When Terry Labonte announced his retirement from racing in 2006, he intended to put that part of his life behind him.
So much for good intentions — the two-time NASCAR champion keeps getting pulled back in.
Last year, Michael Waltrip asked him to help out the new team for three races, assuring them of making the fields, thanks to the past champion’s provisional.
Now, the 51-year-old Labonte is back again, four races into a six-race stint at Petty Enterprises. He’s filling in for Kyle Petty, who’s taking some time away to work as a TV analyst on TNT’s Cup broadcasts. And he gets to be teammates with younger brother Bobby.
“When I get to the racetrack it’s like old times again,” Terry Labonte last weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. “Bobby and I always parked our motorhomes next to each other, and we’ve been able to do that again. We both have similar driving styles so we are able to bounce things off of each other once again. In the process, I think you’ve seen us both have decent runs, but we just need a little luck. I couldn’t be happier with the decision to come back for a few races.”
The younger Labonte, 44, said getting back on track hasn’t been too difficult for his brother.
“I think he’s enjoying this because it’s not 38 races,” the 2001 Cup champion said. “Like he said, it would be great to run the first 28 and, if you didn’t make it in the Chase, you could say, ‘All right, see you guys next year.’ To run 38 is just very taxing on you from traveling. So I don’t think he misses it a whole lot. I think he misses the racing, but the week in and week out grind is hard on everybody.”
The elder Labonte certainly doesn’t regret retiring after a Cup career that began in 1978 and included 22 victories and championships in 1984 and 1996.
He spends part of the year on his ranch in his Texas and also stays busy with a mobile marketing company that he co-owns and is based in North Carolina.
“I’m in the office just about every day when I’m home,” Labonte said. “My partner runs the thing. All I do is tinker, but I’m not bored or anything. I have a good life.”
He insists he hasn’t missed racing all that much.
