Month: March 2018

By David G. Firestone

After winning the 1984 Winston Cup Championship by 65 points over Harry Gant, Terry Labonte had established himself as a great driver. By the mid 1990’s, he was a consistent driver, who won a few races, but was never considered as a championship contender. That changed in 1996, where he pulled the biggest upset in Cup Series Championship history, beating Jeff Gordon by 37 points. After that, he was seen as a championship contender, until he retired from full time racing in 2004, though he raced until 2014. That same year, he was elected to the 2015 NASCAR Hall of Fame class.

In 1995, Labonte’s 2nd year with Hendrick, he had a great season, with 3 wins, winning the 1995 Pontiac Excitement 400 at Richmond, the Winston Select 500 at Talladega, and the UAW-GM Teamwork 500 at Pocono. He had a consistent season with 14 top 5’s, and 17 top 10’s. During that season, one of his crew members wore this suit. This suit may have been worn in 1996 as well.

The suit shows use in the form of stains and there is a lot of sun fading, especially in the red.The collar is a standard collar, and has KELLOGG’S logos embroidered.The collar has a standard Simpson warranty label, a small flag indicating the suit was made in “9/95.” The collar has the initials “W.S.” embroidered into it. The inside of the collar doesn’t show the fading the outside of the collar does, as can clearly be seen in this photograph.The right chest features NASCAR WINSTON CUP SERIES and QUAKER STATE logos embroidered into it.The left chest features KELLOGG’S CORN FLAKES, FROSTED FLAKES, RAISIN BRAN, POP TARTS, FRSOTED MINI WHEATS, HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS, AC DELCO, and GMAC logos embroidered into it.The front torso features a giant KELLOGG’S CORN FLAKES logo on a white background.The yellow belt features a CHEVY bow-tie logo and a Goodyear logo embroidered into it.The faded red legs features KELLOGG’S logos in television position.The faded red shoulder epaulets feature KELLOGG’S logos embroidered into them. The right sleeve features a GMAC logo on the top and KELLOGG’S logos in television position on the faded red stripe. The left sleeve features a SLICK 50 logo on the top and KELLOGG’S logos in television position on the faded red stripe. The back of the suit shows some sun fading, and some light wear.The back of the neck is faded and unadorned.The back torso has a large KELLOGG’S CORN FLAKES logo embroidered.Terry Labonte is one of the most underrated drivers in NASCAR history. He was a contender for the 1979 Winston Cup Rookie of the Year, but lost to Dale Earnhardt. He is the second Triple Threat, having won in all 3 national series by 1995. He is also the first to win in all 3 series in the same year. He has also class wins in the Rolex 24, the 12 Hours of Sebring, and IROC. He is a championship winning driver who could win in many different classes. He is enjoying his retirement as a hall of famer. It would be cool if he ran one more race, but sadly, it probably won’t happen.

Next week, a special project, which will be discussed on Tuesday.

By David G. Firestone

I think it’s safe to say that every racing fan wishes they were a race car driver. That could be said for most sports fans. While many of us don’t have the skills to be professional race car drivers, many people are weekend warriors, who race for fun. In recent years, a trend has emerged, race tracks, drivers, and/or sanctioning bodies having fantasy camps, and on-track racing experiences.

In recent years, drivers like Rusty Wallace, Larry Dixon, Richard Petty, and even Mario Andretti have started their own racing experiences, where, for a price, you can climb into a race car, and take a few laps on a real speedway. Even NASCAR now has their own racing experience, the NASCAR Racing Experience. It comes with professional instruction, and, depending on what kind of option you choose, pit stops. Equipment used is often switched out after use, as exampled by this NASCAR Racing Experience Helmet.

The helmet shows some use with scuff marks and some scratches. The left side shows a few scuffs.The front has no visor, and shows a scratch, and some scuffs.The right side has some scuff marks, and a slight scratch.The back has a number of scuffs, a SNELL tag, and a size L tag.The top has a size L tag, and numerous scuffs and scratches.The inside of the helmet has tagging, has no microphone equipment, and is in decent condition.The idea of fantasy camps is not exclusive to racing. There are many sports fantasy camps, some done by leagues, some by individual teams, some by players. While these camps are not cheap, they do give the armchair athletes a chance to live as an athlete, even for only a day or two. Some are better than others, and one should do their research before booking.

Next week, an old school NASCAR pit crew suit!