Bobby Labonte to join brother Terry as only Texans in NASCAR Hall of Fame
If Bobby Labonte could add a 22nd NASCAR Cup victory to his resume, it wouldn’t take him long to decide which race it would be.
Labonte would choose a Texas Motor Speedway victory over anything else. That includes the Daytona 500, NASCAR’s signature race.
Hey, once a Texan, always a Texan, right?
“I’d rather win there than Daytona,” said Labonte, who was born in Corpus Christi. “That would’ve been one that would have been amazing to have a victory at because of the home state. Every time we went there, it was just awesome.”
Instead of being linked to Texas and racing in that fashion, Labonte will join a more exclusive fraternity by becoming just the second Texan inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame alongside his older brother Terry.
Bobby and the rest of the 2020 class will be formally enshrined Friday night in Charlotte. Along with Bobby, other inductees include three-time champion and Bobby’s former teammate Tony Stewart; Bobby’s former car owner Joe Gibbs; crew chief Waddell Wilson; and popular driver Buddy Baker.
“I don’t know what the over/under on crying is, but it’s going to be emotional for sure,” Bobby said, chuckling during a recent phone interview with the Star-Telegram. “I’ll just go ahead and say, ‘I can’t help it.’ The emotions will be different than they are today.
“For our whole family, racing has just been intertwined since I was a kid. If I had a dollar for every hour my mom sat in the grandstands and a dollar every time my dad worked on our cars,” he said. “It’s just a big part of our life. Between Terry and I, it’s amazing that we had this opportunity and have a chance to reflect on it through such a great honor.”
The Labonte brothers become the third set of brothers in NASCAR’s Hall of Fame, along with the Wood brothers, Glen and Leonard, and Petty brothers, Richard and Maurice. The Labonte’s were synonymous with NASCAR and racing success during their heyday in the 1990’s when the sport boomed.
Terry and Bobby each won three races during the 1995 season.
Terry, who was part of the 2016 Hall of Fame class, won 22 Cup races during his career, including Cup championships in 1984 and 1996. Bobby almost had an identical career record as his older brother, finishing with 21 victories.
Bobby had a standout season in 2000, winning the NASCAR championship. That season saw him win the Brickyard 400 and the Southern 500. And in 1995, he had another signature win when he took the Coca-Cola 600.
He also won 10 times in the Xfinity Series, including the series championship in 1991, and had one truck series victory.
“Bobby is a small guy and quiet if you don’t know him, but an unbelievably fierce competitor,” TMS president Eddie Gossage said. “The personality that he lets you see and his competitiveness are at odds with each other. It’s interesting how he can channel his personality for whatever moment he’s in.
“His career is definitely Hall-of-Fame worthy,” Gossage said. “It’s great to see another Texan go in.”
Texas roots
Even though the Labontes have relocated to North Carolina and lived there for decades now, they remain proud Texans. This is the state where both started racing.
Bob Labonte, their father, was a mechanic who had a passion for cars.
“My dad joked that he learned at a young age that he could build a faster car than he could drive it,” Terry said. “But he was a car guy and got us involved in quarter-midgets early on. He built me my first stock car and me, my brother and my son all won championships with cars he built. He was a big part of our success.”
For Bobby, there wasn’t much of an option other than racing in his younger years. It’s simply what the family did and the sport eventually became his passion, too.
“My dad was a great mechanic. Hall of Fame material in my mind,” Bobby said. “I don’t know that my dad ever asked, ‘Do you want to go racing?’ We just did it. When you’re four-and-a-half years old and dad takes you to the parking lot, sits you in quarter-midget and says, ‘Go drive around,’ you don’t tell him, ‘No.’
“So we just raced and worked hard. My mom and dad were so supportive of it.”
Eventually, Terry worked his way up the racing ladder. He drove in his first Cup race as a 21-year-old in 1978, and earned his first victory in 1980.
“Being Terry’s little brother was two-fold,” Bobby said.
At first, it helped open doors. But then came added pressure of living up to the family name.
“You’re Terry’s little brother. He’s pretty good. Are you going to be good?’” Bobby said. “But that was good pressure. I guess it all turned out OK.”
Being in the Hall of Fame says so even though he’d love to have won at TMS.
The closest Bobby came to winning at Texas was three third-place runs in his first four starts at the track in 1997, 1999 — a race Terry won — and 2000.
That ‘99 race remains a fond memory for the Labonte family. Terry won. Bobby had a solid showing despite sustaining a broken shoulder the previous week at Darlington. And Terry, Bobby and their father all got a picture with then-Texas Governor George W. Bush.
“That was a great day,” Bobby said. “Like I said, if I could have one more win in my portfolio, that would be the one.”
Staying involved
Bobby had visions of a relaxing retirement at one point during his driving days.
As he said, “I had a plan to just sit on the beach, put my feet in the sand and watch the sun come up and go down. But I realized that was going to last about 35 minutes because I can’t sit around that long. That was a bad plan.”
So Bobby has stayed involved in racing since his last full-time season in 2013. He raced a few Cup races from 2014-16, and has recently driven in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series.
Outside of his racing endeavors, the 55-year-old has also become a respected TV analyst.
“I love racing,” Bobby said. “Whether it’s talking about it, being on a TV show about it, whether it’s getting to drive every now and then, it’s my life. From 5 years old to now, that’s 50 years of racing.
“I just love it. It just kind of flows with your name. Bobby Labonte, NASCAR. It’s cool to be able to do that.”
Now he can add Hall of Famer to his name, too. His brother knows better than anyone what that moment and honor means.
“It’s really something special,” Terry said. “It’s something that neither one of us dreamed about when we started racing. There wasn’t a NASCAR Hall of Fame, but what an honor to be selected to it. I know my parents are awfully proud and excited for Bobby, and I am, too.
“I looked up to so many of those guys who are in the Hall of Fame. They were my heroes growing up,” he said. “It’s hard for you to put yourself on the same level as your heroes, so it’s really quite an honor to be in the same Hall of Fame they’re in.”
Bobby Labonte career
Born: May 8, 1964 Corpus Christi
NASCAR Championships: Cup Series (2000), Xfinity Series (1991)
NASCAR Cup career: 1993-2016, full-time driver
Starts: 729
Wins: 21
Notable wins: Coca-Cola 600 (1995); Brickyard 400 (2000); Southern 500 (2000)
TMS starts: 26
TMS poles: 2
TMS best finish: 3rd (three times, 1997, 1999 and 2000)
