Labonte Qualifies 09 Prototype 16th at Barber

LEEDS, AL (July 29, 2006) - Bobby Labonte and Guy Cosmo are getting ready for their Sunday afternoon race at the Barber Motorsports Park in the 09 MarineMax Daytona Prototype. Labonte and co-driver Cosmo had one practice session and an afternoon qualifying session in the Spirit of Daytona 09 Prototype. There will be one more practice session on Sunday to prepare for the Porsche 250 Presented by Bradley Arant. During the qualifying session Labonte drove the Prototype to a 16th place grid position to start the race on Sunday.

The NASCAR champ decided to use his weekend off to race with the Spirit of Daytona Rolex team at Barber. His next race with Spirit of Daytona will be at Watkins Glen on August 11th in conjunction with the NEXTEL Cup weekend. Labonte had to take a step out of his normal racing background to prepare for his road course qualifying session and impressed teammate Cosmo with his skills. “Bobby is a lot more tuned into the car than he gives himself credit for. He is very skilled behind the wheel of these cars,” said Cosmo. “During his qualifying stint he turned the quickest lap for the car all weekend long. That does not come easy, his talent shines through no matter what car or track he is racing in,” said Cosmo.

Labonte spent hours going over the track data with Cosmo and team-owner/manager Troy Flis to prepare himself for his qualifying stint. “The car yesterday was a little tricky to get a hold of but there has been progress made on it today, said Bobby. “This is still a good car, I would say we need to do some spring adjustments but I am doing better today. I am going as fast as I can.” Spirit of Daytona Racing with Bobby Labonte will take the track at 2:00PM on Sunday afternoon for the Porsche 250 Presented by Bradley Arant.