Terry Labonte toying with idea of partial schedule next year

By Bob Pockrass - Associate Editor
Thursday, October 15, 2009

CONCORD, N.C. – Former NASCAR Cup champion Terry Labonte, who is preparing to run his fifth race of the season this weekend at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, hopes to compete in as many as eight to 10 events in 2010.

Labonte is back this weekend in the No. 08 Carter/Simo car, which is running a partial schedule this year. Labonte finished 24th in the Daytona 500 for Prism Motorsports and has run three races this year for Carter/Simo Racing.

“If I end up running some more races next year, I felt like there are some tracks I haven’t been to in years, and I don’t have as much experience in these cars,” said the 52-year-old Labonte. “If I run eight, 10 races next year, I need to get as many laps as I can. I’ve got to learn as much as I can about these cars.”

Labonte said he and former car owner Billy Stavola have tossed around the idea about starting a team.

“He’s a good guy and was in the sport for a long time and had a good reputation,” Labonte said. “He would be a good guy to be associated with. We’re kind of kicking around the idea. On the one hand, it’s the perfect time to get in because you would be able to hire people today that you would not have had a chance two years ago.

“On the other side of the coin, I’ve never seen it so hard on the sponsorship side.”

As far as running a full season, Labonte said he doesn’t think he has it in him.

“I’d love to do something like the Wood Brothers are doing,” Labonte said about a partial schedule. “It would be hard to run the whole thing. I’ve been there and done that. If you had a car that you thought you could get in the Chase [For The Sprint Cup] with, that would be one thing.”

As far as the remainder of this year goes, Labonte said if the team has a good run in the NASCAR Banking 500 this weekend, he might run the car again later this year.

“Hopefully, we’ve got the issues behind us that have been happening to us,” said Labonte, who has finishes of 33rd, 40th and 39th in the three races he has driven for Carter/Simo Racing.
 

Comments

5 responses to "Terry Labonte toying with idea of partial schedule next year". Post a Comment.
  1. 1
    amalycke said:
    Oct 15, 2009 at 6:23 PM

    Terry Labonte and his brother are financial and racing geniouses.

    Report Abuse

    This feature is intended to allow you to report comments that are abusive in terms of foul/vulgar language, harassment, racial/religious prejudice and any words/phrases of a related nature. This feature should not be used to report users who simply make a comment about your favorite driver, with which you do not agree. Commenting is a forum in which we can all express our opinions. Reporting abuse of others should be done with this in mind.

    » Confirm Abuse Report
  2. 2
    papaof4ncrc said:
    Oct 16, 2009 at 9:14 AM

    Please Terry do your fans yhe honor of not doing anymore harm to your image.This is not how you want to be remembered.And please advise your brother to not follow your path in thier equipment just for the sake of being out there.Tell him its not where you qualify,but where you finish.

    Report Abuse

    This feature is intended to allow you to report comments that are abusive in terms of foul/vulgar language, harassment, racial/religious prejudice and any words/phrases of a related nature. This feature should not be used to report users who simply make a comment about your favorite driver, with which you do not agree. Commenting is a forum in which we can all express our opinions. Reporting abuse of others should be done with this in mind.

    » Confirm Abuse Report
  3. 3
    ramblinman2006 said:
    Oct 16, 2009 at 3:50 PM

    Terry nor Bobby should follow in the foot steps of Richard Petty Darrell Waltrip and others who did not know when to quit. It is very sad to see someone who used to have so much tallent wasting there time running inferior equipment and running in the back of the pack race after race. This is a young mans sport and knowing when to say when should be on their minds. They have both had there day in the sun with 3 Championships so go home and enjoy the rest of your life and not make a spectacle of yourself as a has been.

    Report Abuse

    This feature is intended to allow you to report comments that are abusive in terms of foul/vulgar language, harassment, racial/religious prejudice and any words/phrases of a related nature. This feature should not be used to report users who simply make a comment about your favorite driver, with which you do not agree. Commenting is a forum in which we can all express our opinions. Reporting abuse of others should be done with this in mind.

    » Confirm Abuse Report
  4. 4
    Phoenix987 said:
    Oct 16, 2009 at 7:07 PM

    It's sad to see someone that is a former champion just running around part-time in 35th, with no hopes of winning or really doing anything. He's doing it because he has a past champion's provisional, and that's a huge bonus to any team looking to get started. The only problem that will arise would be if his brother goes to TRG or something and has to use his CP to get into a race.

    Report Abuse

    This feature is intended to allow you to report comments that are abusive in terms of foul/vulgar language, harassment, racial/religious prejudice and any words/phrases of a related nature. This feature should not be used to report users who simply make a comment about your favorite driver, with which you do not agree. Commenting is a forum in which we can all express our opinions. Reporting abuse of others should be done with this in mind.

    » Confirm Abuse Report
  5. 5
    Werner said:
    Oct 16, 2009 at 8:37 PM

    a great guy, but the last thing we need is more part timers...let the new guys race...

    Report Abuse

    This feature is intended to allow you to report comments that are abusive in terms of foul/vulgar language, harassment, racial/religious prejudice and any words/phrases of a related nature. This feature should not be used to report users who simply make a comment about your favorite driver, with which you do not agree. Commenting is a forum in which we can all express our opinions. Reporting abuse of others should be done with this in mind.

    » Confirm Abuse Report

Post a Comment

Disclaimer: All comments are subject to filtering for language, and libelous content. Comments are intended to encourage spirited debate and discussion about the subject matter contained within the articles and ARE NOT intended for personal or demeaning attacks directed at other users. We reserve the right to remove any comments deemed inappropriate. Users who violate this policy may be banned from posting comments on the site.

Comment Preview

Feb 9, 2010 at 10:07 PM
You said:

You must login before you can post comments or rate content.

If you don't have an account you can create a free one here.

NASCAR Schedules

spd

Gatorade Duel 1

Daytona International Speedway
02:00 PM, 02/11/2010

Poll PositionView All

After qualifying and the Budweiser Shootout, who is the favorite to win the Daytona 500?

Promotions

  • Tweet your thoughts about each race and join the conversation with other fans.

  • Drive an authentic NASCAR Sprint Cup car at the NASCAR Racing Experience.

Don't have an account yet?

Insiders Guide to NASCAR

Register with SceneDaily.com and get access to the following features:

  • FREE Insider’s Guide to NASCAR (available as a PDF download)
  • Daily NASCAR news updates delivered directly to your e-mail
  • Pre-race and Post-race emails delivered each race week
  • Ability to comment on blog and news articles
  • Information on new website features and upcoming contests
Create my Account

Login

Forgot Password?
Login or Create an Account