Sentinels of Speed The Texas tandem of Terry and Bobby Labonte are folk heroes to the hundreds of thousands of racing fans across the country. Those ardent followers of motor sports will travel hundreds of miles to watch the Labonte boys in action - and sometimes will have to settle for a seat way in the back of a 150,000 seat speedway. From that faraway vantage point, they might have a hard time spotting Bobby's Tiny Fightin' Mojo. Labonte likes to put a small plastic toy soldier on the dash of his souped-up Chevrolet Monte Carlo. The idea is that the little foot soldier can take aim at the track - and the rest of the racers that Labonte is going up against. The superstition started in 1995 after his pit crew began putting the toy soldiers in a tool box - as a way to protect the spark plugs. The soldiers were sent to the front line as a joke and then they wound up staying there after Labonte started winning. All good troops need some backup. ©1999 Middlefork Press << BACK TO EXCERPTS