I had planned to do my next blog post on Chad Chaffin, but those plans have been put on hold for now, as I'm trying to work out a live interview with him~ Seeing as how I've been extremely slow on production, I decided I'd just go ahead and do a post on someone else, and I had doubles of the Labonte car, so that's how this post came about~
I never was much of a Terry Labonte fan while he was driving, but as he got closer to retirement, I started getting sentimental about him, and found myself cheering for him towards the end of his career~ I used to despise Jimmie Johnson, but as he got older, and started winning less.. I find myself pulling for him these days too~ Even if you don't like a driver, when they get old, you just start liking them a little bit... at least I do~ Well, here we go for another installment of the NASCAR Racing Champions blog~
Custom promo pic~
Unlike the "Buschwackers" of today, the Winston Cup drivers who competed in BGN competition in the 80's and early 90's mostly ran their own cars, and they weren't pumping millions of dollars into their "Busch League" hobby~ This was back when leading at the halfway point in a Cup race was a BIG thing, because of the bonus money you'd receive~
If you won the pole back then, you'd also win $7,600 in bonus money from fuel sponsor "Unocal 76"~ These little bonuses were fought after pretty hard, because drivers still weren't making the big money that would come into the sport just a few years down the road~ Now don't get me wrong.. that doesn't mean these Cup guys were all riding around in clunkers (although Dale Earnhardt did have some pretty ugly Chevy Celebrities back then), guys like Darrell Waltrip, Harry Gant, as well as Earnhardt, had some pretty good cars back then~
But when they entered a BGN race, they knew they had to watch out for guys like Sam Ard, Tommy Ellis, Tommy Houston, and Jack Ingram, who were all serious competitors for many years in the series~ By the time the 1992 BGN season came around, Terry Labonte had only competed in eight BGN races, but won two of them, including his first ever race in the series, the 1985 "Miller 400" @ Charlotte~
One sharp looking Chevy~
Terry's first race with sponsor "MW Windows" came during the 1992 BGN season, in the "All-Pro 300" @ Charlotte, where he qualified 36th in the #14 MW Windows Oldsmobile~ The pole position was won by newcomer Jeff Gordon, driving the #1 Baby Ruth Ford~ Labonte steadily improved throughout the event, and raced his way to a 4th place finish~ Jeff Gordon led 90 laps on the day, and went on to win the event, his third of the season~
Labonte's next race in the MW Windows car came in the "AC-Delco 200" @ Rockingham, where he qualified 14th, and stayed there for the majority of the event, eventually coming home with a 13th place showing~ This would be his final time in the car during the 1992 BGN season, as well as the final time the car was ran as an Oldsmobile~ Mark Martin went on to win the race, in what was his first of many wins in the famed #60 Winn-Dixie Ford~
The team quit switched from Oldsmobile to Chevrolet for the start of the 1993 BGN season, with Terry's father, Bob, as the crew chief~ The 1993 BGN schedule was reduced from 31 races to 28, and Labonte was scheduled to compete in twenty events during the season~ Up until this, he had never competed in more than five races in a season~
This custom photo used to be a t-shirt~
Terry's 1993 BGN season was about as close to a roller coast ride as you can get, without actually riding a roller coaster~ He was either in the top 10 or better, or he was out of the race, 25th or worse~ His best run during the season was a runner-up finish in the "Fay's 150" @ Watkins Glen~ He was in the lead with 18 laps remaining, but a hard charging Bill Elliott went on to win the race in the #11 Budweiser Ford~
He won the pole for the "SplitFire 200" @ Dover, and led 40 laps before his steering gave out, resulting in a 25th place showing~ He finished the '93 season with 1 pole, 7 top 5's, and 10 top 10's~ Heading into the 1994 BGN season, he retained the MW Windows sponsorship, and things were about to get a lot better for the elder Labonte~ After starting the season off with a 26th place qualifying effort for the "Goody's 300", he made his way up to the front to lead four laps, and finished 4th~
Riding high from his top 5 showing at Daytona, he qualified 8th for the "Goodwrench 200" @ Rockingham, and again found himself in the lead, but this time, it was when it counted, as he would go on to win the event over Harry Gant and the #7 Manheim Auto Auctions Chevrolet~ A couple races later, he picked up his second win of the year in the "Miller 500" @ Martinsville, leading 205 of 300 laps, as his only competition that day, Hermie Sadler, was involved in an early crash involving six other drivers~
1994 was their best year ever~
Terry won two more times during the 1994 BGN season~ After qualifying 21st for the "Fays 150" @ Watkins Glen, he went on to lead 43 of 62 laps, in his defeat of runner-up Bobby Dotter~ His final win came at the site of his first race with sponsor MW Windows, in the "All-Pro 300" @ Charlotte~ Mark Martin had the car to beat most of the day, but Labonte was able to pass him with 53 laps remaining to take the checkered flag, and his last win of the 1994 season~
