TERRY LABONTE NOTES & QUOTES
LABONTE GEARING UP FOR BRICKYARD:
Driving a No. 44 ditech.com Chevrolet, Terry Labonte this weekend will start his 11th career NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series event at the historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The two-time champion has a pair of Cup dates remaining on his 2005 calendar: Oct. 9 at Kansas Speedway and Nov. 6 at Texas Motor Speedway. Labonte’s “Shifting Gears” tour will continue next season with 10 yet-to-be-announced races.
‘TEXAS TERRY’ AT INDY:
It was at Indianapolis in August 2000 where Labonte’s record-setting run of 655 consecutive starts was snapped because of injuries sustained at Daytona Beach, Fla. But the Corpus Christi, Texas, native, who grew up following the open-wheel racing that made Indy famous, has posted some successful runs at the Brickyard, including a third-place showing in his championship season of 1996.
TESTING 1-2-3-4:
Four Hendrick Motorsports teams tested Indianapolis Motor Speedway in advance of Sunday’s 400-mile event. The Nos. 5, 25 and 44 crews prepared Chevrolets July 18-19. The No. 24 DuPont contingent was there July 19.
DRIVE FOR FIVE:
Rick Hendrick leads all car owners with four career victories at Indianapolis -- all by Jeff Gordon and the No. 24 team. Gordon has led an incredible 433 laps in 11 starts -- more than twice the total of second-place Dale Jarrett (186).
TERRY LABONTE, DRIVER OF THE NO. 44 ditech.com CHEVROLETS:
(ON RACING AT INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY.) “I’ve had some good runs at Indy and I really enjoy the race track. We usually have a pretty good car when we get there. The neat thing is that I’m an Indy Car fan and I’ve always followed it. Of any race, my favorite to watch every year is the Indy 500. I’ve always watched it since I was a kid. To go there and actually race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is pretty incredible. I’ve been to the museum there several times and I just love looking at the old cars. That place has so much history and tradition, it’s just unbelievable. And to be as old as it is, it’s as nice of a facility as we go to. They just do a great job and it’s a lot of fun to compete there.”
LABONTE:
(ON GROWING UP A FAN OF INDY CARS.) “I was an Indy Car fan as a kid, racing the quarter midgets and things like that. I wanted to run full-size midgets and kind of go up in the direction of Indy Cars, but there just weren’t those opportunities where we lived (in Corpus Christi, Texas). So we went the stock-car route, which I’m glad we did. But I’ve continued to be an Indy Car fan and I love to follow it. I try to watch every IRL race that I can.”
