Labonte. It’s a last name and family that’s familiar to just about anyone who’s ever followed the sport of NASCAR.
After all, brother’s Terry and Bobby Labonte have a combined 43 wins and three Championships at NASCAR’s highest level.
It’s safe to say with all the names that come and go in the sport many may have forgotten over the years that Terry’s son Justin once raced in NASCAR as well.
The Trinity, North Carolina native was once considered to be one of the young, top, up and coming talents in the garage.
Labonte made his Busch Series debut in 1999 and would go on to make 76 starts over a seven-year span and earn one lone victory in the series.
That win came in the 2004 Tropicana Twister 300 at Chicagoland Speedway in Labonte’s 31st career start.
Labonte’s No. 44 U.S. Coast Guard Dodge took the lead on the white-flag lap after the leader Mike Wallace ran out of fuel.
It was an emotional win for Labonte’s father Terry and quickly became a popular win in the NASCAR garage area.
“It was just awesome. I don’t know where to start?” Labonte said of his son. “To me personally, it’s bigger than any win I could ever have. It’s pretty special. It really is.”
“I didn’t really know what would happen. I thought we might have a shot at him (Wallace) on the last lap.” said a young Labonte in victory lane. “He had a really strong car and we just hung in there all day. We were a lap down, came back, made up two laps and we were in contention at the end. That’s where you’ve got to be if you’re going to win races and it paid off for us today.”
Following Labonte’s Busch Series victory, it was his lone top-10 finish in 17 starts that season where he would go on to finish 35th in points.
Labonte went on to race the full season in 2005 with his team merging with then Hass CNC Racing.
He would go on to earn two top-10 finishes at both Talladega and Charlotte, respectively and finish a career-best 17th in the points standings.
Labonte now 38, last made an appearance in the Busch Series in 2006 when he piloted the No. 5 for Hendrick Motorsports in the Sam Town’s 250 at Memphis Motorsports Park being credited with a 22nd place finish.
That same season Labonte made his Truck Series debut at Texas Motor Speedway in the No. 24 for Bill Davis Racing, finishing 22nd.
The last time Labonte would race in one of NASCAR’s top three series would be in 2007 when he drove Michael Waltrip’s No. 00 Toyota Tundra to a 27th place finish at O’Reilly Raceway Park and followed up that result with a 12th place finish at Martinsville Speedway.