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BRUCE LOWITTTerry Labonte breaks a long losing streak in the last Southern 500 held on Labor Day weekend.
DARLINGTON, S.C. - This was a win for the aged.
On the last Winston Cup Labor Day weekend at Darlington Raceway, NASCAR's oldest superspeedway, Terry Labonte, one of today's most venerated stock car drivers, came full circle by winning the tradition-laden Southern 500.
The soft-spoken Labonte had his first Winston Cup race 25 years ago and his first victory 23 years ago at this ancient and dangerous egg-shaped 1.366-mile track. This one ended a 156-race winless drought stretching to March 1999 at Texas.
"Tradition means different things to different people," said Labonte, the 1984 and '96 Winston Cup champion. "To me, the Southern 500 on Labor Day, that's special here. It's always been a special place to me. It's not the nicest track, not the prettiest, but still I think tradition's worth something."
Labonte, 46, ended what he called "the losing streak from hell" by jumping from third to first with 33 laps remaining, beating front-running rookie Jamie McMurray onto the track after getting four fresh tires in a 13.1-second pit stop during the last of 10 caution periods.
"It's easy to sit in the car (during a tire change) and when the car comes down real fast on the right side it pretty much assures you it's a good stop," Labonte said. "The right side is the key," particularly at Darlington, where it doesn't take long to make a tire look like it's been attacked by a cheese grater.
Taking the lead "really started earlier in the race," said Labonte's crew chief, Jim Long. "We were picking up three or four spots on every stop."
Once in the lead, it was a matter of holding off Kevin Harvick, the series' hottest driver, for the final 15 laps. "It was the longest 15 laps I've ever run," Labonte said. "Even though you feel you still can (win), all the pieces have to come together. I'm just glad it's over."
Labonte's lead dwindled from nearly three seconds with nine laps left, but Harvick never got closer than the final 1.651-second margin.
"I'm sure Terry was taking it a little bit easy at the end," Harvick said. "He's not stupid; he knows this place can jump out and grab you at any second."
It was Harvick's third successive runner-up finish. "I was sitting back there in second, thinking, "If I go by this guy everybody's going to hate me,"' he said, smiling.
If there was a toast to be made, figuratively, Terry's brother, Bobby, 39, raised the glass. "He's like a fine wine; he just gets better with age," said Bobby, who finished seventh. "I know the last few years have been hard on him, but he didn't lose confidence that he still can do it. It was just a matter of when."
Harvick was three months shy of his third birthday when Labonte ran his first Winston Cup race here on Sept.4, 1978. Then again, Kurt Busch (who started 31st, behaved himself, didn't spin anyone out and finished 13th) was one month old when Labonte took his first turn around Darlington. Busch was second in the March race here by 0.002 of a second, losing a door-banging, side-by-side finish to Ricky Craven.
After Sunday's race one driver after another expressed the sentiment that if they couldn't grab the checkered flag they were glad Labonte did. "Anyone who's not happy doesn't have true respect for the sport," Harvick said. "He's one of the great legends in our sport. I'm pretty proud to be running with him. He's awesome."
Even Labonte was happy that he - well, any of the old guys - won it.
"I was going alongside Bill Elliott and I thought to myself, "I hope one of us two wins it.' It would mean a lot more, I think, than to one of the guys who hasn't run here as long and doesn't know the tradition and history of Darlington."
Never during his 31/2-year winless streak did Labonte consider parking his Chevrolet for good. "During the past few years we've had some good races," he said. "Not many of them but there were good ones in there. ...
"Besides, I learned a long time ago that the easy way out is to give up. I've never quit at anything. I believed we could get back (to winning) again. You never really know, but you have to have that belief if you're going to get anywhere."
When the race ended, Labonte's crew climbed the wire fence near the finish line as Labonte, clutching a checkered flag, circled the track one final time.
No doughnuts for him. No engine-revving, tire-smoking, tight-circle display like his young compatriots.
"I used to drive for a guy named Junior Johnson, who is quite a legend," Labonte said. "I just couldn't imagine the look on his face if I went out and did doughnuts in his car and tore up his tires and engine after winning a race. I didn't think he'd have been very happy with that. I don't know, I just don't do 'em."
But why? Really?
"They look goofy," Labonte said.