He finished out the season with 4 wins, 9 top 5's, and 14 top 10's, finishing 18th in the final point standings, even after not competing in eight of the scheduled races on the circuit~ The 1995 BGN season would be his last with sponsor MW Windows, and it was a mildly uneventful year, with Labonte picking up 1 pole, and 1 win, both in the "Lysol 200" @ Watkins Glen, while also compiling 9 top 5's, and 11 top 10's~
For many years now, MW Windows has been involved in multiple class action lawsuits, and in October of 2015, finally had to pay up, after it was found in a court of law that the vinyl clad, wood framed windows contained a defect that led to premature wood rot, staining, warping, and discoloration~ The lawsuit included windows that were made by MW Windows from 1987-2014~ Following the lawsuit settlement, the company had since shied away from the "MW Windows" name, and now refers to the company as "Ply Gem"~ A claim on their website say they are the "#1 Vinyl & Aluminum Windows in the United States", as well as "#1 Manufacturer of Vinyl Siding in North America"~
Terry Labonte ran a total of 61 races in the #14 MW Windows car, 59 in a Chevrolet, and 2 in an Oldsmobile~ His career stats in the car were 2 poles, 5 wins, 26 top 5's, and 36 top 10's~ He changed his car number to #5 for start of the 1996 BGN season, and picked up sponsorship from Bayer/Actron, in what was a hideous looking car, that he won three races with that year~ Other fellow MW Windows drivers included brother Bobby Labonte, Darrell Waltrip, Michael Waltrip, and David Green, who drove the final MW Windows sponsored car in the 2001 running of the "Carquest Auto Parts 300" @ Charlotte, where the sponsorship first began with Labonte's Oldsmobile~ Green finished 9th in the Frank Cicci owned #34 AFG Glass/MW Windows Chevrolet~
Terry Labonte #14 MW Windows Chevrolet~
I've gotta admit.. I've been away from doing these blogs for so long, it took me a little while to remember how to do everything~ I feel like my time away hasn't been a total loss, because I've had a chance to get a little better with Photoshop, and the pictures and backgrounds are looking much better now.. so that's nice~ Speaking of nice.. you know I'm a sucker for these simple paint scheme, white race cars, and this one is no exception!~
Red and white go together just as good as red and black do, in my opinion~ Heck, I may even prefer it now that I'm getting old... it's much easier to read on the track, versus a black and red car~ I'm glad I wasn't a customer of MW Windows back then after my research, but I sure was glad when I got this car~ I didn't take a picture of it, but there is also a Lumina version of this car, which was issued as a "Preview Edition"~ I have it as well, but didn't open it, because I had two of these Monte Carlo versions~ The one you see in the pictures is now the property of my son, who is probably somewhere tearing it up at the moment~ Haha!~
But that's what these Racing Champions cars were made for in the first place.. to have fun~ Yeah, they're fun to collect and cherish as a nostalgia thing now that we're older... but when I was a kid in the 80's and 90's, I ripped them out of the packaging and had little play races on the floor with them for hours~ (My original Rusty Wallace car is almost unrecognizable these days due to this)~ This was a beautiful car on the track, as well as in Racing Champions form~ I give it an A- on the Racing Champions diecast scale, with a few points taken off only because Terry's name is really light print~ Other than that, it's a real winner~ Speaking of winners, it's time for the Racing Champions NASCAR Diecast bonus car!~
J.T. Hayes #91 Crossroads City of Corinth Ford~
J.T. Hayes is a former go-kart and sprint car racer from Corinth, Mississippi~ In 1990, he talked the town into sponsoring him for his debut in the Winston Cup Series~ Driving the #91 Crossroads City of Corinth Ford, owned by Junie Donlavey, Hayes would compete in the "GM Goodwrench 500" @ Rockingham, along with teammate Ernie Irvan~
Of the 38 competitors to make a qualifying lap, Hayes was by far the slowest, and started dead last, while his teammate Irvan qualified 17th~ The race was just 10 laps in when caution waved for Michael Waltrip spinning in the backstretch~ Right before the caution, the black flag was shown for Hayes, and he was parked for not maintaining proper speed/control of his car~
J.T. Hayes never raced in NASCAR again after that day, and had an operation in 1994 to remove his male parts~ He currently lives his life dressing up as a woman, and has written a book about his experience~ He also prefers to be called "Terry O'Connell" these days, and has admitted to dating men while pretending to be a woman, without informing the men that he's a man himself (which I find to be very rude)~ After his operation, Junie Donlavey was asked if he'd let Hayes race his cars again, to which Donlavey replied he would if Hayes still had the talent to drive~
Well, that wraps up the first new blog post in over a year, and the first of 2019~ Thank you all who came back to check out this post, and hopefully I won't be as long making the next one~ Below are some clips of the two Terry's~ Enjoy them, and I'll see ya' next time, here at the Racing Champions NASCAR diecast blog!~
Terry's only Truck Series win~ Richmond '95~
1989 DieHard 500 finish~
Who's the better Labonte?~
J.T. Hayes as "Terry O'Connell" on 20/20~
