"I look at him like a fine wine, he just gets better with age," said Bobby Labonte, Terry's younger brother and fellow Winston Cup driver.

"I know the last few years have been hard on him, but he didn't lose confidence that he can do it," Bobby added. "It was just a matter of when."

The win could not have come at a better time for the elder Labonte, who gained a piece of history by winning the last Southern 500 run on Labor Day weekend.

Terry Labonte took control of the 367-lap event late in the race with a lightning fast pit stop, and went on to win the 54th running of NASCAR's oldest 500-mile race. More