Terry Labonte Quotations

My job is to try to get them top 20, top 25 in points. If I could do that, it's kind of what they need to get off to a good start.

Rick thinks it will be great for our sport to have Roger and Troy involved, ... And I get to run 17 races, instead of 10. I think it's great.

He got tires, and I had older tires on, and he was catching us there at the end. I was going to be fine, but caught some traffic and got caught behind some lapped traffic and lost a little time -- and he caught me there at the last lap.

He never has any intention of taking anybody out. It just happens that way.

I think it's going to succeed. When you look at Roger and Troy, they've been successful in everything they've done. I think they're dedicated to making this thing work. Like I said, though, it's difficult when you first start out. There's going to be a learning curve for everybody involved here. ... These guys are going to work hard at getting this thing going in the right direction.

It is pretty obvious when you drive through any race track and there are No. 3 flags around everywhere and still fans with (Earnhardt) hats, shirts and jackets. We are constantly reminded of him.

I think for two of the events we had 45 minutes of practice was all. That's kind of asking a lot for a new team like that, to just go and unload and be good off the truck.

That was pretty disappointing for everybody involved. Hall of Fame Racing doesn't even own a carburetor. It was just a mistake, a mistake that never should have happened, but it did. It was the first time I've ever been penalized and had points taken away. It was surprising for all of us.

To have the opportunity to help these guys kick off their team, being from Texas, it was just an opportunity I couldn't turn down, ... It would certainly be hard to tell Roger and Troy no. It's exciting for me.

We've been talking about it and they could probably find a way to make it more confusing, but I'm not sure how.

We live in a great country, and one reason is because of the armed forces. It is nice for us to be able to come here and in a very small way say thank you.

Ten years down the road when they're successful, I'll be able to look back and say I ran the first race for those guys. I'm just confident in the team they're putting together and the equipment they're going to have. I'm just a small part of this deal and honored they asked me to help them get started.

Probably the biggest battle they're up against is patience. Everybody's got to be a little bit patient with them because it's not easy. You're running against teams that have been at it for 20 years. Starting out with a new team is really, really difficult.

This is an opportunity for me to have a little more fun. I've been fortunate to do this for nearly three decades, and I'm excited to go back to some of the places that have meant so much to me, my team and my family over the years.

All my friends have called and offered me their bowling trophies and things like that. So if we win, we are going to have quite a collection of awards around the house.

It's just a huge undertaking, to start a new team like this. They've got some experienced people there, but none of them have ever worked together before.

It's embarrassing for me being from Texas. I just want everyone to know that everything in Texas isn't as screwed up as it is at this place.

It's a hard deal to get into, and it takes a lot of money and sponsorship and things like that. It's a lot different from what it used to be, probably a lot tougher today to get into the sport than it was 10 or 15 years ago. He's got to work hard at it and try to be successful at what he's doing before he moves up to the next step. Take it one step at a time.

I'm excited about the opportunity to be a small part of this team. I think it's great that these guys have gotten into our sport. I think it's going to be good for the sport. They've entered in a big way with Texas Instruments on board. Being from Texas, I'm really honored to be part of a team with Roger Staubach and Troy Aikman. I'm looking forward to the opportunity. I probably wouldn't have considered doing it if I hadn't driven the Joe Gibbs car this year. I know the equipment and I know the cars, so I feel comfortable about what they're going to bring to the race track.

Being from Texas, it would certainly be hard to tell Roger and Troy no, ... It's just kind of a neat deal for me.

For the first time out, they should be pretty happy with that. We honestly didn't have the car to get up to the front where we wanted to be, but I was hoping to get a top 15. That was sort of my goal. But we'll make it.

A lot tougher today. There's more pressure on young guys to really perform when maybe their team isn't as good as it needs to be. You've got sponsors spending millions of dollars, and owners spending some of their money and getting pressure from sponsors.

Am I going to take it? Heck, yeah, I'm going to take it. I'm going to take it for two weeks and carry it around to all my buddies and get my pictures made with it, and then I'm going to give it back to him.