Go, Bobby, Go!

Long Labonte Interview at Auto Racing Daily

2007-07-20T17:10:57Z

There's a nice, long interview at Auto Racing Daily with Bobby Labonte. The interview covers all kinds of topics, from the team's middling performance all year long, missed chances at Martinsville and the Car of Tomorrow.

I believe that, you know, you have - I guess we've got 14 races left in the Car of Tomorrow and there's going to be a lot of things that's going to change between now and the 14th or 16th race, say, for instance, because I think everybody is still trying to figure it out. It's been two good races. The finishes have been real close obviously. But, hey, that could have happened in the car of yesterday, too.

Check out Auto Racing Daily for the full interview.

Bobby Labonte Racing Gets Two Top Five Finishes

2007-07-20T17:05:11Z

While Bobby Labonte's recent performance as a driver in the Nextel Cup hasn't been so hot as a team owner in the Lucas Oil Dirt series he is on fire. With driver Early Pearson, Jr's two top five finishes over the weekend, Earl took over the lead in the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series national point's standings with a 75 point advantage over Steve Casebolt.

"We had a pretty good weekend and hopefully we have gotten back on track with our program. We've been inconsistent here lately but Jason, Matt and Keith have been working hard to get us back up front again. It feels good to be leading the series points again but Casebolt and James are really running good everywhere and will be tough to beat for this championship. Really looking forward to going out to the Midwest next week and running at the Lucas Oil Speedway in MO," stated Pearson, Jr.

Pearson and team will travel to two more Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series sanctioned events before the month closes. The Tri-City Speedway race in Pontoon Beach, FL will appear live on the SPEED Channel.

Bobby's Wife Gives Away Books

2007-07-19T18:44:19Z

Donna Labonte, wife of #43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge driver Bobby Labonte, hosted a First Book Speed Read last week. The event, sponsored by First Book, and Cheerios, placed one brand new book into the hands of a child in need for every word read at the community event hosted in Naperville, Ill.

The event celebrates the Race for Books initiative. Cheerios Spoonfuls of Stories and First Book are donating 43 books to disadvantaged children for every lap completed by Bobby in the 2007 racing season. After completing all 267 laps in the July 15th race at the Chicago racetrack, Cheerios and First Book had donated more than 11,000 books to children in the region.

Find out more on Cheerios Spoonfuls of Stories and First Book to see how you can get involved.

Disappointing 23rd At Winn-Dixie 250

2007-07-10T21:13:01Z

The No. 77 Dollar General stores team unloaded in Daytona Beach, Fla. on Wednesday for the Winn-Dixie 250 event scheduled for Friday night. Teams endured three days of Florida rains, which eventually postponed the 100-lap event until Saturday morning. Labonte started 31st in the field and quickly made his way up to 20th within the first three laps of the event. Unfortunately the car slipped out of gear and caused Labonte to slow on the track. From that point on, it was a day of catching up and trying to make up track position. Labonte finished out the day in the 23rd-place.

More on Labonte's performance in the Busch race at Daytona at WhoWon.com.

Daytona 400 Bobby Labonte Preview

2007-07-09T20:49:56Z

Labonte and the team have moved back to 18th in championship points heading into this weekend's event, the Pepsi 400 at Daytona. The team is only 69 points out of the 15th position. Labonte and the #43 team continue to be one of the best Dodge teams on the circuit. Labonte is the third best Dodge in points.

"We feel pretty good that we can come back and have a strong run Saturday. This race is one that is won back at the shop. The guys preparing the car, shaping it and molding it back at the body shop are the ones that win the races at Daytona."

Despite recent setbacks Labonte seems to remain upbeat about their odds of getting into the Chase.

Labonte on Snap-on Race

2007-07-07T20:55:31Z

The season is about to take a turn. For the first time in the 2007 season NASCAR’s top series will return to a track for a second time. This week NASCAR returns to Florida for the Fourth of July classic at Daytona. Going fast and turning left was never so important, especially with the restrictor plates restricting the air flow through the carburetors.

Driving Kevin Harvick Inc.’s Snap-on rides will be Tony Raines and Bobby Labonte. Raines has had limited experience at Daytona, but has a good teammate in Labonte to lean on if he needs advice on working the exciting drafting package on the Busch cars.

"My second restrictor-plate race with KHI was at Talladega and both KHI cars were strong. I’m really looking forward to racing at Daytona with the Dollar General stores team for a second time this season," said Labonte. "Daytona is all about the aero package. So far this season the Kevin Harvick Inc. cars and the Dollar General stores crew has definitely hit on their speedway package."

Labonte is A Goody

2007-07-06T20:58:14Z

For 30 years, Goody’s Headache Powders has been synonymous with race fans, Richard Petty and Martinsville Speedway. In 2007, Goody’s will continue the celebration of its 30th anniversary in racing with the running of a special No. 43 Goody’s paint scheme driven by former Cup champion Bobby Labonte at Martinsville Speedway on October 21.

The special paint scheme will feature a vintage design in “Petty Blue” to celebrate Goody’s 30th anniversary in racing and pay tribute to the storied history of the No. 43 racecar driven for decades by Richard Petty.

"It is always an honor to drive the No. 43 car made so famous by the King,” said Labonte. “To return to Martinsville with Goody’s on the hood of a special, vintage No. 43 paint scheme will be an excellent tribute to the history of our sport.”

