Past Cup champ Labonte likes a slower pace

OXFORD – Terry Labonte is enjoying life these days.

The two-time Nextel Cup points champion runs an occasional Cup race but also has time to do other things like run in the TD Banknorth Oxford 250.

Labonte is no stranger to western Maine. His dad, Robert, was born and raised in the Rumford-Mexico area.

“I still have relatives in the area. I have some cousins but I haven’t seen any of them yet,” said Labonte.

He was excited to run in the Oxford 250.

“I ran a short-track race last year and it was a lot of fun. It was in Pennsylvania. And I’m running a short track in Canada later this year… I think it’s Labor Day weekend,” said Labonte, who has won 22 Nextel Cup races with 182 Top-5 and 361 Top-10s in 848 starts.

“To be honest with you, this is more fun than going to a Cup race,” said Labonte. “It’s pretty laid back. You’ve got fans in the garage area. The atmosphere is different. You can actually enjoy yourself.”

Labonte, who was born and raised in Texas, was running in his fourth Oxford 250. He had previously run it in 1983, ’86 and 1992 with a top finish of 17th in 1992.

Labonte likes the Late Model class and the economical bodies and engines.

“I like the new car they’ve got. They’ve got something good going with it. It’s a much more affordable car,” said Labonte, who received a provisional after failing to qualify during the heat, consolation and last-chance races.

“Car counts have been down [in the expensive Pro Stock cars] but they’ve got a great car count here,” said Labonte, who was one of 96 entrants.

Labonte will run Michael Waltrip cars in Cup races in Indianapolis and Watkins Glen later this season.

He works for a company called SSG Brandintense in North Carolina.

“We do a lot of marketing for different companies involved in racing. We have 50 people who work for us. We have a lot of pretty big presence at some of the racetracks at the midway. We have everything from racing simulators to stands in the infield where people can sample ice cream.”

He said he has no desire to own a race team in the future but feels he would make a good team manager. However, he isn’t interested in that aspect of the sport, either.

“I think I got out of it at the right time, honestly,” said Labonte. “The sport has changed tremendously the past few years. It isn’t as much fun as it used to be. There’s a lot more pressure. I’ve been in it so long, you catch myself at the racetrack wishing you were fishing somewhere.”

He has been satisfied with his career.

“I wouldn’t change a thing. Certainly, you could go back and say I wish I could have done this differently or I should have done that. But I have no complaints. It was fun and I had the chance to race with a lot of great drivers, something I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to do if I had done something else,” said Labonte.

“But it’s kind of nice to be able to do things I want to do rather than have someone else tell me where I have to be,” said Labonte.