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Terry Labonte is one of the growing number of NASCAR drivers who has retired "on his own terms": no longer interested in the rigors of the full-time Sprint Cup schedule, Labonte chooses to run on a part-time basis to help out teams in need.

"Texas Terry" Labonte was born in Corpus Christi in 1956. Labonte started racing at age seven in the local Quarter-Midget series, and won his first national championship at age nine. Spurred on by his father, who was involved with the local racing scene, Terry switched to dirt and asphalt stock cars as a teen, and proved successful there as well: he won track championships in Corpus Christi, Houston, and San Antonio between 1975 and 1977. During this time, he met businessman Billy Hagan, who would become Labonte's first Cup team owner in 1978.

At his first Cup race in 1978, Labonte qualified 19th and finished fourth at Darlington Raceway; in four more races that year, he recorded two more top-tens. In his first full Cup season, 1979, he was in contention for Rookie of the Year along with Dale Earnhardt and Harry Gant; though he didn't win the Rookie title, he did finish in the top ten in the season-ending standings with 13 top-ten finishes. He went on to win his first race in 1980, on Labor Day weekend at Darlington.

Labonte would not return to victory lane until 1983. He won two races in 1984 (Riverside and Bristol) on route to his first Cup championship, the only championship Hagan would win as a team owner. Labonte would leave Hagan's team for the 1987 season, teaming up with the legendary Junior Johnson and the #11 Budweiser team; that year, he won once, earned four poles, and won the fourth edition of the Winston All-Star Race (now the Sprint All-Star Race).

Labonte left Johnson for the 1990 season, signing on with Precision Products Racing's #1 Skoal Classic team. After a dismal finish of 15th in the points that year, Labonte returned to Hagan's team until joining Hendrick Motorsports in 1994.

Labonte's time at Hendrick Motorsports turned out to be his most successful. He won three times each in 1994 and 1995, and broke Richard Petty's consecutive race streak in 1996; that year, he drove away with his second championship, a modern-day record 12 years after his first. Most special for Labonte, he was able to run a dual victory lap with his brother Bobby on the final day of the season, as Bobby took the race. This was the only time in Cup history that brothers won the race and championship on the same day; they would later become the only brothers to both win a championship, as Bobby won the title in 2000.

His remaining time with Hendrick would be mostly uneventful, save for a win at his home track, Texas Motor Speedway, in 1999, and a second All-star race win the same year. Near the end of the 2004 season, Labonte announced a two-year, part-time schedule, nicknamed "Shifting Gears." Labonte has run limited races for a number of teams in the years since.

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