Throwback Thursday: Terry Labonte in IMSA

Terry Labonte gave the racing world a sneak peek at his new NASCAR premier series paint scheme in the 1984 24 Hours of Daytona.

The Corpus Christi, Texas driver joined car owner Billy Hagan and road racing ace Gene Felton in the No. 4 Piedmont Airlines Chevrolet Camaro both the Rolex 24 at Twelve Hours of Sebring that year – winning IMSA Camel GTO class honors in both of the Florida classics. Running a similar paint scheme in NASCAR competition, he went on to capture his first of two Sprint Cup championships in Hagan’s No. 44 Piedmont Airlines Chevrolet Monte Carlo.

Thanks to his car owner’s interest in road racing, “Texas Terry” competed in the Daytona classic beginning in 1981. Prior to 1984, his best finish was ninth in 1983.“Billy loved sports cars and road racing,” Labonte said. “Back in 1981, he got his first Camaro that we ran in some IMSA races. It was fun, and I enjoyed doing it. It was a cool car, and I remember the first three years we ran Daytona before they put the chicane near the end of the back straightaway. The car was really hauling the mail down the back straight. I couldn’t run with those Porsches and stuff on the road course, but we could hold our own when we got on the big track. That car had a lot of power.”The 1984 race had a different feel, with the explosion in the GT Prototype ranks, led by pole winner Mario Andretti in the debut of the Porsche 962. After starting 10th in 1983, Hagan’s team could manage only 15th on the grid – although first among the GTO competitors. Labonte’s team went on to dominate the GTO class, while quietly working its way onto the scoreboard. The No. 4 was up to third overall behind the eventual winning Kreepy Krauly Porsche March and the A.J. Foyt/Bob Wollek/Derek Bell Porsche with only four hours remaining. While the team struggled with various mechanical problems throughout the closing hours and finished sixth overall, it won the GTO class by nine laps.

“I remember we had a pretty good finish overall, and won the GTO division,” Labonte said. “We ran that race with only three drivers, and I drove a lot of the race.”Then it was on to Sebring, where the Piedmont Camaro finished eighth overall and won GTO by a whopping 22 laps. Felton’s father was sick at the time, so he left after driving the opening three hours.“I tell you, 12 hours of Sebring seems as long as the 24 hours of Daytona,” Labonte recalled. “The track was rough, and that was a tough race. I probably ran seven or eight hours – it was a lot. But it was really cool to win both races at Daytona and Sebring.”To cap Labonte’s season, he went on to win the NASCAR championship, winning two races.“I don’t know (if winning the two IMSA races helped him win the championship), but one of the races we won was at Riverside (on the former California road course). I guess that year was pretty good for road racing for me.”Labonte competed in eight career Rolex 24s, running every year from 1981 through 1987, in addition to finishing ninth in a Doran Racing DP in 2005 with Jan Magnussen, Brian Herta and his brother Bobby. This weekend, Labonte will serve as Grand Marshal for Sunday’s Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, the track where he won his first (1980) and last (2003) Sprint Cup Series races.“I like traditions, so I like seeing Darlington return to Labor Day weekend, that’s when it should be,” said Labonte, who is a member of the NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2016. “Winning the last Southern 500 on Labor Day weekend was pretty neat.”Photos by Mark WindeckerSource: IMSA