 |  | | Terry Labonte says his final start will be Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway. Credit: Autostock |
By Josh Pate, NASCAR.COM
November 3, 2006
12:13 PM EST (17:13 GMT)
• Also: Labonte retirement plan "no big nothing" | Career highlights The first was at Darlington for the 1978 Southern 500. Since that initial time he cranked a NASCAR motor, where he began the race 19th but finished fourth behind champions Cale Yarborough, Darrell Waltrip and Richard Petty, Darlington has been a special place for Terry Labonte. He got his first victory there two years later in the 1980 Southern 500. Twenty-three years after that, he got his last victory there, in the 2003 Southern 500. Now Labonte turns his attention to a different Southern race, one that will be his last -- Sunday's Dickies 500 (2:30 p.m. ET, NBC) at his home track in Texas. And NASCAR is turning its attention to Labonte.
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03/28/99 -- Date Terry Labonte won at Texas Motor Speedway. He started fourth, led 129 laps and beat fellow veteran Dale Jarrett and brother Bobby Labonte to the finish line under caution. |
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04/02/00 -- Date Terry Labonte earned the Bud Pole at Texas Motor Speedway. After starting the race, Labonte led three laps and finished eighth in Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s first career victory. |
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2.0 -- Average start for Terry Labonte at Texas World Speedway in College Station, Texas. Labonte raced three times at the track, starting second, third and first. He had two fifth-place finishes before crashing in his final start there. |
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10 -- Drivers who have raced in all 11 events at Texas Motor Speedway, including Terry Labonte, despite racing part time for the past two seasons. |
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17 -- Times Terry Labonte has finished in the top 10 in points during his 26 full-time seasons, including a streak of seven consecutive years to begin his career. His average finish in the standings is 10.26. |
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49 years, 354 days -- Age of Terry Labonte when he will race his final Cup event. He turns 50 just 11 days following the Texas race. |
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59 -- Starts it took Terry Labonte to get his first Cup victory. His first win came Sept. 1, 1980, in the Southern 500 at Darlington. |
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847 -- Career starts in the Cup Series for Terry Labonte, the most of any active driver and fourth on the all-time list behind Richard Petty (1,184), Dave Marcis (883) and Ricky Rudd (875). His career includes a string of 655 consecutive starts. |
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Career Statistics
Starts: 847
Wins: 22
Poles: 27
Top-fives: 182
Top-10s: 361
Average start: 17.2
Average finish: 16.0
Laps: 246,776
Laps led: 7,035
Miles: 303,650
Earnings: $40,596,485 What you didn't know Labonte is one of 14 drivers to win more than one Cup championship and one of seven drivers to have two titles. But his two trophies are unique.
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4 -- Drivers who have won championships in two different decades: Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt, Richard Petty and Terry Labonte. Labonte's two titles were in 1984 and 1996, the largest gap between championships. |
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Labonte will drive the No. 44 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports on Sunday with a special Kellogg's paint scheme to commemorate his 29 years of NASCAR racing. Additionally, Texas Motor Speedway will honor its native son with a weekend of celebrations leading up to the Dickies 500. Driver Rating: Dickies 500
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111.8 -- Tony Stewart, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet. Stewart has an average finish of 13.9 at Texas with six top-10s in nine starts. His best finish was a third-place in the April race. |
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NASCAR's driver rating combines the following categories: wins, finishes, top-15s, average lead-lap running position, average speed under green, fastest lap, led most laps and lead-lap finish. Statistics based on current and past year at track. Maximum rating: 150 points. Numerology  |  | BY THE NUMBERS | |
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Sunday's Dickies 500 will be the 12th race held at Texas Motor Speedway. In 11 races, there have been 11 different winners. Jeff Burton was the inaugural winner at the track and is one of five drivers who have won and finished second. After Burton's 1997 victory he finished second there in 2000. Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kasey Kahne, Matt Kenseth, Mark Martin and Dale Jarrett are the others to win and finish second in another race at the track. But Jarrett is the closest to pull off multiple wins there; he finished second in 1997 and again in 1999 before winning in 2001.
