• "I briefly spoke with Labonte’s crew chief, Gary DeHart, last week at Pocono and he told me flat out, “I don’t know what’s wrong.” He said they continue to run the same exact thing that Jeff Gordon led with, yet they don’t run well. They try stuff that Jerry Nadeau runs well with, yet it somehow doesn’t work for Labonte.

    DeHart said he planned to go to the Kentucky Speedway this week and just run for two days, trying different things to see if they could find a set-up that feels right to them. Believe me, if they had any idea what’s wrong, they’d fix it."

  • "Iron Man and Ironhead got together."

  • "Terry was chasing me and he is so consistent and has been in this position so many times before that I was plenty worried about him."

  • "Terry had a run and that was it. There wasn't a chance of getting back by him."

  • "Well, I could see the steam coming out of that car. It was ice melting. I said ‘You know, I’ll bet old Terry’s hot about that.’”

  • ""They talk about the Iron Man deal with Terry. I think this was really an Iron Man move today. The guy's hand is swollen up twice as big as it ought to be. He never complains. In the hospital the other night, he sat there five hours waiting to see a specialist. He never complained."

  • "If the whole world were like Terry Labonte, what a great place this would be."

  • "Terry Labonte didn't know that I knew this story, but a guy on our crew told me. Terry was at Dover last year and I guess he was lapping me about every 20 laps. We kept running and he kept going by us and going by us. Finally Terry radios to his pit. 'Let me ask y'all something. How many damn #17 cars are in this race anyway!' I thought that was funny. So, when we went to Pocono I was having a pretty good day and they were struggling and after the race I asked him, 'How many #5's were in that race today.' Both of us laughed."

  • Earnhardt Jr. wore a head-and-neck restraint system for the first time in last weekend's race at Michigan. Several drivers - the first being two-time series champion Terry Labonte - asked him to consider wearing one. He said he would continue to wear the device unless it becomes uncomfortable.

    "Terry Labonte was the first guy who said he wanted me to be around a long time and that he really wanted me to wear it."

  • "Terry don't say much of anything to anybody, so I figured I better listen."

  • "If I overtake him. It's an accomplishment in racing. It's an accomplishment in your life. I'm really not focusing on it as an accomplishment I'm working toward. To see Terry not drive and him losing that streak, well, I felt for him. Terry and I started out together and we've raced and we've had trouble with each other and we've raced great together and we've been hunting together and fishing together. We've done a lot of things. I respect the guy so much and I really felt for him when he couldn't be in the car (2000 Brickyard 400) and had to give that up. We all have marks and achievements and goals in this sport that are unique. That's a unique one. Now if I can get there, and if I get there, who's gonna be right behind me to knock me off once I stop? Longevity in this sport is longer than most sports if you stay on top of the game. Yeah, that's something that's important to me. But to for me to say, I'm going for this goal.' Naw, I'm racing and I'm hoping that goal will come to me."

  • "Terry and I talked. Terry Labonte is high on the list, if not on top of the list, of someone I respect and admire in this business. And for that to happen was a real tough situation for me. In a go-for-it-kind-of-race. He was on sticker tires. How I got to him, I don't know. I was going hard trying to keep the guys behind me from catching me. To go down there and wreck him was not intentional, but yeah, I got to him. I racing hard to go. I'd rather had got up into the door of him and raced through the corner and him beat me or me beat him back then for him to wreck."

  • "Every year you look at the Labonte brothers and I tell you, it flat makes me jealous that they've done so many things together, all I wanted was to get in position to help my brother."

  • "I think Terry Labonte could draft behind a mule and finish in the top 5."

  • "It was kind of akward because you look beside you and at first you think, 'What's he doing here? He's supposed to be in the car.'"

  • "Really, you just treat it like any other car. I make sure I don't run into him and he doesn't run into me. We'd have to face our dad when we got home."

  • "He don't show me, neither."

  • "I know Terry's upset and he has a right to be. It'll be a tough Darlington, probably."

  • "Why would I be mad? I beat him."

  • "As soon as I saw Terry, I knew I was in trouble."

  • "He's a gentleman racer of the highest order."

  • "Terry Labonte has a reputation. When you get to Terry, you'd better pass him in a racing-like manner or you're going to get it back. Everybody knows that - Dale Earnhardt, Jeff Gordon - everybody knows they're going to get something back if they mess with him."

  • "It's a real honor to sub for Terry. I don't know who put my name in the hat, but I want to thank whoever did."

  • "To have one drop of rain fall on Terry Labonte's parade would be too many."

  • "This is getting old, isn't it?"

  • "They're similar in some ways and different in others. Bobby opens up quicker, but you get Terry going and he's a lot like Bobby. They are very close."

  • "Terry Labonte doesn't need to be told how to drive, that's for damn sure."

  • "If you look at the fact that we have 30 or 31 races a year, his streak goes back a long way. The amazing thing about what Terry has done is qualifying that many times in a row because of the competition level."

  • "He's a phenomenon."

  • "Nobody's ever given me a nickname. I think the 'Ironman's Little Brother' isn't bad."

  • "When you've got a older brother that you look up to and get along with, it's OK."

  • "I guess I'll call Dad first. I'll find out if he called him and he's not happy, then I'll know not to call him. Until tomorrow."

  • "Terry's at the top of the list. Blood is thick."

  • "He may be known as the “Ice Man” on super speedways, but the native Texan is a genuine gentleman and extraordinary ambassador for his sport. Professional sports needs more people like Terry Labonte."

  • "Terry might not get him back this week, next week, next month, or next year, but he'll get him back."

  • "I'll apologize to Terry and do what we've got to do. If he sees he's got to stretch my neck like Sterling Marlin, we'll just have to do it."

  • "He's tough. You always know that about Terry."

  • "Terry's Terry. He's low-key. Not a lot phases him."

  • "If you're not mad at somebody when this thing is over, either you blew up or you won the race."

  • "You can't ask for a nicer personality than Terry."

  • "I was down there as a little brother, getting in the way."

  • "When Big E planted him, he could have been a jerk. He was mad as hell, but a class-A gentleman."

  • "Terry's one of the most considerate guys in the garage. If he doesn't want to talk to you, he'll tell you politely, and I respect that."

  • "The words 'flamboyant' and 'Terry Labonte' go together as well as ketchup on a wedding gown."

  • "The 'Iceman' Terry Labonte ever quiet, but always a constant when it counts most."

  • "Terry Labonte always answered my questions, no matter how dumb."

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