Corpus Christi Caller Times Caller.com - Many visit to honor Labontes

Marketplace \| Services \| Contact Us \| Community \| Arts & Entertainment \| Local Guides

Published by the Corpus Christi Caller-Times. CLICK FOR NEWSPAPER DELIVERY

Wednesday, September 26, 2001
Many visit to honor Labontes
Racing brothers give name to park
By Andrea Wall
Caller-Times
   In March, C.J. Bentley canceled a knee surgery so that she could meet Bobby Labonte at a Speed Zone near Dallas.
   Today, Bentley - an Irving resident - is not only skipping out on work in the middle of the week, but is doing so during the busiest time at her office - the end of a fiscal year - for a chance to rub shoulders here with the Terry and Bobby Labonte.
   Nueces River Park will be renamed to Labonte Park, and the Corpus Christi natives will be here for the 1 p.m. ceremony.
   "I have met Bobby and I will definitely not be leaving Corpus Christi until I meet Terry," said Bentley, a member of "The Posse," a nationwide fan club for the brothers. "I may be the person hanging off their helicopter on the news if I don't meet (Terry) at the park."
   Despite having the park dedication midday in the middle of the week, organizers and city officials are expecting close to 1,000 people to attend, they said.
   "We aren't certain what the turnout will be because of the time of the event," said Yvonne Haag, an assistant to the city manager who served on the committee that recommended the park dedication. "We are just hoping that people will be able to take time off during the day to help us dedicate the park."
   Haag said she has received confirmations from people across the nation, including fans from Florida, Kansas, North Carolina and Michigan, among other places.
   "They went to high school here, at least Terry did, and they were raised here," said City Councilman Henry Garrett. "This is their home, they make no bones about that. And we should be proud of it, too. They're our guys."
   Bentley - who will stay in Corpus Christi for a single night - is making the trip here with three suitcases, but only one of them is for her. She and other "Posse" members have been working on gifts for the Labonte brothers for several months.
   One woman in the group has been working on two cross-stitches since April, Bentley said. One reads "Iceman" (Terry's NASCAR nickname) and the other, "Cool Hands."
   "We read a story last fall that said Bobby didn't have a nickname," Bentley said. "So we decided to come up with one. Since his brother is Iceman, and considering the way Bobby drives, we named Bobby 'Cool Hands.' We even took out an ad in the Charlotte Observer telling him about it.
   "I guess the bottom line is besides their driving, we love them as people. They have a lot of class."


Contact Andrea Wall at_886-3631 or walla@caller.com

| Talk about this story | Next Story | Home |

[ Printer-friendly version ]
[ Subscribe to newspaper ]

SEND THIS PAGE TO A FRIEND