE: (ON RUNNING A DARLINGTON RACE IN MAY FOR THE FIRST TIME.) "I've never run under the lights at Darlington, so that'll be pretty exciting. I understand why NASCAR changed the schedule, but if Darlington was going to keep one race, I wish it had been the Southern 500." LABONTE: (YOU TESTED LAST WEEK AT LOWE'S MOTOR SPEEDWAY AND WILL RUN THE MAY 28 RACE. HOW WAS THE TRACK DURING TESTING?) "They did a good job with the track, but the tire is too hard. It's going to take a little time for the track to widen out some, but it (the racing groove) is already wider than I thought it would be. I think it's going to be pretty good." LABONTE: (WITH MOTHER'S DAY WEEKEND COMING, WHAT KIND OF IMPACT DID YOUR PARENTS HAVE ON YOUR RACING CAREER?) "They have always been a big part of my career and have always supported it 100 percent. They've both been huge influences over me. I can remember years ago, during the short-track days when we'd travel to different places around South Texas for weekly races. My mom was always right there, sitting in the stands with all our friends. She'll be there at Darlington this weekend, too." NOTE: Terry Labonte's parents are Bob and Martha Labonte. * * * * * * * * * * MEDIA INFORMATION: Jesse Essex, Hendrick Motorsports 704-455-0527 [email protected] The information above is for media use and not intended for public posting in this format.