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Home , Budweiser 400, Daytona 500, Southern 500, Winston Western 500

The Up-And-Coming Airline 9

Honors, cash bestowed on PI race team

With honors and accolades for gotten either. In January, the crew ances that Labonte has enjoyed the Year, "It's been the most enjoy winning the 1984 NASCAR Win­ was honored with the 1984 Skoal since winning the championship. able year of my life. " ston Cup Grand National Cham Award of Excellence as Closer to home, Labonte was The next racing year has ;ilready pionship still coming in, Teriy the best all-around team in Grand honored by INT RES soon after begun. The Week Labonte and the Piedmont race National racing. A $ 10,000 prize clinching the title with a "Teriy began F'ebruary 10 with the Busch team haven’t had much of an off came with the honor, awarded by Labonte Day ’ — complete with lun Clash. As a pole winner in 1984, season since clinching the title the 40-member Skoal Motorsports cheon for the team, a raflle and Uibonte was also in that field for in November. Press Panel. plenty of autographs that Labonte the 50 mile, $200,000 purse sprint. First there was the Winston Cup signed for Piedmont employees and It should be the start of another awards banquet in early December ‘Driver of the Year’ the general public who attended. great season for Uibonte and the at a site far removed from the noise It’s been a busy time but, as Piedmont race team. and hot asphalt tracks of the Labonte said when named Driver of Grand National circuit. Next on the list of honors was In tuxedos and black ties, one of the most prestigious: the Labonte and the team accepted the "Driver of the Year" award, com­ Cup and $295,706 in award money pliments of the National Motor­ at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New sports Press Association. Add not York City. Bill Howard, Piedmont’s only $30,000 to Labonte’s earnings, president and chief executive but a touch of special pride also. officer, joined other Piedmont "This award means a lot to me executives in honoring the team because the press voted on it and, there and in being honored for as everybody knows, I don't talk sponsoring the top race team in that much,■' Labonte said. "I'm very 1984. With the racing world's eye cooperative with the media, but I on Labonte and Piedmont, public­ don't talk as much as some of the ity dividends mounted. other drivers." Then Labonte traveled to Los Angeles where he was named to the 1984 Skoal All-American racing team — one ofjust 11 drivers from different motor sports named to On the same day that Labonte the team and, at 28 years old, the was named Driver of the Year, he youngest driver in that elite group. was also named to the pole of the The pit crew that supports newest race on the Grand National Labonte on the tracks wasn’t for- circuit — The Winston — a 105- mile, 70 lap sprint with a $500,000 purse, the richest in motorsports’ Join Labonte history. All winners of Grand National Fan Club and races last year will compete in The Winston, to be raced May 25 at the Follow your team Charlotte Motor Speedway. As Win­ Fans of Winston Cup Cham­ ston Cup Champion, Labonte got pion and the the pole, a nice compliment to his Piedmont Airlines race team having the best top-five and top-10 can Join the Terry Labonte Fan record of any driver last year: 17 Chib andJoUow the team finishes in the top five — including closely throughout the 1985 two wins — and 24 finishes in the Grand National season. top 10. Annual membership isjust$6 single and $10Jamily. You get a NASCAR Champion Terry [j^bonle best finish in his Piedmont racecar membership certificate, photo­ graphs. newsletters, ID cards, decals, patches and other items In late January, Labonte flew to that keep you informed about Chicago where he was honored for Terry and the racing season. receiving the Union 76 award and ToJoin, write: Terry Labonte its $76,000 prize. The award is Fan Club, PO Box 4617, Arch­ given to the driver who uses Union dale, NC 27263. You 'll receive a 76 products and finishes the high­ 1985 NASCAR membership application and be est in Winston Cup points. And on WINSTON CUP GRAND NATIONAL SCHEDULE part of Terry's and Piedmont's that same trip, he attended the bid for another successful year Lathrop-Chicago Boys Club’s annual National Driving Cham­ February 17 Daytona 500 J u ly 4 I’epsi Firecracker 400 on the Grand National circuit. February 24 M ille r 400 J u ly 13 F'epsi 420 pionship Recognition Dinner, a M arch 3 Carolina 500 J u ly 21 L ike Cola .500 nationally known charity banquet M arch 17 Coca-Cola 500 July 28 Talladega 500 that honored Labonte and two M arch 31 Valleydale 500 August 1 1 Champion Spark I’lug 400 other 1984 racing champions: A p ril 14 Transoulh 500 Auf>ust 24 I5usch ,500 Piedmont's Public J^airs Depart­ of the Indy cars, A p ril 21 Northwestern 400 September 1 m ent has recently produced a n A p ril 28 Sovran 500 September 8 Wrangler 400 excitingjilm about Terry Labonte's and , who won M ay 5 Winston 500 September 15 Delaware 500 championship season. The 11 '/z- the International Race of Champ­ M ay 11 Coors 420 September 22 Goody's 500 minute tape, shown at the recent ions event. M ay 19 Budwelser 500 September 29 Holly Farms 400 management meeting, is now avail­ M ay 26 W orld 600 O ctober 6 M ille r ,500 able in both VHS and Beta cassettes Labonte has been named to the Ju n e 2 October 20 American 500 through the employee store in limited field of top drivers for the Van Scoy 500 November 3 Journal 500 Winston-Salem. The cassettes sell Ju n e 9 l.R.O.C. event in 1985. Ju n e 16 M ille r 400 Novem ber 17 W in s to n W estern 500 for about $15. These are just the standouts of all the awards, honors and appear­