Bobby Labonte - No. 77 Dollar General stores Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS Team Report

DAYTONA (FLA.) INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY RACE RECAP:

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.


CHICAGOLAND (ILL.) SPEEDWAY FACTS & STATS:
NASCAR Busch Series Race 20 of 35

NUMBER THREE: Bobby Labonte will make his third NASCAR Busch Series start at Chicagoland (Ill.) Speedway, where he has an average finish of 14th.

CHASSIS NO. 035: Chassis No. 035 is brand new in the fleet of cars that race on the NASCAR Busch Series circuit. However, the chassis has raced previously this season in the NASCAR Grand National Division East-West event by Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) team co-owner Kevin Harvick. Following his NASCAR Nextel All-Star Challenge victory at Lowe’s (N.C.) Motor Speedway the night before, Harvick only slept about 90 minutes and was off to Iowa for the East-West brawl. Harvick started on the pole and led over half the laps as he raced side-by-side for virtually the entire 200-lap event against Joe Gibbs Racing rookie sensation Joey Logano. Harvick’s No. 33 car was plagued with engine problems 20 laps into the event. Despite racing with only seven cylinders Harvick still continued to race in the lead pack and lead laps. He would bring chassis No. 035 home with a second-place finish.

RACE RECORD AT CHICAGOLAND: Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) team co-owner and driver Kevin Harvick holds the NASCAR Busch Series record for the fastest average race speed at Chicagoland (Ill.) Speedway. Driving the No. 21 Reese’s Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing (RCR), Harvick won the 200-lap event in 2005 and posted an average speed of 130.340 miles per hour (mph). The first two NASCAR Nextel Cup Series events held at Chicagoland (Ill.) Speedway was won by none other than KHI co-owner Kevin Harvick.

BOBBY LABONTE QUOTES:

THOUGHTS ON CHICAGOLAND (ILL.) SPEEDWAY: “You know, racing at Chicagoland (Ill.) Speedway reminds me a lot of racing at Kansas Speedway. If you look around both of the tracks, they were built very similar. It isn’t until I’m coming off of (turn) two to head down the backstretch that I realize I’m at Chicagoland.”

EXPLAIN A LAP AROUND CHICAGOLAND (ILL.) SPEEDWAY: “As I’ve said, it’s similar to Kansas Speedway until you come off of turn two and realize that the backstretch isn’t straight, it’s actually a little curved. But as I go across the start/finish line and head into turns one and two, the car really gets grip into the track. For some reason you can feel it more into the track on the left side of the car especially than some other tracks. As I come off to turn two and level out to drive down the backstretch, this is where I realize that I’m at Chicagoland (Ill.) and not Kansas. The backstretch has a curve to it as you head to turns three and four you are full throttle. Lift just a tick into the turn and again the car is slammed to the pavement, the left side of the car is hitting the racetrack as you come off of turn four and the car pushes to the wall. The frontstretch is a standard D-shaped layout and that completes a lap around Chicagoland (Ill.) Speedway.”