Bobby Labonte - Bristol Preview

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Food City 500

Bristol Motor Speedway

March 16, 2008

Quotes from Bobby Labonte:

“The season is four races old and we’re sitting 14th in Sprint Cup points. Obviously we’re looking to be better than that. We’re not satisfied with 14th. But, at the same time, we’ve went through a lot of change in the off-season. New faces, new facilities, new car. So 14th is not a bad spot. To put it in perspective we’re only 16 points out of the top-10. We’re not going to go out and dominate races like the ‘18’ and the ‘99’ have. Our M.O. is to stay on the lead lap and put ourselves in position at the end so that when we have capable car, we can go up and challenge for the win.”

“Bristol is this weekend and anything can happen there. It has to be the most exciting racetrack in the world. You know, NASCAR went to great lengths to try to build this new car to run on every type of track. From short tracks, like Bristol, to restrictor-plate tracks. It’s ironic that those tracks are really similar. Both are high-banked. You’re racing on top of each other. But most importantly, you can get caught up in a wreck that you have nothing to do with. At least Bristol is not aero-sensitive. You can let the rough side drag. That’s really why I enjoy racing therel. It’s old school racing.”

“I know fans like the Bristol ‘night’ race in the fall. It’s under the lights and it has that short-track Saturday night feel. But I think the actual racing is better this weekend. Think about it. The ‘fall’ race is in ‘The Chase.’ You’ve got the top-12 drivers out there not wanting to have a bad race. From a driver’s perspective you don’t really see those drivers getting aggressive in that race. This is the fifth race of the season. Nothing is guaranteed yet. So everyone is going to rub and lean on each other in hopes of getting into ‘The Chase’ because that is the goal.”

Bobby Labonte at Bristol Motor Speedway

* Labonte’s highest finish of 2007 was eighth, which he accomplished at the fall race at Bristol Motor Speedway and the spring race at Phoenix.
* Labonte has raced at BMS 30 times; he has scored three top-5 and ten top-10 finishes at the track.
* Seven of Labonte’s ten top-10s at Bristol have been recorded in the last eight years and all three of his top-5 finishes there have been recorded in the past six years.
* The driver has also started the race within the top-10 on ten occasions. His best qualifying position at the track is third which he has achieved twice, in 1999 and 2006.
* Of a possible 14,846 laps at Bristol Motor Speedway, Labonte has completed 13,954 (94.0%) including 60 laps led. His average start at the track is 18.8 and average finish is 18.6.

Bobby Labonte on Dale Jarrett

“When I moved to North Carolina and started racing late models around the area, Hickory or some of these other places, and moved up to the Nationwide Series Dale was always there. He was one of the guys, as I was getting to know people, who I could go to and consider a friend. He’s a great guy. He’s someone who I think people admire and he’s very well respected.

“I think if you’re going to look back at Dale and talk about him you’re going to think about family. His father, Ned, brother, Glenn, and even his sister I’ve known for a long time. They have been a part of this sport for a long time and have given so much back. He’s just a good guy and you’re happy that he has had success in his career. I wish him the best.”