*UPDATE: Due to inclement weather in the Charlotte, North Carolina, area, the NASCAR Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony has been postponed to 2:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, Jan. 23. It will be aired live on NBCSN, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
CONCORD, N.C. -- Tonight, Terry Labonte will officially be inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
And Hendrick Motorsports owner Rick Hendrick couldn't be more proud.
“What a great guy," Hendrick said of Labonte. "He is just a soft-spoken kind of giant in our sport. He brought us a championship. He’s a two-time champion and he’s just a terrific person. He’s been so good in the sport. He was just a big asset to our company, so it’s really, really neat to be able to watch him go into the Hall of Fame.”
A two-time NASCAR premier series champion, Labonte raced for Hendrick Motorsports for more than a decade – 1994 to 2005 – earning 12 wins in the process.
His tenure was highlighted by the 1996 season, when he won two races and earned four pole positions, a career-high 21 top-five finishes and 24 top-10s en route to his second Cup championship.
"It was really neat because it proved that we made the right decision," Hendrick said of bringing Labonte to Hendrick Motorsports. "But to see Terry kind of get rejuvenated and win a championship, everybody was happy for him. You know when you see fans, and if their driver’s not in, everybody pulls for him. I never heard anybody boo for him. He was that kind of guy."
It stands to reason that one of the first phone calls Labonte received after finding out he had made the Hall of Fame's Class of 2016 -- while sitting in a hotel room -- came from Hendrick.
“It was so cool to have Mr. Hendrick give me a call when it happened,” Labonte said at the time. “He offered his congratulations. We had so much fun talking about all the great stories. I couldn’t have won that second championship without Mr. Hendrick’s help and support.”
Labonte’s first Cup championship came in 1984 – making him the only driver to win his first two championships so far apart. He is one of only six drivers to have won premier series championships in two decades.
"It's really, really neat to be able to watch him go into the Hall of Fame."
Hendrick Motorsports owner Rick Hendrick
Jimmie Johnson fondly recalled his former teammate and relayed just how deserving Labonte is of the Hall of Fame honor.
"I was just happy for him and his family," Johnson said. "I was able to spend a couple years with him as I first came on board, and he couldn't have been a better teammate or a better guy."
In his career, Labonte found Victory Lane 22 times, but perhaps most impressive was his ironman streak of 665 consecutive starts – a record that stood until 2002. He was named one of NASCAR’s 50 Great Drivers in 1998 as part of the sport’s 50th anniversary.
And No. 24 team crew chief Alan Gustafson -- who worked with Labonte on the No. 5 team early in his Hendrick Motorsports career -- recalled another special moment that stands out.
"Winning his last race at Darlington in the Southern 500 was really a huge accomplishment," he smiled. "That was fun. That's a pretty fond memory, for sure."
Now, all those memories and and accomplishments have led Labonte to where he belongs -- the Hall of Fame.
Relive all of his victories with Hendrick Motorsports in a photo gallery here.