NASCAR's Terry Labonte & Billy Hagan Won Daytona 24 Hours Class 28 Years Ago

Whenever I think of the Daytona 24 Hour event (which gets underway this afternoon) I always think of the success the late NASCAR car owner Billy Hagan had with his Camaros at Daytona. In 1984, Hagan teamed with his Winston Cup driver Terry Labonte and road race expert Gene Felton to win the IMSA GTO Class in the Daytona 24 Hour event, as well as posting a 6th place overall finish. Those folks also finished 2nd in class at LeMans.

Billy was a nice guy who you enjoyed being around.

Billy was never a self promoter and I suspect a lot of today's NASCAR fans don't realize that Jack Roush wasn't the only NASCAR related car owner to enjoy road course success with the "Pony" cars. Billy and Tex Powell were pretty awesome and Bud Moore and Roger Penske before them all..

Here's a few photos from various sites of the 1984 Daytona 24 winning GTO Class winner at Daytona that Hagan, Labonte and Felton wheeled to victory.

If you want to read a really wonderful piece that will have you splitting your sides laughing, click on the link below for the entire Sports Illustrated 1981 article about Billy Hagan taking Cale to Le Mans. It is hilarious, with Hurley Haywood and the other wine and cheesers making fun of Hagan's Camaro as a piece of junk until Cale started turning laps and shut them all up. I had never seen this piece before and I am getting ready to read it again.

It reminds me why I used to hate so much having to go to those IMSA and Trans Am races and deal with that faction that looked down their noses at NASCAR. As Joe Weatherly used to say, the basic difference between the stock car racers and the sporty car racers was that the stock car boys drank whiskey and chased women while the sports drank wine and chased each other.

For a wonderful laugh and a peek inside the condescending attitude of the sporty car racers towards NASCAR, read, read, read and enjoy the piece at the link.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1124639/1/index.htm

CLICK ON THE LINK ABOVE TO READ THE STORY OF CALE & BILLY HAGAN AT LE MANS

Billy Hagan was a super person.

Stratagraph did a four or five page paper that was put into the press kits and he also sent it to his customers. For the Lemans race that year he had the paper done in English and French. I am fortunate enough to still have both.

For the Lemans race Billy made arrangements for Terry to fly back and forth on the Concord so he could practice his cup car and then go to Lemans and practice and run the Lemans car.

When the car got to Lemans the inspectors were pretty rough on them. The car was so wide with the fenders flaired to cover the tires that the team was required to put clearance lights on the fender flares.

I was told by a crew member that there was fix a flat and tools hidden in the car up in the dash. Cale did not know it because no one told him. He possibly could have let the air out of the front tires, let them pull it out with the rope and then inflate the tires. Granted he would probably have been penalized but if he had known it would have been worth a try.

Hi Robin,

I discovered this site by accident while looking for an article on my dad, Billy Hagan. I was glad to see your comments above!

Also, I saw you have copies of the papers put out by Stratagraph -- is there any possibility I might get a reproduction of those issues? I'd be very grateful. Please let me know.

And, thanks again for your comments!

randy hagan

Welcome to RacersReunion Randy. Your dad was a real credit to stock car racing.

Thank you -- I know he loved it more than just about anything else in life!

I am glad you found the site Randy. I know you will enjoy Racersreunion. At 7 pm this evening Racersreunion Radio will be broadcasting on the Zeus Radio Network. Just click on the link at the top left of the main page. I think you will enjoy it.

I have those papers boxed to preserve them but I know where they are. I will try to get them out tomorrow and see if I can find the right size copier to copy them for you.

I don't remember us ever meeting but I did meet Amos when he was a child and saw him again at your dad's visitation.

I have a handmade diecast of the 44 Apache Stove Car. The one that is in the trophy case at Stratagraph was made by the same person. When I bought mine I talked with your dad and he wanted one also. I talked the man into making another one and that is the one in the Stratagraph trophy case.

My wife and I thought quite a bit of your dad. He was always very good to us and will always have a special place in our hearts.

Robin -- I was at the visitation in Concord as well as the one in N. LA and at the burial in Dubach, LA. Perhaps we saw one another there, but apparently we didn't meet.

I've admired the die cast in the trophy case there at Stratagraph, and I'm glad to know the rest of the story -- thanks!

And, I always like hearing from people who knew and admired my dad.

I was with Darrell & Judy Bryant at the visitation in Concord.

When I took your dad's diecast to him at his home in Concord he gave me one of his cajun cook books and also signed my diecast on the hood. I later had Terry sign it on the windshield and Darrell Bryant signed it on the trunk.

Your dad gave me a tour of his home. I loved the floating dance floor and the stories of Amos sitting on the dance floor fishing. I go into that developement every now and then just for the memories.

In searching around for images of other cars, I somehow found a couple more of Hagan's IMSA car. Riverside possibly?

Source: Flickr gallery of [ spudrace ]

In the bottom photo that is Billy Hagan mechanic Tex Powell in the red shirt standing to the right of Gene Felton. Interesting side note is that Tex is Herschel McGriff's son-in-law, married to his daughter, Marilyn. Tex went on to have a very successful parts business and built drive trains in addition to owning a Cup car.

Wow -- what great snaps and background history!

I took these at Talladega spring race 1981, was this a Hagan car also, the 44 on the side makes me think it was.

What terrific photos -- many thanks for sharing!

randy hagan

(Billy's son)

Great story from Labonte and Hagan's FIRST attempt at Daytona's 24 Hours race in 1981 - along with David Pearson.

From Kingsport TN's Daily News . Click article to open larger version in new tab.

Got to hang out with Gene Felton for the last 10 or so years watching him vintage road race at place`s like Road ATL ana VIR THAT cat can still drive