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Kevin Harvick, Bobby and Terry Labonte and Jeff Hammond Enjoyed the Great Outdoors and the Thrill of the Hunt

The Mountains of New Mexico – With the grueling schedule of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS), it is difficult to find spare time for activities outside the garage or off the track. But NASCAR stars Kevin Harvick, Bobby and Terry Labonte and Jeff Hammond recently broke away for a few days to join Realtree founder and outdoor expert Bill Jordan in the mountains of New Mexico to hunt for trophy elk.

Harvick, whose full-time job is piloting the No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet, Bobby Labonte, full-time driver of the No. 43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge and Terry Labonte, two-time NSCS champion now semi retired, traveled to the Double H Ranch near Socorro, New Mexico, a part of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.  Bob Torstenson gifted all 95,000 acres of the Double H Ranch and a $4 million endowment to the Elk Foundation. The foundation renamed the ranch the Torstenson Wildlife Center (TWC) to honor Bob’s conservation ethic and his conservation education vision.

Hammond, a championship-winning crew chief turned expert NASCAR television personality, spent his trip at the headquarters of Limestone Outfitters near Winston, New Mexico. Limestone Guide & Outfitting Service is owned and operated by Darell Welty and his family.  It is run in conjunction with a working cattle ranch location in Southwestern New Mexico, about 30 miles north of Winston.

It was Black Powder Season and Jordan gave each of the NASCAR group a Thompson Center Muzzleloader to use on the hunt. Jordan arranges all the travel, accommodations, licenses and equipment for his guests.  Harvick and Terry Labonte were housed in one location on the ranch while Bobby was in a slightly more rustic cabin with his guides.  Hammond was headquartered about 1 ½ hours from the others. Nothing is close in the wide expanse of the mountains of New Mexico.

Harvick was under the tutelage of Jordan himself and expert guide Tony Pachelli. After settling in their digs on Sunday afternoon, the day after a very long 500-mile race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, the guides took charge of their guests and the groups set out for their first hunt.

Success almost came immediately as Pachelli and Jordan called out a big bull elk and brought him in within 100 yards of Harvick. They thought the bull was in one spot and went there, but the bull was on his game and went another direction. It was a very big bull, estimated at about 370 inches.  So Harvick’s close encounter the first night ended up being the big one that got away.

For the entire group, Monday was a day of searching for the elk. All for naught so the groups set out on Tuesday with resolve to get results on Tuesday.

Tuesday morning, Pachelli again was successful in calling an elk to Harvick but as it does on the track, the whole thing unfolded very quickly. Harvick was coming through an opening and his guides held him up as the bull was there. It was a fast chain of events, Harvick had no time to set his gun and squeeze the trigger. He just had to pull it up in position and pull the trigger. The shot was a success. Harvick harvested a bull that measured 320 inches.

“We had a lot of fun; that was the main thing and got a really nice elk during the trip,” said Harvick. “Without a doubt, this is one THE most intense thing I have ever done. That last probably 10 minutes of the hunt is the biggest rush you could ever get. I had a lot of fun with Bill Jordon, Bobby Labonte, Terry Labonte and a couple of our friends. I really enjoyed it. I am looking forward to going again next year.

“We hunted on 130,000 acres at the Double H Ranch with the Elk Foundation. That was pretty amazing just to see the magnitude and the size. You are trying to stalk this elk down and you have 130,000 acres and don’t see another soul in site. It was a lot of fun, very enjoyable and relaxing.”

The biggest adventure of the week undoubtedly was had by Bobby Labonte. His trip started with the guides having to clean out the fireplace in the cabin when a dead owl was discovered as they arrived to settle in.

Led by Welty and McKinley (also known as the Magdalena Mafia), Bobby had to learn the Magdalena lingo which proved to be much like not being able to understand his spotter when he is behind the wheel of his race car. But, after tromping through the rugged terrain for almost two full days, the team was able to get their communication on the right track and Bobby bagged a 325 inch bull Tuesday night.

“We left out Sunday evening and actually saw the elk I ended up shooting on Tuesday night on Sunday evening,” Labonte said. “We tracked around and tracked around. We went off the Double H Ranch. We found some elk and lost them the next afternoon, back and forth and back and forth. Finally on Tuesday, we knew that Terry (Labonte, his brother) and Kevin (Harvick) had shot and killed Tuesday morning. So the pressure was on me to kill Tuesday night because we were leaving on Wednesday so I thought well, I got to get going. So we got pretty aggressive with it. Chip (Welty) and Johnny Ray (McKinley), they tracked this one bull pretty hard, we got very close to it. I was 150 yards off, I couldn’t get a shot at the first because the sun was in my eyes and I was way too nervous. 

“I came around the tree and they came to the water. Johnny Ray called him, bugled him at the last second, he was in about a six foot lane and I was like, this is it, because if he would have got away from me there, I don’t think there was a way I would have got a shot in. I pulled the trigger, got a shot in, he went down in about 10 yards. I mean, my heart raced. It was unbelievable how not very calm I was, which was amazing to me. You think you do this racing stuff, but I am telling you, my heart pattered more than anytime I have ever done anything else, I think.

“I'd like to go back Monday if we could, but I know we can’t. I think with the group that we had, Bill (Jordan) taking us. What a great time. We all had a great time, got to spend some time together, a few days. There was no cell phone service at the house, so didn’t’ have to worry about a few things, it was a good cleansing and I would do it again tomorrow if I could.”

Hammond was the veteran of the group returning for the third consecutive year to hunt. For the third time, he was successful, taking down a bull that measured 320 inches.

“Anytime you can get a group of men together to hang out and have fun for a common goal, usually the antics and fun meter really peg out,” said Hammond. “This hunt this time, was no different.  They provided us a great time and fellowship. We talked about the weeks’ event as far as racing is concerned but then it gave us the opportunity to relax and that was really a lot of fun.

“I have had the privilege of hunting this land in New Mexico the last three seasons. Honestly, I was on a mission to keep my record intact.  Hunting with the Limestone Outfitters and Darell Welty was a renewal of an old friendship. It was like homecoming when I go there. It is a special time of the year for me because of me because of that. It is a personal challenge for me to see how much you can keep up with the guide, how hard you can hunt for what turns out to be a very elusive animal. It is a big challenge to kill an elk and for me personally to be able to keep my streak alive and say for the third year in a row, I was able to take one of these big majestic animals. This hunt out of all the hunts was probably the most challenging. I had to do a lot of walking, it was frustrating at times. I really felt like it brought out a determination in me that I haven’t had in a while, to complete something. To accomplish my mission. I was committed to stay on the side of that ridge until I did that. It was a very satisfying hunt from that aspect to be successful, have some fun and keep my record intact as far as making a kill three years in a row.”

Harvick was a member of the Chevy Driven to the Outdoors program carrying a special Realtree camouflage paint scheme at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Charlotte.

In addition to a full line of NASCAR camouflage merchandise and memorabilia, the Driven to the Outdoors program features unique sweepstakes that will ultimately reward one fan with a 2009 Chevy Silverado LTZ. Other prizes that will be included in the Chevy Driven to the Outdoors Sweepstakes include a racing trip to Daytona Beach in February 2009, a hunting trip with Bill Jordan himself, Shell Gift cards and Chase Authentics Driven to the Outdoors hats.

To enter the Sweepstakes a participant must visit http://www.chevy.com/driven (the “Website”) during the Sweepstakes Period, read and accept these Official Rules and follow the instructions to complete and submit the registration form (“Entry”). All registration information requested must be provided. Registrations must be submitted by 11:59 PM ET on 12/8/08.

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