On this day in NASCAR history
On this day (April 15) in NASCAR history, Terry Labonte broke the record for the most consecutive starts. It happened in 1996 at North Wilkesboro. Labonte broke Richard Petty's record by driving in his 513th consecutive race. He would win the championship this year too. Labonte's streak ended in 2000, and was later broken by Ricky Rudd. Still, driving as many consecutive races as he did is no easy task, and Labonte is still one of my favorite drivers of all time. If anyone is going to break Rudd's record, its going to be Jeff Gordon. Rudd ran 788 consecutive races, and if Gordon races for a few more years, he can do it.
Great reminder of Labonte's contribution to the sport. Thanks.
From James Trout photos
Thanks for posting the photo, that's the special "Iron Man" paint scheme Laonte ran that day
The pre-race and part 1 of a 3-part YouTube series. Advance to 7:45 mark for segment about Terry.
He sure was tough, heading onto the track a week after the shoulder injury in '87. And its amazing how things changed from the start of the streak to that day as Jerry Punch mentioned in the video
The "Ice Man." I was always impressed by Terry's top-5 finish at Darlington in his first Southern 500. Nice guy. Thanks for reminding us, Mike.