New Hampshire Preview

#43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Sylvania 300
New Hampshire Motor Speedway
September 14, 2008

Quotes from Bobby Labonte:

“These last ten races are going to be important for everyone on the No. 43 Dodge. Obviously we want to work on preparing for next season, but we also have some goals that we want to accomplish. Each year that I’ve been at Petty Enterprises we have improved on the point’s finish from the previous year. Last year we finished 18th in points. We are in a very good position to improve on that this year. There are a lot of tracks left on the schedule where we could easily turn in a few top-10 finishes and challenge for wins. If we can do that, we can fight our way inside the top-15.”

“The first race at New Hampshire was probably the best all-around race that we’ve had this year. The car was fast in qualifying and we started on the outside of the front row. The race didn’t play out like we wanted it to, but we were still able to get a top-10 finish. A carbon-copy of that weekend would be huge for us this week. We could pick up a lot of points, but it would also go a long way in establishing some consistency for us that will hopefully carry to the end of the year.”

“We’ve had to deal with a ‘loose in, tight center, loose off’ condition a lot with this new car. Just about all of the teams have. That will be a challenge again this weekend at New Hampshire. It has been in the past. The track is just so flat that when you get to the corner and the rear of the car wants to step out. You get used to the comfort of the banking at most other tracks and it’s not there. Each time we go back to Loudon there is more grip in the second groove. If you are able to move your line around that always helps if you car is not handling the way you like.”

Bobby Labonte at New Hampshire Motor Speedway

* Labonte is the all-time laps leader at New Hampshire with 7,782 laps completed.

* Labonte is tied for most career starts at NHMS with 27. He is one of only four drivers who have run every Cup race held at the track.

* At New Hampshire Labonte has garnered five top-5s and 10 top-10s. His highest finish at the track is second, which came in 2000.

* Labonte’s most recent top-10 finish at New Hampshire is 10th, which he scored in the ‘spring’ race this year. He started that race from the outside pole.

* In 2000, Labonte started from the pole at Loudon. He has been a top-10 qualifier a total of 13 times. The last time he started from within the top-10 was in 2005.

* In his 27 starts at NHMS, Labonte has completed 97.5% of the laps, including 62 laps led. Labonte’s average start at the track is 14.0 and average finish is 15.5.