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04/04/04 -- Date that Elliott Sadler won his race at Texas. Since then he has led two laps at the track. |
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1 -- Lap Denny Hamlin has run at Texas when he was not in the top 15. In his two races there, Hamlin has finished seventh and fourth. |
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4 -- Roush Racing drivers rank in the top six among laps led during the past three Texas races: 1. Greg Biffle (280), 2. Matt Kenseth (164), 4. Carl Edwards (132), 6. Mark Martin (53). |
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4 -- Texas races have been won by the driver who led the most laps: Terry Labonte (1999), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2000), Dale Jarrett (2001) and Greg Biffle (2005). |
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4 -- Position last week's winner Tony Stewart would be in the standings if there was no Chase format, 445 points behind would-be leader Matt Kenseth. Jimmie Johnson would be second, 78 points out. |
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6 -- Drivers with an average running position inside the top 10 during the last three Texas races: Denny Hamlin (6.274), Tony Stewart (6.361), Mark Martin (8.045), Matt Kenseth (8.255), Reed Sorenson (10.126) and Casey Mears (10.927). |
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6 -- Chase drivers finished in the top 10 in the April race at Texas: Kasey Kahne (first), Matt Kenseth (second), Denny Hamlin (fourth), Kevin Harvick (fifth), Jeff Burton (sixth) and Mark Martin (ninth). |
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8.3 -- Average running position for Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the seven Chase races, the best among Chasers. His average finish is fourth-best at 13.7. |
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10 -- Drivers have started all 11 races at Texas: Jeff Burton, Jeff Gordon, Dale Jarrett, Bobby Labonte, Terry Labonte, Sterling Marlin, Mark Martin, Jeremy Mayfield, Ken Schrader and Michael Waltrip. |
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10.18 -- Average starting position for Texas winners. Eight of the 11 races have been won from a top-10 spot. Kasey Kahne's April victory is the only race to be won from the pole. |
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11 -- Worst finish for Jimmie Johnson in his six races at Texas, which he posted in the April race. His best finish is third. He has only led two laps at the track. |
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16.6 -- Average finish for Jeff Gordon in the seven Chase races. His average running position at the mid-point of each Chase race, however, is 4.9, the best. |
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26.8 -- Average finish for Ryan Newman at Texas. He won there in 2003 but has only finished better than 25th one other time. |
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41.03 -- Combined percentage of passes made in Turn 4 and on the frontstretch at Texas, the place where the most passing is made. |
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152 -- Laps in which Greg Biffle had the fastest car during the last three Texas races, the most of any other driver. The next-closest driver is Kasey Kahne with 87. |
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175 -- Laps led by Tony Stewart at Texas, the most among drivers who have not won at the track. His average finish is 13.9. Dale Jarrett's 407 laps led is most among full-time drivers. |
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175.903 -- Average speed, in miles per hour, for Matt Kenseth on restarts during the last three Texas races, the fastest among all drivers. Kasey Kahne is the slowest Chase driver on restarts at 173.751 mph. |
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176.525 -- Average speed, in miles per hour, for Greg Biffle on green-flag runs, the fastest of all drivers. Kasey Kahne is second-fastest, nearly 1 mph off the pace at 175.535 mph. Kyle Busch has the slowest green-flag speed among Chasers at 174.090 mph. |
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208 -- Green-flag passes made by Carl Edwards in the last three Texas races, more than any other driver. His average finish at the track is 18.7. |
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455 -- Laps led by Jimmie Johnson in the Chase, more than any other driver. Points leader Matt Kenseth has led 238. Kenseth, however, has led more laps this season (1,130) than any other driver. Tony Stewart (1,082) is the only other driver to lead more than 1,000. |
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464 -- Points Matt Kenseth has scored in the last three races at Texas, more than any other driver. |
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• Terry Labonte is expected to make his 848th career start.
• Kevin Lepage is expected to make his 200th career start. Five Chasers have found Victory Lane at Texas: Jeff Burton (1997), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2000), Kasey Kahne (2006), Matt Kenseth (2002) and Mark Martin (1998). Two Chasers have four top-five finishes at Texas: Jeff Gordon and Mark Martin. Two Chasers have six top-10 finishes at Texas: Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon. Two Chasers earned their first career victory at Texas: Jeff Burton (1997) and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2000).
| Chase Watch |
| Texas Motor Speedway statistics for Chase drivers |
| Rank |
Driver |
Starts |
Avg. Finish |
Laps Led |
Wins |
| 1. |
Matt Kenseth |
8 |
12.1 |
314 |
1 |
| 2. |
Jimmie Johnson |
6 |
7.0 |
2 |
0 |
| 3. |
Denny Hamlin |
2 |
5.5 |
41 |
0 |
| 4. |
Dale Earnhardt Jr. |
8 |
10.8 |
253 |
1 |
| 5. |
Jeff Burton |
11 |
17.5 |
145 |
1 |
| 6. |
Kevin Harvick |
7 |
13.4 |
4 |
0 |
| 7. |
Jeff Gordon |
11 |
17.5 |
133 |
0 |
| 8. |
Mark Martin |
11 |
13.5 |
169 |
1 |
| 9. |
Kasey Kahne |
4 |
20.0 |
211 |
1 |
| 10. |
Kyle Busch |
3 |
25.3 |
0 |
0 |
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