NASCAR Preseason Thunder Testing Report - Las Vegas Day One No. 43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge January 28, 2008 1.5-mile Las Vegas Motor Speedway Las Vegas, Nev. NASCAR Preseason Thunder testing is making its West Coast swing this week. On Monday and Tuesday all of the NASCAR Sprint Cup teams will make their first laps at the Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway with the new car that will be used during the entire 2008 season. After a travel day on Wednesday, the circuit will take to the banks of the California Speedway on Thursday and Friday. High winds and rain wreaked havoc for the 68 cars that were participating in this test session. Several wind gusts that blew over the 1.5-mile track reached 40 mph and rain interrupted practice for roughly 45 minutes. While trying to find the right balance on the new chassis, crew chiefs and mechanics also had to deal with Mother Nature. Bobby Labonte continues to become more familiar with several new faces on the No. 43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge team. Labonte and new crew chief Jeff Meendering are developing the ever-important lines of communication that will serve them well during this important season of Sprint Cup racing. In the morning session Labonte turned a lap of 30.705 seconds, or 175.867 mph. The team was able to improve that time to a 29.909, or 180.548 mph, in the afternoon session. That was good enough for the 21st fastest time of the PM session. “Today went about like we expected it to go,” said Labonte, the 2000 Sprint Cup champion. “We knew that the car would be a little tight, based on the races from last year. The guys were prepared for that. As a result we were able to gradually get the car more comfortable. That was a great sign because we do have some new faces this year and it looks like everyone is working well together.”