Corpus Christi Caller Times Caller.com - Ceremony to name park for Labontes is delayed

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Sunday, March 18, 2001
Ceremony to name park for Labontes is delayed
Postponement will allow more time for fund-raising
By Guy H. Lawrence
Caller-Times

How you can help
To contribute to the effort to raise $50,000 needed for signs and a dedication plaque renaming Nueces River Park Terry and Bobby Labonte Park, send donations payable to the Chamber of Commerce Labonte Recognition Fund. Checks may be sent to Corpus Christi Chamber of Commerce; P.O. Box 640; Corpus Christi, Texas 78403.

A ceremony to rename Nueces River Park after NASCAR drivers Terry Labonte and Bobby Labonte has been delayed until June, officials said.
   The Labonte Brothers Special Recognition Committee initially wanted to rename the park to coincide with the April 1 NASCAR race at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth.
   But the highway signs could not be ready by that time, said Yvonne Haag, a committee member and assistant to the city manager. The delay gives the committee more
   time to plan the dedication ceremony and raise the $50,000 needed for the signs and the dedication plaque, she said.
   "The Chamber of Commerce is taking a big role in the fund-raising efforts," Haag said.
   "Supporters are calling and several of (the Labontes') major sponsors will be supporting this effort."
   "We also want to develop some type of monument with a plaque
   on it with visitor information," Haag said. "That is going to take a little bit of time."
   The Labonte brothers said Thursday they are thrilled with the idea that their hometown is recognizing their accomplishments on the NASCAR racing circuit. Bobby Labonte won the Winston Cup in 2000, while Terry Labonte has won two cups, 1984 and 1996. The Labontes moved from Corpus Christi in the late 1970s so Terry Labonte could pursue his racing career.
   Bobby Labonte, who was 14 when he moved, remembers thinking at the time that he wanted to put off moving two more years so he could get his license and drive on the beach, he said.
   "We are just both honored. We haven't lived there in a long time and it is good that people still think about us," Bobby Labonte said. "We definitely think it is great."
   Terry Labonte, a 1975 Carroll High School graduate, said he is pleased that Nueces River Park was chosen because of its high visibility from Interstate 37. It was a route he drove often in the 1970s when he traveled to San Antonio and Houston to race.
   "It really makes you feel good. We have a lot of fans in Corpus and a lot of friends that live there," Terry Labonte said.
   "It is awesome. It is pretty exciting for Bobby and I to have something like that done for us."
   The warm reception they get from Corpus Christi is similar to the reception they receive when they race at the Texas Motor Speedway, Terry Labonte said. About as many fans, some 230,000, show up to watch the race as there are people in Corpus Christi, he said.
   Texas fans go out of their way to cheer for the home state favorites, he said.
   "When we go to Texas to race, there is no question who the favorites are - it is Bobby and I," Terry Labonte said.
   "I don't think we see that in other states. The folks from Texas are more supportive of people from their home state."
   The community response to the fund-raising has been strong, said Tom Niskala, chief executive officer for the Corpus Christi Chamber of Commerce. People have donated from $50 to $5,000, he said.
   They have not really beat the bushes for donations because they are still working out the details of what the plaque will be, he said. Despite that, people have been eager to contribute, he said.
   "It has been very enthusiastic," Niskala said.
   "We have gotten both unsolicited inquiries and those who volunteered other leads."

Staff writer Guy H. Lawrence can be reached at 886-3792 or by e-mail at lawrenceg@caller.com

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