Broken Part Takes Strong Finish From Labonte

Loudon, N.H. (July 2, 2007) - 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.

Saturday was a beautiful summer day in New Hampshire and the No. 77 Dollar General stores team posted a qualifying lap that would place them in the 17th starting position for the day’s race. Crew chief Wally Rogers and driver Bobby Labonte still felt good about the car’s set-up and were optimistic about the team’s chances for the race.

Bobby Labonte took the green flag with the 43-car field and immediately started moving forward. By lap 10 the Dollar General stores car had moved up five positions to 12th-place and was continuing to move toward the front of the pack. A caution flag on lap 15 allowed the crew and driver to consult about the car’s handling. “The car is good Wally,” explained Labonte, “a little tight past center back to the throttle,” he continued. Rogers returned with a positive reply, “lap times are real good.” The team determined they would not pit that round and the green flag restarted the field on lap 20.

By lap 30, Bobby Labonte had moved into the top-10. During the next caution period, the team made a scheduled pit stop for minor air pressure adjustments to the left side tires. Another caution immediately waved and with this break, the field was stopped due to a red flag condition for track cleanup efforts. The team had a chance to discuss the car’s handling during the unscheduled break in the action. According to Labonte, the car was strong and “better on long runs.”

At this point, the No. 77 car was running in 13th as a few of the leaders had only taken two tires on the previous round of pit stops. However, on the restart at lap 50, Labonte went to work again on the field in front of him. By lap 56 the Dollar General stores car was up to 10th-place. By lap 66 the car was in ninth and still looking strong to continue the move forward. Labonte did however advise the team that the car had become difficult to handle in the turns, or “tight.” Despite the tight-handling condition, Labonte was turning lap times as fast as the top five cars. The Dollar General stores crew remained in ninth until lap 86 when another caution flag waved to slow the field. They brought Labonte onto pit road for fuel, a change of tires and another round of air pressure adjustments. The crew worked quickly and their efforts placed the No. 77 car back into the field in eighth position.

At the halfway mark of the race, lap 100, the team continued to look strong and maintained the eighth position while driving toward the leaders. Another caution flag stopped race action again on lap 103 however the team chose to remain on the track, as did the front-running cars, to maintain their track position.

As the race resumed you could feel the excitement among the Dollar General stores team as they watched Labonte continue his solid run. The team had moved into seventh position by lap 112 and was running lap times comparable with the leaders. The field then endured a long green flag run, without incidents on track.

The day would soon take a turn for the Dollar General stores team as Labonte radioed to the crew that he had a flat right rear tire. The team pitted the car on lap 155 to address the concern while the race continued on track. What seemed to be a flat tire issue turned out to be something much more severe. The right side tires were replaced, but on the next lap Labonte reported, “a sway bar or something in the right rear broke.”

Wally Rogers brought Labonte down pit road again for further inspection. Unfortunately his concern was confirmed. A bolt had “sheered” causing the sway bar to break, which is not a common mechanical failure. However at some tracks, such as NHIS, the way the car “travels” through the turns, can causes the type of pressure that could strip a bolt.

After replacing the broken bolt, the No. 77 Dollar General stores team returned to the track eight laps down and in the 30th position. The team chose to pit one last time to replace the left side tires. Labonte brought the Dollar General stores car home in 29th position.

Despite a part failure on the No. 77 Dollar General stores Chevrolet, the team maintained the 20th position in the NASCAR Busch Series Owner’s Point Standings. The No. 77 team will head to Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway with Bobby Labonte at the wheel. The Winn-Dixie 250 can be seen live at 8:00 p.m., ET Friday, July 6, 2007.