Labonte put his right footprint into a cement square, then placed his handprints and followed with his autograph. H.A. "Humpy" Wheeler, president and general manager of Lowe's Motor Speedway, introduced Labonte to a large audience of race fans who turned out for the induction ceremony.
"It's pretty interesting when you came up here from Texas back in 1978 to see how you have come," said Wheeler. "All of the wonderful achievements you have had. You have already become a legend."
"I appreciate that very much," said Labonte. "I feel pretty honored to be one of the group.
"It's been a great career. It's something you don't think about. To come out here and see some of the other guys that are inducted here is really pretty special. Some of these competitors and guys I have known. I see Cale Yarborough's prints over there and I just admired him so. It's really neat to be part of this group. It is a special group. It's always been a lot of fun to come down here to the Lowe's Motor Speedway and race. It's where I got my very first Busch Series win also. I have got a lot of great memories down here at the speedway. I won the all-star race a couple of times. That was pretty exciting. I just always enjoyed coming down here. Any athlete, I guess, no matter what sport you are in, there comes a day when it's time to say 'so long' and move on. So, I have got one more race after tomorrow night. It will be out in Texas in a couple of weeks. I'm looking forward to that.
Labonte was the 1984 and 1996 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Champion, and he won the all-star race here at Lowe's Motor Speedway in 1998 and '99. He was also the 1989 IROC Champion. Labonte will start his 56th NEXTEL Cup race here at Lowe's on Saturday night. He has one win, nine top-fives and 18 top-10 finishes. His first race here was in 1978 where he finished 10tth. Wheeler also selected three young boys from the crowd to witness the signing. They were Carson Fritzinger from Hillsboro, N.J., and brothers Jeremy and Robert Swanhaus from Newport News, Va.
