#44-Labonte Motorsports announced a 15 race NASCAR Busch Series program with driver Justin Labonte and the United States Coast Guard in December. The Coast Guard through the partnership with Labonte Motorsports is looking to gain visibility as a military service, plus recruiting and outreach programs designed to meet the commandant’s goal of recruiting and retaining a quality, diverse workforce. The agreed on schedule did not include the two races at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, the track closest to the Labonte Motorsports shop in Trinity, NC. The Coast Guard had chosen races located near to their major areas of operation or key recruiting centers.
Earlier this week Terry Labonte, father of the Coast Guard’s 23-year-old driver, decided that with the importance of Memorial Day to our nations five military services, that the Coast Guard should not be the only one of them not represented on the track at Lowe’s Motor Speedway at such a highly visible time. “Our whole family has become so impressed with the Coast Guard as we have visited their facilities, met the many men and women who serve and learned about the vital missions they constantly perform for this nation,” said Terry Labonte. “We wanted to thank them for all they do for the country and for supporting our team, so we just decided we would put their colors on the track this weekend with all the other services. They have many brave men and women who have also served.”
Justin Labonte feels the same way, “Memorial Day is all about recognizing and remembering the sacrifices that many have made to keep this nation and other nations free. The Coast Guard has played a big role in this in the past and now that they are part of the Department of Homeland Security they are even more involved. They have not always received the credit they deserve and our program is about changing that. It will mean a lot to me and our team to carry their colors on the track on the biggest racing weekend of the year.” Justin has no Busch Series starts at Lowe’s Motor Speedway but has run four ARCA races at the track. In those races he has a best finish of fourth and has started in the Top Ten twice. In the May 2002 race he was running third with eight laps to go when he had an ignition problem on a restart. He finished second in an ARCA race at Atlanta November 18, 2000. Justin will be running the same Coast Guard #44 Shield of Freedom Dodge that he ran this year at Texas and California. He has run three of the twelve Busch Series races this year.(Coast Guard Racing PR/Site)(5-29-2004)
