Terry Labonte's daughter Kristy reacts with four-word response to Kyle Larson's 2025 Darlington throwback scheme

Modified Apr 06, 2025 16:32 GMT

NASCAR: Cup Practice and Qualifying - Source: Imagn

Kyle Larson will be behind the wheel of a Terry Labonte-inspired paint scheme for Sunday's Throwback Weekend race at the Darlington Raceway. The 2021 Cup Series champion's livery caught the attention of Kristy Labonte, Terry's daughter.

The #5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet is designed like Labonte's old Kellogg's car, one he drove to his final career win at Darlington in 2003. NASCAR posted a photo of the tribute scheme to the now retired two-time Cup Series champion. The sport's social media team penned a caption acknowledging Labonte's nickname, writing:

"A fitting #NASCARThrowback to Texas Terry."

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This sparked a four-word response from Labonte's daughter, who reposted the photo via X and wrote:

"So awesome to see! 🏁❤️"

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Sunday's race won't be the first time Larson paid tribute to the former HMS driver. Last year at Darlington, the 30-time Cup Series winner sported a Labonte-inspired paint scheme from 1996, the year the now NASCAR Hall of Famer won his second Cup championship. Larson finished 34th in the race after crashing out.

Labonte drove for HMS from 1994-2004 behind the wheel of the #5 machine. The Texas native won 12 races with the team, including his final victory in 2003. Labonte's championship season in 1996 consisted of two wins, 21 top fives, and 24 top 10s. Labonte stepped away from full-time competition after 2004 but continued to race on a part-time basis until 2014.

Larson rolls off 19th for Sunday's Goodyear 400. The California native won at Darlington back in 2023, has three runner-up finishes and a pair of third-place efforts at the track. Last fall, Larson dominated by leading 263 of 367 laps, but ended up settling for a fourth-place finish.

This season, the HMS star has one win at Homestead-Miami after passing teammate Alex Bowman for the win inside the final 10 laps. He sits second in the points standings, has four top fives and two stage wins on the campaign. Larson is seeking his second Cup Series championship after his maiden one came in 2021.

Kyle Larson posted humorous IG video paying homage to Terry Labonte's old sponsor

Kyle Larson is going all out this weekend at Darlington to show respect to former Hendrick Motorsports star Terry Labonte. The driver of the #5 even gave a nod to Labonte's old sponsor, Kellogg's, in a humorous Instagram video.

Larson shared a video of himself being caught off guard by the camera while enjoying a bowl of Kellogg's. He added a caption in reference to the trademark slogan for the breakfast cereal.

"@hendrickcars They're gr-r-reat," Kyle Larson wrote.

Kyle Larson is amid his fifth full-time season at HMS. After winning the championship in 2021, he has made one other Championship 4 appearance in 2023, but finished runner-up to Ryan Blaney. With 24 wins, he is currently the winningest driver of the 2020s.

About the author

John Breeden is a NASCAR content writer at Sportskeeda with over three years of sports journalism experience. His career began back in 2021, when he started writing for The Breeze - a student-run publication at James Madison University that covered a wide variety of collegiate sports. He graduated from JMU in May 2022 with a degree in media arts and design concentrating in journalism. He currently writes for his local publication, the Daily News-Record, in Harrisonburg, VA, where he covers a variety of sports at the high school and collegiate level.

John has been a lifelong NASCAR fan and has followed the sport closely since 2005. He stays informed on motorsports developments through social media, NASCAR.com, and NASCAR podcasts, which help him craft unique and engaging stories. Interviewing Hendrick Motorsports Vice Chairman Jeff Gordon at Martinsville Speedway was a career highlight for John, where he wrote about William Byron taking the famed No. 24 car back to the Championship 4.

Beyond motorsports, John enjoys writing about other sports such as football, baseball, and basketball. He believes that NASCAR could reach the global popularity of Formula 1 by expanding its audience with more international races and enhancing its mainstream appeal, just like F1 has done.

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Edited by Tushar Bahl