Terry Labonte began his racing career by racing quarter midgets in Texas in 1964. Louisana car owner Billy Hagan worked out a deal with Labonte to run his first Winston Cup race in the Southern 500 at Darlington in 1978. He qualified 19th and finished a surprising fourth.
He won his first NASCAR Cup title for owner Billy Hagan in 1984. While he won just two races that season, he had 24 top-10 finishes in 30 races.
Labonte has driven for owner Rick Hendrick since 1994. He won a Cup championship for Hendrick in 1996 while again winning just two races, but garnering 21 top-five finishes in 31 events.
Labonte won The Winston all-star race in 1999 and the Busch Clash in 1985. He also was the International Race of Champions (IROC) series winner in 1989. He has earned more than $29 million in 745 Winston Cup starts.
Recent years have not been good for Labonte. He was winless for a third consecutive season in 2002, managing just four top-10 finishes. He did finish 23rd in the standings. His best finish came at Sonoma, where he finished third.
Labonte won the final Labor Day weekend Mountain Dew Southern 500 on August 31, 2003 at Darlington Raceway, his first win since Texas of 1999.
Along with running five races for Hall of Fame Racing in 2006, Terry will run a limited schedule of ten races for Hendrick Motorsports before retiring.
Labonte and brother Bobby started on the front row in the 1998 Daytona 500, the only time that brothers shared the front row for that event. Terry and Bobby are also the only pair of brothers ever to win the Cup championship.
