Corpus Christi Caller Times Caller.com - Labonte’s not done quite yet

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Friday, March 30, 2001
Labonte’s not done quite yet
Older brother Terry says he’s still got time
Richard Tijerina
Sports Editor
It wasn't all that long ago - two years, in fact - that Terry Labonte was shining in the bright glare of media cameras at the Texas Motor Speedway. He had just edged Dale Jarrett to win a NASCAR race in his home state, where even now he is still known as "Texas Terry."
   But Labonte hasn't won on the NASCAR circuit since. There have been other troubles, including a broken leg, multiple concussions, sponsorship problems and crew changes.
   Things became so bad that he started to hear that he was going to retire.
   One of those sources? His own mother, who telephoned him after she heard a radio report that he was retiring from racing.
   "She said, 'I thought you would have called me and dad first,'" Labonte said. "I said I probably would. I wouldn't put much into that. Unfortunately in our sport, there are people who would rather create the news than report it. You run across that from time to time. It's just part of the deal."
   Another part of the deal, of course, is racing. And winning. And Labonte, 44, figures this weekend is just about as good a time as any to win again.
   He's due.
   Now, Labonte - winner of the 1984 and 1996 Winston Cup championships - finds himself back in Texas this week, preparing for Sunday's Harrah's 500 race at the Texas Motor Speedway. He won't be among the favorites. He won't even be the Labonte getting the most attention this weekend.
   That's what happens when you suffer through a yearlong drought like Labonte has had. If it's not one thing, it's another. Labonte has seen his share of bad times:

Terry Labonte is coming off his worst points finish last season in seven years.

He had only three top-5 and six-top 10 finishes in 2000.

His string of 655 consecutive race starts, which dated back to his rookie year in 1979, was wiped away when he suffered a head injury in Daytona last July.

Last year was his first winless season since 1993.

He failed to finish in the top 20 in each of the first three races this season.

A Sporting News article earlier this month addressed reports that Labonte crew chief Gary DeHart was going to be let go by Labonte's sponsor, Kellogg's. It also stated that the company was questioning Labonte's ability, especially after he suffered several concussions in 2000.
   He says he would like to race another five or six years. He says he loves the track at Texas Motor Speedway, where he won the pole for last year's race won by Dale Earnhardt Jr. But saying and doing are two different things.
   Still, if Labonte can pull out a win on this year's circuit, why not in Fort Worth? In this year of NASCAR strangeness, from Michael Waltrip's first-ever circuit victory coming at the Daytona 500 to Dale Earnhardt's death to rumors of drivers boycotting Talladega, anything can happen.
   "I wish someone could wave a magic wand and fix everything, but I don't know that person," Labonte said. "It's a situation where you run the whole race and you're sitting there on the edge of your seat because you know that one mistake can collect 10 to 15 cars or maybe more.
   "You always like to be in control of everything, and you know you're always not," he said. "You can get caught up in somebody else wreck, and it only takes one mistake. It's hard to run that many miles like that and somebody not make a mistake."
   Since Daytona, Labonte has been wearing the HANS safety device. Rules changes at Talladega that will cause cars to bunch up even more may mean some drivers - younger brother Bobby included - to skip that race, but not him.
   "I heard a rumor about that, but you hear rumors about all kinds of stuff," he said. "I was going to retire a month ago. I don't believe anything I hear and only half of what I read and only three-fourths of what I see."
   What he'd like to see is another victory at TMS. A return to Texas capped by another home state win. Younger brother Bobby? No problem. Jeff Gordon? Doesn't like the Texas track. Dale Jarrett? He beat him once here in Texas, so he can do it again. He's due. In the world of NASCAR, the next victory can always be just the next start away.
   But if he wins Sunday, would Labonte believe it?
   Would we?

Sports Editor Richard Tijerina can be reached at 886-3745 or by e-mail at tijerinar@caller.com

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