SOUTHLAKE, Texas – The Sportscar Vintage Racing Ass’n announced Thursday that NASCAR champion Bobby Labonte has entered the Vintage Race of Champions Charity Pro-Am presented by Chopard Watch.
The race will take place at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Aug. 3.
“Bobby has become a good friend to our sport,” said SVRA President and CEO Tony Parella. “He’s still an active race driver in the NASCAR Whelen Series, and, of course, has TV and various other commitments, so I am honored that he makes the time to race with us for charity. I like to believe it underscores just how quickly our VROC Charity Pro-Am series is ascending.”
Labonte is the first driver to win both the NASCAR Cup Series championship (2000), and the NASCAR Xfinity Series championship (1991). He backed up those accomplishments by winning the 2001 IROC Championship with two victories in the season’s four races. In a NASCAR Cup career that spanned 24 seasons, Labonte amassed 21 wins and 26 poles. In what is now the Xfinity Series, he scored 10 race wins and 10 poles.
He is one of a handful of drivers to rack up victories in all of NASCAR’s top three series: Cup, Xfinity and Trucks. It was announced in May that Labonte will be inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in January. He is also a member of the Texas Motorsports Hall of Fame.
Labonte has extended his career since leaving NASCAR Cup racing in 2016, both as a driver and motorsports analyst. He is currently running his second season in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series. Labonte is fresh from an appearance in the world-renowned Goodwood Festival of Speed earlier this month. He drove a vintage Joe Gibbs M&M Toyota Cup racer up the famous hill climb. He also serves as an analyst for FOX Sports 1 Race Hub and Race Day TV programs.
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Brickyard Invitational VROC Charity Pro-Am will benefit the Morgan Adams Foundation. The foundation supports laboratory and clinical research in the area of pediatric cancer, with an emphasis on tumors on the brain, spine, and central nervous system. Morgan Adams was a five-year-old girl who lost her battle with brain cancer in 1997. The foundation has a history of working with vintage racers to support their cause.
The VROC Charity Pro-Am presented by Chopard Watch is a Saturday feature event at the Brickyard Invitational. The cars are 1963 to 1972 vintage Corvettes, Camaros, and Mustangs of SVRA “Group 6” A and B Production. The professionals will be paired with amateur drivers. Amateurs will start the race and be required to drive a maximum of seven laps.