More on the Goodys paint scheme at That's Racin'.

Busch Crew Chief Fined

2007-07-05T20:53:10Z

Wally Rogers, crew chief for the #77 Chevrolet, Bobby Labonte has been driving in the Busch Series was penalized for rules infraction at New Hampshire International Speedway.

Rogers was fined $500 for violating Sections 12-4-A, 12-4-Q and 16.1C "fuel cell foam not used as provided by the manufacturer; open areas cut out of foam". The infraction was discovered during practice on June 29.

Monkeesfan Comments on New Hampshire

2007-07-03T21:13:09Z

I discovered a great blog earlier this week that had some interesting commentary on NASCAR races. Head over to Musings of Monkeesfan and read some great observations on this past weekend's race in New Hampshire.

Camping World 200 Practice

2007-07-03T20:47:52Z

The No. 77 Dollar General stores team unloaded in Loudon, New Hampshire on Thursday in preparation for the Camping World 200 Busch Series race. Bobby Labonte and the crew completed two practice sessions on Friday, and by the end of final practice, the Dollar General stores Chevrolet was in the top-10 on the speed charts. Both the driver and crew chief felt good about the 77 car and about the team’s chances for a solid run at New Hampshire International Speedway

More information available at WhoWon.com.

Bobby Labonte Racing July Schedule

2007-06-29T20:01:08Z

Earl and the Bobby Labonte Racing team will have a busy week next week starting Friday and Saturday competing in the WoO sanctioned $30,000 to win event at Lernerville Speedway in Lernerville, PA.

Then on Sunday, July 1st the team will travel to Portsmouth Raceway Park in Portsmouth, OH for a 50-lap $10,000 to win Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series feature event. Next up is the Muskingum County Speedway on July 3rd for another Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series 50-lap $10,000 to win sanctioned event.

Then the team will travel to Tazewell Speedway on Friday July 6th in Tazewell, TN for another 50-lap $10,000 to win Lucas Oil Series sanctioned event. From there the team will travel to Volunteer Speedway in Bulls Gap, TN on Saturday July 7th for a 50-lap $10,000 to win Lucas Oil Series sanctioned event.

Is It Fair to Penalize Drivers?

2007-06-28T22:53:07Z

NASCAR has penalize the crew chiefs and teams of Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson this week for problems with their cars at Infineon Raceway last weekend.

Gordon and Johnson have been penalized 100 driver points. Their crew chiefs (Steve Letarte and Chad Knaus, respectively) will be paying an even larger price: each has been fined $100,000 and suspended for the next six races.

Did the drivers deserve stiffer penalties? Or was the 100 points, which knocked them both back in the chase for the Nextel Cup enough? Bobby Labonte weighed in:

"It would be kind of hard," Labonte said. "I think NASCAR realizes a driver is just contract labor. We're really just contract labor to the race teams. So penalizing a race team for doing their actions that causes a penalty and then you penalize a driver for his actions. It's on his shoulders."

Labonte Refuses to Give Up

2007-06-28T19:47:40Z

Despite a disappointing 33rd place finish due to lack of fuel, Bobby Labonte remains upbeat about the possibilities of getting into the Cup chase.

"In the race, we were running in the top 12 or so and then we got turned around and went to the back. We were making our way back to the front and we were in going to be in pretty good shape and we ran out of gas with one lap to go and finished 33rd.
"It was one of those deals where we could at least hold our heads up a little bit because we had a good race car and made a good showing," he told Sports Illustrated.

You can find more from Bobby on his hopes for the remainder of the Nextel Cup chase as well as a choice quote from Petty Enterprises co-owner Kyle Petty on the team's chances at Sports Illustrated.

Gas A Factor at Sonoma Race

2007-06-26T01:22:04Z

Congrats go out to Juan Montoya on his first win in Nextel Cup racing. He can add this to other wins in the Indy world with pride. Gas played a major factor in Montoya's win Sunday, with Jamie McMurray petering out and giving Montoya first place without a fight.

Petty Enterprises was also beaten by fuel mileage. Both Petty and his Petty Enterprises teammate, Bobby Labonte in the No. 43 Dodge, were running strong until the the end of Sunday's. Labonte was running fifth with two laps to go when he ran out of fuel; Petty was running 14th and closing in on the top 10 in the closing laps when he ran out.

This was very disappointing for Labonte, especially, who was creeping up toward the #12 slot as the number of races remaining in the chase dwindled. Instead of gaining ground he has fallen back to 19th position.

Bobby Runs Fast at Infineon Practice

2007-06-23T15:16:23Z

Bobby was off to a great start during practice on Thursday at the Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, CA. Labonte’s lap of 92.392 mph in the #43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge was the quickest of the 50 cars out on the track for the first practice leading to Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350.

#7-Robby Gordon, #2-Kurt Busch, #20-Tony Stewart and #26-Jamie McMurray were the rest of the top 5 on the speed chart for this practice.

Bobby had this to say about the coming race:

"We have had good runs with the Car of Tomorrow and our Dodge Avenger. We are relatively happy with that program. It's a lot different bringing the car to a road course than an oval. But, we think we can bring a pretty good package to California . It's going to be a guessing game for a lot of people.
"I guess we are all going back to more of a level playing field with this race. We have seen some teams really get a handle on the new car on the ovals. We aren't that far behind. We have had good runs with the car and feel good about it. This weekend is just a bit of a different challenge. Hopefully we have something for these guys."